This banana bread is so spectacularly delicious that I have made it some 20 times, and this is the first time I have ever been able to get a picture of it! It really is that good. I made these the other night for a Bible study, and the reaction from everyone was the same: "Wow, this is SO good."
I know it sounds like I am tooting my own horn here a bit, but I'm not: I'm not great, but the recipe sure is! I think the secret is that your cream the butter and sugar together a bit like a cake, and the addition of sour cream makes it extra moist and tender. You can also dress it up with chopped walnuts or chocolate, even though it's really great just as it is!
Martha's Best Ever Banana Bread, Gluten Free! (Or Not!)
adapted from Martha Stewart
Makes 1 loaf, or about 16 cupcakes
The original recipe is not gluten-free, but I have used all kinds of gluten-free flour combinations with great success. You can use an all purpose mix, or you can you my favorite for this recipe: equal parts sweet rice flour, white rice flour, and oat flour.
Ingredients
1 stick (1/2 a cup) unsalted butter, softened
1/2 cup white sugar
1/2 cup light brown sugar, packed
2 eggs
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1.5 cups gluten free all purpose flour (or 1/2 cup sweet rice flour, 1/2 cup white rice flour, 1/2 cup oat flour)
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon kosher salt
1/2 cup sour cream (or yogurt, if you want to lighten it up)
2 large mashed bananas, really ripe and spotted
Optional:
1/2 cup chopped walnuts
1/2 cup chopped chocolate
1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. In a stand mixer, combine butter, white sugar, and brown sugar, and beat on high until butter is pale and fluffy, about 5 full minutes.
2. In a separate bowl, combine flour(s), salt, and baking soda. Whisk to combine.
3. Add in eggs to mixer, one at a time, beating until each egg is fully incorporated. Add vanilla. Blend in mashed bananas and sour cream, followed by the flour mixture. Mix on low until fully incorporated.
4. Pour into a loaf pan, or into lined muffin tin. Bake 20 - 30 minutes (20 for muffins, 30 for loaf pan), edges begin to pull away from the pan, and tester in the center comes out clean. Let cool (if you can!) and enjoy!
I've been stuck on this Hawaiian banana bread ... basically your typical banana bread, with mac nuts and coconut (coconut ... will have to look up the etymology of that one) using king arthur white whole wheat flour ... so, will have to give this a shot.
ReplyDeleteAmerica's Test Kitchen did a think on banana bread the other day (actually, they did it quite some time ago, but I watched it the other day), and they said the best way to make banana bread is to freeze very ripe bananas, because freezing dries them out without ruining the banana flesh ... but they added, "but who has time to throw bananas in the freezer?" i was thinking, why not, whenever you have very ripe bananas that no one will eat, but them in the freezer? then you have them for your bread? instead, they recommended microwaving them first, to dehydrate them without messing up the banana meat. seems like more work to me than just tossing them in the freezer and forgetting about 'em.
Cheers!
Big love from Scotland to you.
ReplyDeleteI tried the above recipe and the middle of it was soup after 40 minutes. I thought I messed up? At thirty min. it wasn't even close! I'm bummed, I was looking forward to it! Any advise would be appreciated. I bet 45 min. might be close even 50? I checked the temp too! Maybe Ms. Stewart can hook me up with a nice baking pan or something?))) I'll make something for her in it! Sean of Santa Barbara!!
ReplyDeleteNeeds Xanthan gum in gluten free receipes~i used 1tsp and it cooked perfectly~made muffins out of it:)
DeleteHey Sean! Ok, I have 2 suspicions: 1) if you are using gluten-free flour, your measurements might be off. In my experience, GF flour sits a little different than regular flour, and it sounds like maybe there wasn't enough flour in your batter. Sometimes GF flour can get fluffed up or packed down differently from regular flour. It should be thick, not soupy or pourable. I had to put 2) If you cooked this as a loaf (as opposed to in muffin tins) it probably just needed more time to cook. Probably a good hour and a half! Sorry it wasn't clearer :(
ReplyDeleteThe original, gluten-flour recipe, bakes for an hour. A half hour would never be long enough to bake a loaf. Period.
ReplyDeleteMuffins were fantastic! Couldn't tell they were gluten free, very moist and delicious! Must add the chocolate chips, of course, to get two thumbs up from the kids.
ReplyDeleteCan I substitute anything for the sour cream?
ReplyDeleteI substituted skim greek yoghurt for the sour cream. Also I dropped the temperature by 20C after 45 minutes and cooked it at that for another 20 or so minutes. Cheers!
DeleteCan I substitute anything for the sour cream?
ReplyDeleteI'm not sure, but my suspicion is that buttermilk, kefir, or cream could be substituted for the sour cream. I love this recipe, but 30 minutes is definitely not long enough. One hour is more like it. I make a tent with aluminum foil to place on the top to keep it from burning after about 30-40 minutes or so.
ReplyDeleteI am a complete baking novice. mixed this in my new cuisinart,,,,have done it twice,,,first time put in a little psyllium husk someone left in my cabinet,,,,cause i had no xantham gum,,,,second time added some oats also with less salt,,,,and both times was great. second time baked some in a little personal size glass pyrex ,,,and it came out so perfect. gluten free and used goat's milk yoghurt,,,second time added choc chips....defintely baked for an hour after reading comments...thank you for making my baking attempt a delicious success.
ReplyDelete