Banana Nut Bread

[Jenny (AZ via TX)]

I made a banana nut bread the other day. I converted a recipe I have that used wheat flour. I used a flour that says you can use cup for cup. Anyway, it looked beautiful when I took it out. Then a while later it collapsed and was really heavy. I like the recipe because it uses honey and molasses but the outcome not so good. Hubby still ate it. He said the taste was good but was kind of chewy. I thought it tasted good but couldn't get over the texture.

What went wrong?

[purple]

I dunno but gluten-free baking bakes better in smaller pans. Try the recipe in a muffin cup pan if you want to, just to compare.

[Wonka]

I made a banana nut bread the other day. I converted a recipe I have that used wheat flour. I used a flour that says you can use cup for cup. Anyway, it looked beautiful when I took it out. Then a while later it collapsed and was really heavy. I like the recipe because it uses honey and molasses but the outcome not so good. Hubby still ate it. He said the taste was good but was kind of chewy. I thought it tasted good but couldn't get over the texture.

What went wrong?

I agree with Purple. I bake my banana bread in 3 small pans rather than one big pan. They just seem to do better in the smaller pans.

[DingoGirl]

I don't know what went wrong, Jenny, but I want to share this FABULOUS recipe with you, I just got it and made it yesterday (thank you Patti!).

I have had absolutely terrible luck with gluten-free baking in the nearly three years since diagnosis, so I rarely bake. But this was unbelievably fluffy, perfect, wonderful, and rose WAY above the pan......absolutely delicious, I gave some to my boss today and he could not believe it wasn't regular banana bread. Nor could I!

Here you go -

Banana Bread

2 large eggs

1 tsp. vanilla

1 cup sugar

1/4 cup oil

1 and 1/4 cup warm water

2 mashed bananas

1 and 1/2 cups rice flour

1/2 cup potato starch

1 tsp. xanthan gum

1 and 1/2 tsp. baking powder

1 tsp. baking soda

1/4 tsp. salt

Preheat oven to 325.

Whip eggs until frothy. Add the vanilla and sugar, gradually mixing on low speed until batter thickens. Add oil and water and mix well. Add bananas. Mix all dry ingredients in a separate bowl. Add dry ingredients to the liquids and mix for 30 seconds. Scrape sides and mix for another minute and a half.

Pour batter into a lightly greased 9x5 inch loaf pan and bake for about one hour, or until done.

Note: I used about 1/8 cup of oil and 1/4 of butter. Also added walnuts - YUM!

good luck!

[Jenny (AZ via TX)]

Thanks Susie, I'll try it. Do you use any of the flours that say you can use cup for cup?

It is so aggravating when it doesn't come out right. I used to be a pretty good baker, so I get frustrated.

[DingoGirl]

Thanks Susie, I'll try it. Do you use any of the flours that say you can use cup for cup?

It is so aggravating when it doesn't come out right. I used to be a pretty good baker, so I get frustrated.

Jenny,

I did use one, it was Bob's Red Mill Baking Flour, and it was really awful......it does have bean flours in it, though, which I don't like.

There is supposed to be an outstanding flour that you can use cup-for-cup - - Laura (Happy Girl on this forum) recommended it, you could pm her as I can't recall the name.....but it was really expensive for just one person who doesn't do a lot of baking, so I haven't tried it yet.

You just gotta try this banana bread, it was fluffy and outstanding! the blend of the white rice flour (I used Bob's) and the potato starch seemed to be the ticket. (This is really big news coming from a person who is a basic failure as a gluten-free baker )

[happygirl]

I heard I was summoned

We've tried a ton of flours - and many of them we like. Some, not so much. However, our hands down favorite is one we just started using in the past year or so. Better Batter Gluten Free Flour. The owner of the company spoke at a GIG meeting and my family tried it - and have been hooked ever since. It already has the xanthan gum mixed in, so you don't have to add anything. You can order it online, and she is expanding the health food stores that carry it. I'm sure you could request that your local health food store carry it if you decide you like it. I recommended it to one store and they started carrying it after my suggestion.

We've* used it for crusts, banana breads, croutons/stuffing, and more types of cookies than I can even count. I use it as a thickener too.

