Brown Crock Baker: Set the Gluten Free!

GF Banana Blueberry Bread

Welcome to the first edition of Gluten Free Friday here at the Brown Crock Baker. Let me start by saying I am in no way an expert, or even a novice, in the ways of a gluten free lifestyle. I literally swim in gluten. It's a well known fact that if I've been baking, I can hide it from no one. I am generally covered in flour. And at any given time, most surfaces in my kitchen are covered in it as well. So, gluten free is definitely new to me.

And no, as far as I know, there's no one here in my immediate little world who is gluten intolerant or trying to live the gluten free lifestyle either. So what's my motivation for embarking on my gluten free education and baking adventures. First, I know that there are many of you out there who do have medical or personal reasons for eating gluten free diets and I want to provide alternatives, information and entertainment for you as well. Second, I love a challenge! And learning to bake gluten free cookies, cakes, muffins, biscuits and breads sounds like a challenge to me.

My goal here is not to be any kind of "gluten free" expert. I wouldn't slice up this bread and serve it to anyone claiming it's gluten free. All the ingredients are gluten free, but if there was a Geiger counter for gluten, it would be ticking like crazy in my kitchen. To make sure foods you produce in your home kitchen are gluten free takes preparation and planning. Check out some of these resources for information on how to set up a gluten free home kitchen. http://www.celiaccentral.org/gluten-free-food/keeping-a-safe-gluten-free-kitchen/ and http://www.cookinglight.com/food/recipe-finder/gluten-free-kitchen-00412000075547/ .

What I hope to do is bring delicious baked items to you using tested recipes with gluten free products. I will work to identify what I feel are the best products, ingredients and techniques to produce all the tasty things I love without the gluten.

How did I decide on this Banana Blueberry bread as the first edition for GF Fridays? In starting my research there are lots of suggestions for types of baked goods to start with when just beginning to go gluten free. Cookies, brownies and quick breads seem to be some of the items that are easiest to work with.

As I've noted in previous posts here, I often look around the kitchen to see what might need to be used and this time it was bananas. How fitting since I'm headed to the land of Elvis with Darlin' Mark next week. As we know, the King loved bananas. But don't look for peanut butter in this recipe. There shall be none. Let it be known, I do not cook with peanut butter. An ugly kindergarten incident with a peanut butter cookie scarred me for life and peanut butter combined with anything sweet shall never cross my lips! Sorry, I was briefly distracted by a horrible childhood memory there. On to the GF Banana Blueberry Bread.

I used Namaste Gluten Free Perfect Flour Blend for this recipe because it was the only one I could find in my rather limited grocery options here in the scenic Birdseye area. They had a recipe on the package for banana bread and I adapted this recipe from that.

I think it's pretty darned good. It looks, smells and tastes like banana blueberry bread. I'm not judging things based on how they taste for a gluten free product, because I don't know what gluten free usually tastes like. The only things I can tell you about this bread when comparing it to other banana breads I've made, it's not as heavy and dense. A little lighter texture. It's not as sweet, maybe because the natural sugars present in wheat flours aren't there. It is very moist and very tasty. I think you could serve it to anyone and they'd never know it's gluten free. Which is really what I'm hoping to accomplish with these recipes.

The original recipe was banana bread only. I added blueberries because I like them and had some. No other real reason. I also decided right before mixing it up that I wanted to add cinnamon and nutmeg. This is why you won't find these ingredients in the little group photo shot. I think it was a good decision. I think the bread could have been a little bland without them. The recipe also specifies to sift the baking mix, soda and salt. Don't skip this step. The baking mix is very heavy and almost clumped from the container and I don't think would give you a consistent or well mixed batter without sifting. Also keep in mind if you are unsure if any ingredients are gluten free, check the labels. Check this link for a comprehensive listing of the gluten status of tons of foods as well, http://celiacdisease.about.com/od/glutenfreefoodshoppin1/ss/Gluten-Free-Food-List.htm

Other than those few things, it was really a very straightforward and simple recipe, like most quick breads. You combine the wet ingredients, you combine the dry and you fold them together and bake. I did have a little anxiety when trying to determine if the bread was done, since it seems the hot loaf is a little "gummy" appearing when you try the toothpick test. So I just baked it for the 65 minutes on the recipe and it turned out fine.

Don't forget the cinnamon and nutmeg

GF Banana Blueberry Bread (makes 1 9x5 loaf)

Ingredients

2 Cups Gluten Free Perfect Flour Blend
1 Tsp Baking Soda
1 Tsp Ground Cinnamon
1/4 Tsp Ground Nutmeg
1/8 Tsp Salt
1/2 Cup Canola Oil
3/4 Cup Granulated Sugar
1/4 Cup Brown Sugar, Packed
2 Large Eggs
3 Ripe Bananas, Mashed
1 Tsp Vanilla Extract, Gluten Free
1/2 Cup Chopped Walnuts
1/2 Cup Whole Fresh or Frozen Blueberries
1 Tbsp Raw Sugar for Sprinkling

Process

Preheat oven to 325 degrees, lightly spray loaf pan with non-stick spray

In a medium mixing bowl, sift together flour blend, soda, cinnamon, nutmeg and salt.