Gluten-Free Almond Flour Banana Loaf

I have been dipping my toes into the world of gluten-free and wheat-free and trying some recipes using almond flour, or almond meal.  This gluten-free almond flour banana loaf is my first attenmpt at altering a given recipe, and it is baking in the oven, smelling wonderful as I type this post.

I have been experimenting with eliminating wheat from my diet this past week.... after reading a book called WHEAT BELLY, written by a cardiologist named William Davis, that really spoke to me.  I won't go into all the details but there was enough of  'me' in that book to give up wheat, at least on a trial basis.

I have been looking at wheat-free and gluten-free recipes on the internet and today went searching for a banana bread recipe.  I found some ripe bananas on sale this morning at a local market for 39 cents a pound and couldn't resist buying a few.

The banana bread recipe I found is on a blog called Comfy Belly.  I read through the ingredients, and found that I had most of them in my cupboard, or good substitutions.  And, I read all the reviews, too.  Do you do that when you are thinking of trying a new or unusual recipe?  I always like to see what other people have to say about it... which is why it is so nice for you to comment on my recipes if you have tried them.

Anyway, I didn't want the sugar in the syrup it called for, and I wanted a bit less fat... so I am going to give you the recipe as I made it up, but do check out Comfy Belly.  There are lots of great ideas there and it is nicely organized and presented, too.

Gluten-Free Almond-Flour Banana Loaf

• 2 Tbs sugar free syrup
• 2 Tbs coconut oil, melted
• 2 eggs
• 2 ripe bananas, mashed
• 2-1/2 cups almond flour
• dash of salt
• 1/2 tsp baking soda
• 1/2 cup dark chocolate chips

1. Preheat the oven to 310° F.
2. Line a loaf pan with parchment paper and coat with non-stick spray.
3. Peel the bananas and mash them in a large bowl.
4. Add the eggs to the bananas and beat with a spoon till frothy.
5. Add the syrup and oil to the banana mixture and stir till combined.
6. Mix the almond flour, salt, and baking soda together in another large bowl. Set aside a few of the chocolate chips for topping and then stir the remainder into the dry ingredients.
7. Pour the wet ingredients into the dry and mix well.
8. Pour the batter into the prepared loaf pan and spread it evenly.
9. Then sprinkle the reserved chocolated chips over the top.
10. Bake for 45 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the centre comes out clean.
11. Let cool in pan for a bout 20 minutes, then turn out and let cool completely before slicing.

The whole recipe has an intimidating N.I. when viewed with the eye of a Weight Watcher:
2181 Calories; Protein 75g; Carbohydrate 113g; Fat 179g; Fibre 35g.  That is a whopping 62 P+!

But, taking a deep breath, I realize that the number of P+ per serving is going to depend upon how many slices are cut.

Here are a couple examples to guide you.

Each of 16 slices:
136 Calories; Protein 5g; Carbohydrate 7g; Fat 11g; Fibre 2g.
WW P+ = 4.

Each of 12 slices:
182 Calories; Protein 6g; Carbohydrate 9g; Fat 15g; Fibre 3g.
WW P+ = 5.

So it is up to me and to you as to how many P+ we need to budget for this treat.

After taking the loaf out of the oven and letting it rest in its pan for the full 20 minutes... I had to go for a little walk... I lifted the edges of the parchment paper and it came right out of the pan.  What a good idea that is...  and after cutting it in half and then those in half again, I realized that 1/16th would be a generous treat. 

Naturally I shared with The Captain and we both ended up eating 2 of them each while they were still warm.  Lovely!  And no sugary 'let's eat the whole thing' cravings ensued.  Hurray!

The rest went into the freezer for another day... but you can bet I will be making this again and doing some more tinkering with the recipe and ingredients to add berries and perhaps some nuts.

Mash bananas in a large bowl.

Add eggs and beat till frothy, then add the rest of the wet inredients and mix well.

Combine the dry ingredients, setting aside a few chocolate chips for the top.

Pour the wet ingredients into the dry and mix well.

Place batter into prepared loaf pan and sprinkle the reserved chocolate chips over the top.

Bake for 45 minutes... the kitchen smelled wonderful!

Let the loaf rest for 20 minutes in the pan, then remove to cooling rack and allow to cool a bit longer to make it easier to slice... if you can wait!

It is soft and crumbly and a bit hard to slice while still warm.

I like the outside edge the best!  I am a big crust fan.  So tasty, but not too sweet.

Printable Recipe

Have you baked with almond flour or almond meal?  Any good tips or ideas to pass along?