Allergy friendly banana bread

I think I may have a problem in my marriage.

Ever since I got my gorgeous, empire red Kitchenaid Artisan stand mixer (with an amazing grinder attachment —*sigh*), I've been having lustful thoughts about all manner of things I can make with it. My poor husband isn't even allowed to touch the thing without me following behind him and wiping off the fingerprints or food spatters.

Much the same way a man might obsess about his shiny red convertible, I am having a serious love affair with my mixer. It is nothing short of amazing. I can't believe I waited so long to get one. For that, I have to say I am actually grateful to my son for not being ready to move beyond pureed and ground foods yet. The cost of buying jars of baby food was getting so outrageous —roughly ten dollars a day— that I was able to make the case with my husband that this sexy new machine would pay for itself in just a couple of months.

It has changed my life. The way I cook, the way I think about the food instead of the work involved to prepare it. Unbelievable. I don't know how I ever lived without it. My husband thinks I'm a tad obsessive.

Pffft, whatever, dear.

Once upon a time, the idea of making banana bread in my minuscule kitchen would have given me hives. Seriously, I only have a few feet of actual work space between my sink and my stove —and that's on a good day. The idea of sifting flours and dry ingredients in one bowl, using the hand mixer to mash the bananas and wet ingredients in another, then coordinating pouring the flour mixture into the batter bowl while mixing and not spilling on the counter and floor? Oy vey. Imagine Lucy Ricardo and you get the idea; it's not exactly motivating to bake yummy things when it takes so much work.

But once my cherry red Kitchenaid entered my life? (Cue sexy siren song...) Easy peasy. *breathy sigh*

Tonight, I simply dumped all the wet ingredients including —gasp— unmashed bananas right into the bowl and let that hot mama do her thing. Then, I dumped in the dry ingredients —measured them right into the bowl as the mixer was running!— and my trusty mixer turned the lumpy goo into a smooth, satiny batter in moments. Moments, I tell you.

The hardest part is waiting as my little loaves bake to their golden, banana-y goodness. What? Banana-y is too a word; I just made it up. So there!

This recipe is so easy even my husband could make it. If I ever decide to let him near my beautiful new mixer, that is.


Ingredients:
2 C all purpose GF flour blend
1 tsp xanthan gum
1 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp baking powder
1 tsp salt
1/2 C canola oil
1 C sugar
1 large egg
4 medium ripe bananas, mashed
1 Tbsp lemon juice
1/2 C rice milk

Preheat oven to 350F. Grease loaf pan or use non-stick pans. (Makes one large or four mini loaves.)

Sift all dry ingredients together and set aside.

In large bowl combine oil and sugar. Add mashed bananas, stir well.
Add milk and lemon juice. Stir well.
Add flour mixture, stirring well until all lumps disappear.
Pour into loaf pan(s). (Be sure not to overfill your pans as the bread will rise during cooking.)



Bake at 350F until toothpick inserted in the center of the loaf comes out clean.
For mini loaves, allow 45 minutes.
For large loaf allow 60 minutes.

Turn onto wire rack to cool. Allow to cool completely before cutting. (Resist the temptation! GF flours are very sensitive to changes in temperature and humidity and this will make the bread very gooey.)

A few tips about this particular recipe: I've tried it a number of ways —with egg, without egg, using a sorghum flour blend, using a rice flour blend and adding some flax meal. In my opinion, if you don't need to avoid eggs, add the egg. Otherwise, simply omit the egg —but expect the bread to be much denser and moister than the typical banana bread —a bit sticky; the "mouth feel" will be heavier. If you must avoid eggs, you can add a couple generous tablespoons of finely ground flax which will add some extra fiber as well as absorb some of the extra moisture.

I've read that sorghum flour behaves more like wheat flour in terms of texture and elasticity. However, I think it has a much stronger flavor and competes with the sweet banana flavor of the bread. I prefer a rice flour blend.

Remember how I said I just dumped everything in the bowl and let 'er rip? Here's your proof: