San Bei Ji

I have been on a quest to learn how to create delicious gluten-free banana bread, and this is my favorite recipe so far. This is my modified creation based on the cup4cup recipe.

Ingredients

• 2 cups gluten-free flour. (I use Cup4Cup multipurpose flour).
• ¾ teaspoon baking soda
• ½ teaspoon salt
• ¼ teaspoon ground cinnamon
• ½ cup granulated sugar*
• ¼ cup honey that you got as a gift last winter and never opened*
• ¼ cup maple syrup*
• 1 tablespoon raw sugar (the crunchy stuff—I usually grab a couple of packets from Peet’s Coffee with my traditional cappuccino order—more than enough.)
• 2 eggs
• ⅓ cup very soft or melted butter
• 4 absolutely overripe bananas that look like they’re about to start a new civilization in your fruit bowl
• ⅓ cup buttermilk
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 1 cup raisins (go on, hate me, I don’t care.)

* You can substitute 1 cup of sugar and skip the honey and maple syrup.

Steps to Greatness

1. Preheat the oven to 350°F.
2. Grease a loaf-shaped bread pan. Use butter if you’re civilized.
3. Whisk together the flour, baking soda, salt, and cinnamon and set it aside.
4. In a separate bowl, whisk the eggs and sugar vigorously for 5 minutes until the mixture is pale and airy. Yes, your arm will hurt. Yes, it’s worth it.
5. Add the butter, mashed banana, buttermilk and vanilla and whisk until thoroughly combined.
6. Add the flour to the egg and banana mixture. Stir until the flour is just incorporated. We want lumpy and thick, not a smooth soup.
7. Ever so lovingly and gently add in the raisins. Kiss them goodnight.
8. Pour batter into the prepared loaf pan and spread it out until it is even and relatively flat on top.
9. Sprinkle the raw sugar evenly across the top.
10. Bake for 45 minutes, then drop the temp to 300ºF for a final 15-minute stretch. This ensures a deep golden crust without a raw middle.
11. Let it mostly cool down before slicing. Slightly warm is fine because let’s face it, you can’t wait because your whole house now smells like amazing banana bread.

I usually carve up the loaf into 1.5cm slices, wrap them in cellophane, and freeze them. Then when I take them out of the freezer, I toast them and they come out perfect.

Why this works

The biggest challenge with gluten-free baking is the “brick” effect—that dense, dry loaf that crumbles into sadness the moment you slice it. This recipe attempts to solve that problem by using the combination of liquid sweeteners. By mixing standard sugar with maple syrup and honey, you’re doing more than just adding flavor; these liquid sugars act as natural humectants, which means they actually bond with moisture and keep it trapped inside the bread long after it leaves the oven. You can substitute granulated sugar for the honey and syrup for a drier loaf, or play around with the ratios of sweeteners to get the right balance of flavor and texture that fits your tastes.

The reaction between the buttermilk and the baking soda creates an airy boost, while the high fat content from the butter and milk ensures a tender mouthfeel that gluten-free flours usually lack. Finally, the double-bake temperature method is similar to how I cook some roasts on the barbecue: By starting hot and then dropping the temperature mid-way through, you allow the interior of this moisture-heavy loaf to set completely without burning that beautiful crust.

Good luck, and let me know your results!