Updated in 2018! Gluten-free baking can be challenging enough. But take away the eggs and dairy, and you can definitely expect some monstrous kitchen disasters. Trust me … I’ve had many of them. So I can only imagine how many test loaves were churned out to create The Allergy-Free Cook Bakes Bread. All of the recipes in this simply laid out book are gluten-free, egg-free, dairy-free, soy-free, and vegan! And the first one I tried out was gluten-free vegan Chocolate Chip Banana Bread.
Now for the real question: is the bread any good? I’m happy to report that it is delicious! Based on the author’s flour guide, I made several flour substitutions to her gluten-free vegan chocolate chip banana bread recipe, and it still turned out beautifully.
If you have any experience with gluten-free baking, then you know there are like fifty-bajillion different gluten-free flours. I keep several on hand, but still didn’t have the exact ones for this recipe. Fortunately, Laurie makes substitutions easy in The Allergy-Free Cook Bakes Bread. I was able to churn out this delicious bread, and use up some fast-ripening bananas, without having to go to the store!
This gluten-free vegan chocolate chip banana bread turns out perfectly moist. In fact, it has a texture much like you would expect from any good, hearty banana quick bread. It is a heavy loaf that doesn’t rise a ton, but don’t let the weight fool you. This is still a nice dessert-like indulgence, not a nutritious door stop!
The flavor is just sweet enough, and the maple, banana and chocolate combo is divine. The gluten-free flours add some flavor nuances that are “different” (this isn’t wheat flour after all), but we really liked the variation. But don’t take my word for it – try the recipe below for yourself!
Special Diet Notes: Gluten-Free Vegan Chocolate Chip Banana Bread
By ingredients, this recipe is dairy-free / non-dairy, egg-free, gluten-free, nut-free, peanut-free, soy-free, vegan, and vegetarian.
- ¾ cup brown rice flour
- ½ cup buckwheat flour
- ¼ cup potato starch (or tapioca starch)
- 1 tablespoon ground flaxseed (I ground about 2 teaspoons of whole flaxseed in my spice grinder)
- 1½ teaspoons baking soda
- 1½ teaspoons xanthan gum (or guar gum for corn-free)
- 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
- ½ teaspoon salt
- ⅔ cup dairy-free semi-sweet chocolate chips
- 1½ cups mashed ripe banana (about 3 medium to large)
- ½ cup maple syrup
- 3 tablespoons oil (I used grapeseed, but feel free to use your favorite baking oil)
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 1 teaspoon apple cider vinegar (can sub white vinegar)
- Preheat your oven to 350ºF and grease and flour (I used a little brown rice flour) an 8 x 4-inch loaf pan.
- In a medium-sized bowl, whisk together the brown rice flour, buckwheat flour, starch, flaxseed, baking soda, xanthan gum, cinnamon, and salt. Stir in the chocolate chips.
- In a large mixing bowl, beat the banana, maple syrup, oil, vanilla, and vinegar with a hand mixer until relatively smooth. Stir in the dry ingredients until just combined.
- Scrape the batter into your prepared loaf pan (it will be thick), and smooth out the top.
- Bake for 45 to 55 minutes (mine was perfectly cooked at 50 minutes).
- Let the loaf cool for 10 minutes in the pan and then remove it to a cooling rack to cool completely before slicing.
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I was going to tell you I made this recipe today and how much I liked it when I reread the ingredients and realized I used sorghum flour, a mixture of millet and teff, arrowroot, glucomannan instead of xanthan gum and twice as much cinnamon, not to mention that it seemed sweet enough to me so I added shredded coconut instead of chocolate chips.
It was absolutely delicious so thanks for highlighting the book and making me bake.
P.S. The maple syrup really puts this recipe over the top. Great idea.