BANANA BREAD

You can make one of these if you have...

Two of these.  A fun afternoon surprise when the boys  get home from school.

TO GET STARTED:

Turn on the oven to 350 degrees.

Grease (rub the insides of your pan with shortening) an 8 1/2 x 4 1/2-inch loaf pan or walk on the wild side...use a bundt pan!

NOW FOR THE DRY INGREDIENTS:

In a medium-sized bowl, add 1 cup of brown rice flour and...

1/6 c. potato flour (I fill a 1/3 cup half way)...

and then a 1/6 cup of tapioca flour (i top off the potato flour in the 1/3 cup with tapioca flour).

Add 1 tablespoon flax seed meal.  It adds a nutty flavor, omega fatty acids (excellent for optimal brain function) and flax see meal lends moistness much like adding vegetable oil.  

1 teaspoon of baking soda and...

1 teaspoon of baking powder.  

Whisk it all together and set aside for later.

Cream together 5 1/3 tablespoon of butter and 2/3 cup of sugar until...

it looks like this. 

Mix in the dry ingredients, gradually.  It will look like this when all's said and done.

Add two eggs lightly beaten, 1/4 cup of milk and 1 teaspoon of cider vinegar.

Beat it until it looks like this.

Peel the bananas and...

 

SQUISH them up!

With your hands...I've always loved to get my hands dirty.

It's better than stress balls.

Voila!  Mashed bananas.  

Dump the mashed bananas into the bread mixture.  Now we have to fold the bananas into the mixture.  This is a different technique than stirring.  Watch:

FOLDING IN:

With a rubber spatula, cut a line through the dough...  

curve to the left and around the left side of the bowl...

When you arrive at the top of the bowl, use the spatula to fold the batter under itself, then, with your left hand (unless of course, you are left handed in which case you would have the spatula in the left hand, bowl in right) rotate the bowl a quarter turn.  Are we all thoroughly confused now?  I know I am.  Experiment with the technique.

Keep folding until the banana mush is fully incorporated into the mixture.

 Help the batter into your pan with the spatula and bake at 350 degrees for 30 - 32 minutes.

 A toothpick or skewer inserted will come out clean with maybe a couple of crumb cling-ons.

 Unmold carefully and dust with powdered sugar.  I think next time I would serve this with some cream cheese whipped with just enough sugar to give it the right amount of sweet. 

RECIPE: GLUTEN-FREE BANANA BREAD
makes 1 loaf or bundt

• 2            ripe banana, mashed
• 1 c.         brown rice flour
• 1/3 c.     split by 1/2 potato flour and 1/2 tapioca flour
• 1 T.        flax seed meal
• 1 t.         baking soda
• 1 t.         baking powder    
• 5 1/3 T. butter
• 2/3 c.     sugar
• 2             eggs, lightly beaten
• 1/4 c.     milk
• 1 t.         cider vinegar

METHOD:

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees.   Generously grease an 8 1/2 x 4 1/2 loaf pan or 6 cup pan.
2. Whisk together dry ingredients.  Set aside.
3. Cream butter and sugar in a mixing bowl.
4. Gradually mix in dry ingredients to sugar-butter mixture.
5. Mix in the lightly beaten egg, milk and vinegar.
6. Fold in mashed bananas.
7. Pour mixture into prepared pan and bake at 350 degrees for 30 - 32 minutes.