This gluten- and lactose-free banana bread is a very soft, moist loaf cake made with banana purée that releases a delightful aroma. Besides containing no gluten, lactose or milk proteins, it is made with natural leavening agents such as cream of tartar and baking soda. It’s a very, very easy and indulgent recipe—perfect for breakfast or an afternoon snack. It pairs wonderfully with coffee, hot chocolate and more.
- Difficulty: Very easy
- Cost: Inexpensive
- Preparation time: 10 Minutes
- Cooking time: 25 Minutes
- Portions: 12
- Cooking methods: Oven
- Cuisine: Italian
- Seasonality: All seasons
Ingredients
- 2 bananas (in my case they weighed 245 g (about 8.6 oz), peeled)
- 275 g rice flour (about 1 3/4 cups)
- 25 g potato starch (about 3 tbsp)
- 75 ml sunflower seed oil (about 5 tbsp (about 2.5 fl oz))
- 90 g granulated sugar (about 1/2 cup)
- 3 medium whole eggs
- 8 g cream of tartar (about 1 3/4 tsp)
- 4 g baking soda (about 3/4 tsp)
- pinch fine salt
- q.b. grated lemon zest
- 15 ml lemon juice (enhances the flavor and aroma of the bananas (about 1 tbsp))
- 1 pinch ground cinnamon
Steps
Finely grate the zest of one lemon that has already been washed and dried.
Squeeze the juice of half a lemon, take one heaping tablespoon of it and pour it into the bowl where you will mash the bananas with a fork until they turn into a purée.
Mix the banana purée well with the lemon juice (orange juice works as well).
Preheat the oven to 347°F.
Grease and lightly dust with rice flour a loaf pan about 27 or 30 cm long (about 10½ or 12 in maximum length).
In a mixing bowl, sift in, one after the other, the rice flour, potato starch, cream of tartar and baking soda—already measured in advance.
Add the sugar, grated lemon zest, banana purée, whole eggs, cinnamon, oil, a pinch of salt and beat with electric beaters (you can also use a manual whisk) just until all the ingredients are combined and you obtain a smooth, homogeneous batter (one minute is more than enough).
Immediately pour the batter into the pan, gently tap it on the counter to distribute it evenly and bake in the preheated oven on the middle rack for 20–25 minutes (baking times may vary depending on the oven).
After the time is up, insert a long skewer into the banana bread—it should come out dry (don’t do like me and open the oven too early thinking it’s already done, which made it sink slightly in the center, though thankfully without ruining texture or flavor).
Remove the gluten- and lactose-free banana bread from the oven and let it cool for about twenty minutes, then unmold it to finish cooling completely. Finally, you can dust it with powdered sugar or enjoy it plain.
