Banana Bread I Want in My Face at All Times

I haven't had many chances to bake since doing the Whole30 and eating mostly Paleo since then (meaning no grains, no sugar, no dairy, and no legumes). But as the weather cools off and the nights come earlier and earlier I crave the kind of warmth that only baking can provide.

If it isn't obvious enough from the decidedly unsexy shots of this leftover banana bread in tin foil, I wasn't planning on sharing this recipe. But it is too good not to share. This recipe is significantly modified from Molly Wizenberg's banana bread recipe in her New York Times bestselling memoir A Homemade Life. So if you use this recipe please go buy the book too – you'll thank yourself for it. Furthermore, this recipe isn't paleo and it isn't vegan. But it is gluten-free and blow-your-mind delicious. I took out the extra sugar – I think it's sweet enough from the banana, chocolate, and ginger. So if you like super sweet banana bread this recipe may not be for you.

Gluten-Free Banana Bread with Crystallized Ginger and Dark Chocolate 
6 tablespoons coconut oil 
1 1/2 cups quinoa flour
1/4 cup hazelnut flour
1/4 cup coconut flour
3/4 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 bar of 85% dark chocolate - chopped 
1/2 cup crystallized ginger - chopped
2 large eggs
3 large ripe bananas
1/4 cup Greek yogurt
1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Preheat your oven to 350F. Melt your coconut oil (I do it over the stove in a small pan). Meanwhile mix your dry ingredients (flour, baking soda, salt, chocolate and ginger) in a bowl with a fork. Throw all your wet ingredients (eggs, bananas, yogurt and vanilla) in a mixing bowl. I use a Kitchen Aid mixer but you can use a hand mixer as well. Mix your wet ingredients until combined. Then slowly add the dry ingredients to it until just combined - don't overmix. Scrape the batter in a greased loaf pan and bake for 50 minutes. If the bread starts to get too brown on top just cover with tin foil. Let it cool in the pan on a wire rack for 5 minutes – then gently remove the loaf and let cool on its own. Because this recipe doesn't have gluten holding it all together be careful – the loaf is a little more crumbly than your conventional banana bread.

I love this bread fresh out of the oven but Jeremy prefers it cooled from the fridge. Try it both ways and determine which is your favorite.

Enjoy!