Vegan Gluten Free Banana Bread
What do whelping puppies and vegan gluten free banana bread have in common? Well, birthing puppies can be a long and exhausting process and one needs fortification, right? Let me explain. My bull terrier bitch (yes, that’s the correct technical term) was due and we were very excited about the litter. She is a champion and her Momma was a Target dog and won her class at Westminster (yes, I am one of those crazy dog show people). My BFF BJ is the whelping whisperer, so the delivery was to take place at her house. Her daughter is vegan and I eat gluten free. BJ doesn’t do much baking and we were all gonna need to eat! That’s the connection, got it? So you get pictures of puppies (scroll to the bottom) and banana bread – consider it your lucky day LOL.
This bread is insanely moist and not only doesn’t contain any eggs, it doesn’t even need an egg replacer (like flax). And somehow it still works. The optional topping of sunflower seeds and cinnamon sugar adds a really nice crunch that contrasts with the soft, moist insides. As usual with most quick breads, I prefer the narrower 8-inch loaf pan for a deeper look. You could use a 9-inch loaf pan. Just watch your baking times and use the visual cues. It will probably bake faster as it will be more shallow.
- 1½ cups gluten free flour such as Bob's Red Mill 1 to 1 Baking Flour
- 1½ teaspoons baking powder
- ½ teaspoon baking soda
- ½ teaspoon salt
- 3 large or 4 medium dead ripe bananas - no green! Must have black spots, preferably all over
- ½ cup sugar or organic evaporated cane sugar
- ½ cup vegetable oil or melted coconut oil
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 1 tablespoon sugar or organic evaporated cane sugar
- ½ teaspoon cinnamon
- 2 tablespoons sunflower seeds
- Position rack in center of oven. Preheat oven to 350°F. Coat an 8-inch loaf pan with nonstick spray, line the bottom and short ends with a strip of parchment paper (allowing ends to overhang) and spray parchment too. Set aside,
- Whisk together the flour, baking powder, baking soda and salt in a small bowl to aerate and combine; set aside.
- In a larger bowl mash the bananas along with the sugar using a potato masher until broken down but still a little chunky. Stir in oil and vanilla until combined.
- Add dry mix to wet and stir just until combined (I like using a large silicone spatula). Scrape into prepared pan.
- For the Topping, stir the sugar and cinnamon together, then toss in the sunflower seeds. Sprinkle this mixture evenly over the raw batter, if using.
- Bake for about 45 minutes then turn oven down to 325°F and continue to bake for about 10 to 15 minutes more or until a bamboo skewer inserted in the center comes out clean. Cover loosely with aluminum foil if the loaf is browning too quickly.
- Cool pan on rack for about 20 minutes, then unmold and cool loaf on rack. The bread slices best the next day. Store at room temperature, wrapped with plastic wrap, for up to 3 days. You can refrigerate it as well, but the texture will dry out a bit.
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