Vegan, gluten-free banana bread

Ever since going gluten free, it’s been my mission to master gluten-free baking. I’ve been used to baking vegan goodies for quite some time now, but making them gluten-free as well is a whole other monster-of-a challenge I had been too scared to attempt. But when my parents’ overabundance of bananas in the freezer led to an eager request for banana bread, I thought this would be the perfect opportunity for me to make it “Mandy-friendly.” Since my parents had accumulated enough frozen bananas to make a zoo of monkeys go wild, I figured I had enough to make a loaf for me and hubby to share too.

I ground my own oat flour from organic steel-cut oats, and I also proudly used, for the first time, aquafaba. Yep, that’s right, aquafaba. Nope, it’s not a mysterious blue substance. It actually means “bean water,” and it is exactly that. It’s the liquid leftover from a can of beans, usually chickpeas. So next time you open that can of garbanzos, don’t toss that viscous liquid down the drain! Its protein properties mimic that of egg whites, and can be used in place of eggs in any baked good, even meringue! It’s amazing!

Hubby left the house to run some errands and came home to find me wizardly in the kitchen. I inadvertently surrounded myself in a slew mixing bowls, a dirty food processor, countless measuring cups and spoons, spatulas, baking pans, and oats all over the floor. But it was so worth it! – two sweet loaves of homemade goodness, one with chocolate chips and one without (my dad LOVES chocolate, so I dumped a good amount of 70% cacao chocolate chips into his loaf). I cleaned up my baking

So when that timer went off, you bet I was beyond excited to pull those loaves out of the oven! In fact, I was so enthusiastic, that in the midst of grabbing my dad’s chocolate chip loaf, my oven mitts lots grip on the pan and it flew right out of my hands, face-down onto my kitchen floor! WHY!?! After I let out a loud screech, hubby came running to my rescue and I just stood there in disbelief. Moments ago, it was the most perfectly browned loaf of bread, and now it was a steaming hot pile mush on my floor. My heart ached. But, since it was all in one confined area, I was able to scoop it onto a plate in large pieces with a spatula. It wasn’t pretty, but it was delicious. Sinfully delicious! So while my banana bread literally flopped on the floor, my gluten-free, vegan, aquafaba venture wasn’t a total failure! Hubby and I went to town on both loaves, still leaving enough of the chocolate chip one for my parents.

Here’s my recipe for my amazing banana bread! This recipe makes two loaves, so feel free to cut it in half, if you only want to make a single batch…..but who wouldn’t want more banana bread!?

9 very ripe bananas, mashed with a fork

1 cup dates, reconstituted in a bowl of warm water

4 ½ cups oat flour**

2 ½ tsp. baking powder

1 ½ tsp. baking soda

2 ½ tsp. cinnamon

½ tsp. salt

4 Tbps. aquafaba

2 tsp. vanilla extract

½ cup almond milk

1 cup 70% cocao chocolate chips, optional

coconut oil, for greasing the pans

**If making your own oat flour, process 4 ½ cups steel-cut oats in the food processor until pulverized into a semi-fine/coarse flour. The longer you blend it, the finer the flour the oats will grind into.

Preheat the oven to 350 F and grease two loaf pans with room-temperature coconut oil.

In a large bowl, mix the oat flour, baking powder, baking soda, cinnamon, and salt with a whisk. Set aside while you prepare the wet ingredients. In a large food processor or blender, combine the mashed bananas, almond milk, aquafaba, vanilla extract, and dates (drained of their liquid if you had them sitting in a bowl of warm water). Process until all the ingredients are thoroughly combined. Slowly fold in the wet ingredients into the dry ingredients, and gently mix until thoroughly combined. If you are using chocolate chips, gently fold them into the batter now. Divide the batter into two equal parts amongst the prepared loaf pans. Bake for 1 hour, or until the bread begins to slightly brown at the top and a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean. Allow to cool before transferring onto a plate to serve.