Well, firstly, in the interests of full disclosure, it’s an absolute cheat to call this “bread” just because it’s baked in a loaf tin. Make no mistake, for this is CAKE.

I recently – and undoubtedly temporarily – gave in to the sure knowledge that wheat is not my friend. I’ve known for many years but, y’know, wheat is in, like, cake. Delicious cake. And bread. And pasta. And tortilla wraps. And pitta. And pretty much everything I love. In order to soften the blow, I have embarked upon experiments with wheat-free flour to see whether I can still make delicious treats whilst respecting what my body is trying to tell me. As my first stop on this particular adventure, I chose something quite high in richness and flavours derived from ingredients other than the flour: banana and chocolate bread (cake).

175g unsalted butter
175g sugar, sifted (roughly half soft light brown, half golden caster)
2 large eggs (from happy chickens)
1tsp vanilla extract
175g gluten-free plain white flour, sifted
1.5tsp baking powder
pinch salt
2 old bananas, peeled and mushed
175g dark chocolate, finely chopped

Banana & Chocolate Bread – kit form

Preheat the oven to 170C and line a loaf tin with a strip of baking paper.

This is the flour I used, which I bought from Tesco’s for £1.70 (1kg). It’s a carefully calculated combination of rice, potato, tapioca, maize and buckwheat (which, in the same way that chickpeas do not contain chicks, does not contain wheat).

Banana & Chocolate Bread – gluten-free flour

So, pretty standard method. Beat butter and sugar until pale and fluffy. In a mug/jug, use a fork to break up the eggs and vanilla extract. Add to butter mix one tablespoon at a time, beating between each addition. As you approach the end of the egg, chuck in a bit of flour to prevent it splitting as you beat. Sift in the rest of the flour, baking powder and salt, and beat until just combined. Gently stir in the mushed banana and chopped chocolate. Load the mixture into the lined tin, chuck it in the oven for an hour (it might need a little longer – check it with a skewer). Have a peek at it about half-way through baking and loosely lay a bit of foil over the top to stop it colouring too enthusiastically.

Banana & Chocolate Bread – cake mixture

Banana & Chocolate Bread – chopped chocolate

Banana & Chocolate Bread – mashed banana

Banana & Chocolate Bread – oven-ready

Banana & Chocolate Bread – baked

I’m delighted to report that the difference between this and its wheat-rich sibling is negligible.  Well worth a bash.  Yum.

Banana & Chocolate Bread