Bodacious Banana Bread Recipe

This recipe is the result of many mistakes in the kitchen so hopefully it will save you some time (and $).  I won't post pictures, but suffice to say that banana bread is not a flat bread nor a gelatin dessert...As with everything we do, eating healthy, whole foods is our primary concern.  This recipe is made using the smallest amount of sweetener possible and still have excellent taste.  As with all baked, flour dishes this banana bread should be consumed in small to moderate amounts (i.e. don't eat the entire loaf in one sitting).  The body tends to more easily convert flours into sugar in the body since they are already broken down.  In our household, this loaf may last two to three weeks.  We do this by freezing the bread after letting it air out for a day or so.  Simply cut up the banana bread in slices, put in a freezer bag or container and put in the freezer.  Pull out a slice and heat up in a toaster oven or your regular oven at 350 degs for about 5 minutes and Viola you've got a tasty snack/treat.  This particular recipe is made with very dense flours so a slice is typically very filling.

Cooking

Make sure you are watching this bread after the 45 minute mark in the oven.  Ovens do vary widely in temperature and cooking.  We recommend you put the pan in the middle of the oven.  We always end up covering the bread pan with aluminum foil at the 45 minute mark to keep the top from crusting over too much.  The type of pan you use is also very important.  We like glass bread pans (in fact we only have glass and cast iron at our house).  Not only does glass cook a good bread, but it doesn't leach chemicals or metals into your food.  Thus we do NOT recommend aluminum whatsoever, you can use a stainless steel pan if that's what you've got no problem.  Cast iron works as well and it does leach, but it is leaching iron which is a needed nutrient (its what is in our bloodstream).  

Ingredients

If you want the most outstanding, healthy, and tasty banana bread from this recipe, you should grind your own flours right before making this bread.  This way, you'll get the most nutrition and taste from freshly ground flour.  Many flours that you purchase from the store have been sitting in a bin or a package for several days or weeks and will nutritional degrade from air exposure.  You can do this by purchasing an inexpensive coffee grinder from a local store (Target, etc) and just grind the amount you need right there.  Its actually very easy to do and not time consuming at all.  The almond meal may be a little hard to grind yourself so you can purchase some and just keep it in the freezer.  All flours you purchase at the store should be kept in the freezer or the refrigerator in an airtight container to extend their shelf life and keep them as nutritious as possible.  FYI - If you have a VitaMix or other high speed blender (Blendtec, etc), then grinding Almonds into Almond Meal becomes much easier.    

On the bananas - use the most beyond ripe bananas that you have on hand.  They should be brown/black and mushy to the touch.  This way they will mush easily in the bowl and be nice and sweet.  If you have pre-ripe bananas, you can come over to our house and let our kiddos play with them for a couple of hours and you'll have nice, black, ripe bananas in no time!

You can get raw, organic coconut nectar at Whole Foods and other natural food stores.  It is made by a company called Coconut Secret and we have really grown to love this sweetener.  It is more expensive than sugar or agave nectar, but the nutritional profile of Coconut Secret makes it worth it.  You can find more information about the company and this product by clicking here.

We use Bob's Red Mill for most of our flours simply because they are one of the few companies that conducts ELISA testing on all their batches.  This testing ensures that any gluten present is at such low levels (parts per million) that even true celiac sprue persons can tolerate it.  They are also one of the few companies that has dedicated plants and/or areas for gluten free flour production to avoid cross contamination.

We like Napa Valley Naturals for organic extra virgin olive oil.  For the money, they've got a great product.  For the coconut oil, go with the Nutiva brand.  Again, a great buy for the money.  Most importantly, neither company uses any chemicals in their processing and they cold press their oils to ensure they retain their nutritional value.

3 ripe bananas, mashed (about 1 cup)

1/4 - 1/3 cup organic extra virgin olive oil or organic extra virgin coconut oil (Olive Oil - Napa Valley Naturals, Coconut Oil - Nutiva)

1/2 cup raw, organic Coconut Nectar (from Coconut Secret company, see above)

2 teaspoons pure bourbon vanilla extract (please don't use imitation vanilla)

1 cup organic buckwheat flour
1/4 cup almond meal
1/4 cup organic coconut flour (we use Bob's Red Mill, pretty much can't grind yourself)

1 teaspoon baking soda

2 1/2 teaspoons baking powder (make sure it is organic and/or non-gmo, and gluten free)

1/4 teaspoon sea salt (we use Real Salt)

1 tablespoon tapioca starch (Bob's Red Mill)

1/2 teaspoon xanthan gum (Bob's Red Mill)

1 rounded teaspoon cinnamon (we like ceylon cinnamon, this can be freshly ground as well)
1/4 teaspoon organic ground cloves (you can ground fresh cloves just the flours also)

1/3 cup organic vegan chocolate chips
1/2 cup chopped pecans (or chopped walnuts work well)

Instructions:

Combine the bananas, vanilla, oil and coconut nectar in a mixing bowl (wet ingredients).  Make sure the bananas are mashed really well.  It creates a surprisingly wet mixture.

Add the dry ingredients into the banana mixture and stir until smooth. If the batter looks too thin and wet, add more flour (we like to add a bit more almond flour if needed), a tablespoon at a time, to thicken.

Now add in the chocolate chips and nuts and stir with a spatula to fold in.  

Preheat oven to 350ºF.  Oil the bread pan with the coconut oil (or olive oil).  We like coconut oil because it spreads evenly on the pan and doesn't collect on the bottom like olive oil does.

Pour the batter into the prepared loaf pan and bake in the center of a preheated oven for an hour, until the loaf is firm, a bit crusty, and a wooden pick inserted into the center emerges clean.

We like to let the bread cool overnight covered.  Then we slice and freeze the leftover (see above for discussion).  

Cook time: 1 hour

Yield: 8-10 slices

This recipe is gluten-free, dairy-free, egg-free, soy-free, nut-free, and corn-free (if you check the source of your xanthan gum and baking powder).