The website is wonderful, too. A ton of recipes, great information, and pricing analysis (which is FABULOUS).

www.betterbatter.org

*disclaimer: I'm not really a huge baker, but luckily my wonderful mom is . She's a great baker, both 'regular' and gluten free - she's the one who uses it to make me all the goodies she does. I'm a grateful eater.

[Wonka]

I heard I was summoned

We've tried a ton of flours - and many of them we like. Some, not so much. However, our hands down favorite is one we just started using in the past year or so. Better Batter Gluten Free Flour. The owner of the company spoke at a GIG meeting and my family tried it - and have been hooked ever since. It already has the xanthan gum mixed in, so you don't have to add anything. You can order it online, and she is expanding the health food stores that carry it. I'm sure you could request that your local health food store carry it if you decide you like it. I recommended it to one store and they started carrying it after my suggestion.

We've* used it for crusts, banana breads, croutons/stuffing, and more types of cookies than I can even count. I use it as a thickener too.

The website is wonderful, too. A ton of recipes, great information, and pricing analysis (which is FABULOUS).

www.betterbatter.org

*disclaimer: I'm not really a huge baker, but luckily my wonderful mom is . She's a great baker, both 'regular' and gluten free - she's the one who uses it to make me all the goodies she does. I'm a grateful eater.

It was from their website that I found the instruction for making my own mix that I posted in this thread (it's not a product I can access here so I make my own).

[Jenny (AZ via TX)]

Thanks for the info. I'll order the flour and see how it does. I was using a flour that I got from a gluten-free bakery here in AZ, but that didn't work so well for me. Happygirl, maybe we could put a hotline in to your mom's phone (hee hee . I'm so jealous that you have your own personal baker! Does your mom use the smaller pans as Purple and wonka mentioned or does it matter with this flour?

In the meantime, I'm going to use Susie's recipe to see what happens.

[irish daveyboy]

I made a banana nut bread the other day. I converted a recipe I have that used wheat flour. I used a flour that says you can use cup for cup. Anyway, it looked beautiful when I took it out. Then a while later it collapsed and was really heavy. I like the recipe because it uses honey and molasses but the outcome not so good. Hubby still ate it. He said the taste was good but was kind of chewy. I thought it tasted good but couldn't get over the texture.

What went wrong?

.

Hi Jenny,

You could try my recipe it's Gluten Free Wheat Free Dairy Free and really easy to make.

.

Open Original Shared Link

.

Best Regards,

David

[JNBunnie1]

Hi Jenny. I'll go bump a thread I started about banana bread I made that won't taste exactly like wheat banana bread, but I like it even better. Moist and dense and soft and holds together beautifully without falling apart. Thread's called 'A few good recipes'.

[happygirl]

We generally use the smaller loaf pans because thats what I prefer - and then it makes for easier freezing.

Here is her recipe:

Banana Bread

2 tsp vanilla

3/4 c sugar

1 1/2 mashed bananas (very ripe, 3-4 bananas)

3/4 c veg. oil

2 eggs, beaten with a fork

2 c "flour" of choice

1 tsp baking soda

1/2 tsp baking powder

1/2 tsp salt

1/2 c chopped nuts----optional

In a large bowl, mix eggs, banans, oil, vanilla, and sugar. Stir in dry ingredients. Grease mini loaf pans and fill 2/3. Makes 2-3. (Actually, its probably about 3 and one muffin).

Bake 35-40 min.

Cool in pan only a few minutes. Remove from pan and cool completely before slicing.

Note: Bananas can be mashed and mesaured into ziplock bags and frozen. Or, freeze whole in peel and thaw in microwave.

Also, if the mix you use doesn't have xanthan gum, you need to add a little bit.

[Jenny (AZ via TX)]

Thank you all so much!! Everyone is so nice to help. I'm going to make another one this weekend and see what happens. It was so funny when I made this one. It came out of the oven so pretty and smelled so good. Hubby and I both just stared at it (he was practically drooling) and I thought, this is easy. Then later in the night it deflated. We both laughed about it because it was about 1/3 of the height, but really heavy.

I'm going to order that Better Batter to keep on hand too.

[DingoGirl]

It was from their website that I found the instruction for making my own mix that I posted in this thread (it's not a product I can access here so I make my own).

Instructions? On their website? I missed this.......where was that exactly?

