hello, babycakes!

My family recently decided to dip a toe into the icy waters of gluten-free eating.

I know you don't know me that well yet, but you may have already guessed at my level of enthusiasm for such an endeavor - I mean really, I've only just begun to welcome dairy back into my daily life, and now we're giving up wheat? Need I remind you that wheat, not unlike butter, factors prominently in practically everything that is delicious in my diet?

Thankfully I am not the beer drinker in my family, so all is not lost.

Still, I do adore baking (as a noun as well as a verb) and I have not had very many experiences with gluten-free baked goods that I would describe as palatable, let alone tasty.

At least I hadn't before yesterday.

The above is a photo of my first ever attempt at gluten-free baking, and it was nothing short of spectacular. Honestly. Not heavy and crumbly, not dry, not a tiny little sorry excuse for a loaf, but a lovely, treaty, moist, tasty banana bread. I am paying the highest possible compliment when I say that it didn't taste healthy at all.

The recipe came from the BabyCakes cookbook. The book's author, Erin McKenna, is a little militant in her insistence that you follow her directions to the letter, which was a bit of a challenge for me as I have a pathological need to fiddle with recipes. So I did fiddle with this one, but barely at all.

And I'm lucky I got that photo when I did, because minutes later the plate was empty.

I wouldn't call our foray into the world of the gluten-free a full-on conversion just yet, but if we ever do turn our backs on wheat entirely, baking like this will definitely ease the withdrawl pangs.

Banana Chocolate Chip Bread
adapted from BabyCakes

Where we live, it is cool enough that my coconut oil was solid in its container, so I warmed it in a saucepan set over low heat before using. Also, Erin McKenna insists that ALL ingredients must be measured using dry ingredient measuring cups (not the glass ones with the spouts), so that's what I did.

2 c Bob's Red Mill Gluten Free All-Purpose Baking Flour
2 tsp baking powder
2 tsp baking soda
1 tsp xanthan gum
1 tsp salt (optional - I didn't use any)
1 tsp ground cinnamon
1/2 c coconut oil, plus more for the pan
2/3 c agave nectar
2/3 c milk (Babycakes calls for rice milk, but I used regular old skim milk, because that's what I had)
1 tsp vanilla
3 mashed organic bananas (about 1 1/2 cups)
1 c chocolate chips

Preheat oven to 325 degrees.

Using coconut oil, lightly grease a loaf pan - mine is an old Pyrex one, measuring 8.5" X 5.5" X 2.5".

In a medium bowl, whisk together flour, baking powder, baking soda, xantham gum, salt (if using) and cinnamon.

In a large glass measuring cup or jug, whisk together coconut oil, agave nectar, milk, and vanilla. Add to dry ingredients and stir until batter is smooth. Gently fold in bananas and chocolate chips until they are evenly distributed throughout the batter.

Pour batter into prepared pan and bake in the centre of the oven for 55-60 minutes, turning pan 180 degrees halfway through cooking time. If the top of the loaf begins to darken before the middle is cooked (as happened to me), cover loosely with foil for the remainder of the cooking time.

Bread is cooked when a tester inserted into the centre comes out mostly clean.

Cool 20 minutes in pan, then run a knife around the edge of the bread and gently invert onto a cutting board. Lift the pan away, and then re-invert the bread onto another board. Cool completely before storing, or cut and serve warm.