Curious George's Gluten-Free Banana Nut Bread

Photo: The Dusty Baker

Ingredients

1/2 cup shortening

1/2 cup unsalted butter at room temperature

1/2 cup sugar of choice (I used Sucanat – dried raw can juice)

1 1/2 cups very browned bananas, mushed up

1 tablespoon lemon juice

2 eggs

2 cups gluten-free flour (I used my cake blend)

1 tablespoon baking powder

1/2 teaspoon salt

1/2 cup ground walnuts (optional)

Preparation

Preheat oven to 350°. Grease a loaf pan and set aside.

Combine the flour, baking powder and salt in a bowl and set aside.

Cream the shortening, butter and sugar together.

Add the banana, lemon and eggs and beat to incorporate.

Slowly add flour mixture and beat to incorporate.

If using nuts, toss them loosely on a cookie sheet and toast for about 4 minutes, checking every minute, until slightly brown. Toss them into batter and stir in.

Pour batter into prepared pan and press down with a spatula to flatten.

Bake for 75 – 90 minutes or until the top is brown and the bread gives a little to the touch.

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About

So, what if you started giving cool names to baked goods, like Hansel and Gretel Grown-Up Gingerbread or Little Red Velvet Riding Hood Cupcakes? Maybe you could get a kid into the kitchen? Enjoy a book with dessert? I don’t know, I’m just throwing things out there.

This recipe is based on my mother’s Banana Bread recipe, which was one of my favorite things growing up and is still made by my mother and older sister regularly. I’ve made it dozens of times, but never gluten-free! So upon a trip home I grabbed (stole) some browning bananas and figured I’d whip up a loaf for my first rehearsal tomorrow.

It ended up being the perfect break in my day as the rain fell outside my windows, making the NYC gray that much more like silver. The bread came out less dense than my mother’s version, almost spongy and less crumbly. But boy is it delicious! Moist and slightly crunchy on top, with nuts sprinkled throughout and a chewy mouth feel. Next time I’m going to try a different flour blend to see if I can get it a bit denser – maybe some quinoa flour - but this is one tasty sweet bread!