Originally published on Pittsburgh Magazine
Spring’s brief tenure is passing quickly and with fans ushering air and blinds religiously drawn with the sun, I am trying to salvage the final days of cool ambient temperature in my home. With the mercury rising this week, I know this fleeting respite of non-HVAC-assisted comfort that spring gifts us with are coming to an end.
This week, along with my jeans and everything deemed sartorially snug, my oven is making its last salvo for the season.
With all the windows open, all the fans running, I fire up my oven and prepare a succession of favorites that I know I’ll crave but not have the will to make when the heat is on.
This Chocolate Banana Bread is one of them. One of my favorite quickbread recipes, it’s a soft, chocolatey and cakey treat so good that I’ve never known the lifespan of a loaf to last more than a day.
Chocolate Banana Bread
From Whole Life Nutrition Kitchen, with adaptations
Gluten-free, Vegan
Dry Ingredients:
1 ¾ cup teff flour (I use a combination of whatever fine gluten-free flours I have – teff, amaranth, brown rice, sorghum)
¼ cup arrowroot
6 tablespoons cocoa powder (I like Penzey’s high fat cocoa)
2 teaspoons baking powder
1 teaspoon baking soda
½ teaspoon sea salt
Wet Ingredients:
2 tablespoons ground chia seeds (I often do not bother to grind them)
¼ cup warm water
1 ½ cups mashed banana (about 4 large ripe bananas)
¾ cup coconut sugar or Sucanat
½ cup melted coconut oil
1 tablespoon sunflower butter*
1 tsp. apple cider vinegar*
½ cup rice milk (or any alternative milk)*
2 teaspoons vanilla
Optional Additions:
chocolate chips (I like the Enjoy Life brand)
chopped walnuts or pecans
*If you are not vegan, you can omit these ingredients and substitute with 2 eggs, as the original recipe calls for.
Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Grease two 4.5 x 8.5-inch bread pans with coconut oil.
In a small bowl, mix 1 tsp. apple cider vinegar and ½ cup rice milk and let it curdle.
In another bowl, soak the chia seeds in ¼ cup warm water, whisk to combine well. If using whole seeds, set aside and let it gel. If using ground seeds, mix with the wet ingredients.
In a large bowl whisk together the dry ingredients.
Whisk together all the wet ingredients. Pour the wet ingredients into the dry and mix together using a large wooden spoon.
Pour batter into the two bread pans. Bake for about 35 to 40 minutes. Cool for about 20 minutes and then remove bread from pans and continue to cool on a wire rack.