[Hummingbird4]

I made banana nut bread using Pamela's baking mix and the recipe on the bag (or the website). It's fabulous and sooo easy!

[Wonka]

Instructions? On their website? I missed this.......where was that exactly?

These instructions.

from Open Original Shared Link

1) You want four main types of flour in your mix--

Bodifiers-- Teff, Sorghum, Rice, bean flours, brown rice, quinoa, millet, amaranth, and cornmeal are a few options. These provide bulk and protein as well as the vitamins (if any, teff is a great source of vitamins).

Modifiers-- Tapioca starch, cornstarch, potato starch, arrowroot powder. These provide lightness and smoothness to the mix.

Moisturizers-- potato starch (this is a duel status item and should be counted in the ratio as a modifier, but if you use too much it will over moisturize the mix), potato flour. These counterbalance the drying tendencies of modifiers.

Extenders-- guar gum, xanthan gum, pectin, (to a degree) fruit acids, and, to a degree, flaxseed. These substitute for gluten and add extra body and stretch to the flour mix, as well as extend the shelf life of your baked goods.

A good ratio to make is 2 cup bodifier: 1 cup modifier: 1/4 cup moisturizer: 3 tsp. extender

You can multiply this ratio for any amount. The secret to getting a mix you like is to mix and match within the categories, but keep the ratios the same.

So you might use 1/2 cup brown rice flour and 1 1/2 cups of teff flour, for a 2 c of a bodifier, etc.

You want to buy or make a mix that has at least 4 g protein in it per1 cup. So what you'd do is take the protein content of each ingredient you used, add them all together, and divide by the number of cups you get (usually 4 c to a pound).

Brown rice has more protein than white. Bean flours contain more protein than grain flours. You need this protein content in order for things like pie crust (and bread) to turn out properly (to fail less).

A lot of times a gluten-free recipe will call for gelatin or extra eggs to provide this protein. If you have enough protein in the flour itself, you can avoid adding extra ingredients.

Extenders... use 1/2 the amount of guar gum in the ratio, or you'll get a laxative effect.

Also, understand that you've got to use SOME guar or xanthan gum. Pectin or ground flaxseed alone won't cut it.

It's even more helpful to cook the flaxseed in a bit of water, to make a gel, and add it into the wet ingredients, if you decide to use it.

If you're buying a flour mix you also want to buy one that already has the extenders in it. Otherwise you're paying a huge mark-up for something you can make yourself for next to nothing. It's the xanthan gum and guar gum that's the costly ingredient and secret to great baking.

Your costly ingredients are (in order of cost): xanthan/guar gums; pectin; potato flour, specialty flours (like teff, sorghum, amaranth). If your mix doesn't contain one of these, once again, you're most likely paying a markup for something you could mix in bulk for yourself, quite cheaply.

Also shop around for different brands of flours. Some are grittier than others. Anything too gritty seems to have a cornmeal taste, no matter what you do.

Finally, my advice is to do a cost analysis of your flour mix. I've found that buying a good mix in bulk is usually equivalent to (at LEAST) or even cheaper than mixing it yourself. This is particularly true if you can buy it directly from the manufacturer.

[marjean]

I made banana bread using my grandmas recipe..Instead of the usual flour, I used Bobs Red Mill..It says to add xanthum gum to the flour. All the other ingredients stayed the same, and it came out great! Even my husband didnt see a difference.

[marjean]

Jenny,

I did use one, it was Bob's Red Mill Baking Flour, and it was really awful......it does have bean flours in it, though, which I don't like.

There is supposed to be an outstanding flour that you can use cup-for-cup - - Laura (Happy Girl on this forum) recommended it, you could pm her as I can't recall the name.....but it was really expensive for just one person who doesn't do a lot of baking, so I haven't tried it yet.

You just gotta try this banana bread, it was fluffy and outstanding! the blend of the white rice flour (I used Bob's) and the potato starch seemed to be the ticket. (This is really big news coming from a person who is a basic failure as a gluten-free baker )

I used Bobs Red Mill Baking flour, and mine turned out great. It says on the package to add xanthum gum. I used my grandmas recipe, and it was real moist. I also use Bobs in my pumpkin bars..they are great too, but man did they rise! Mustve been the xanthum gum!