Best EVER Banana Bread

 I have a problem....and it's name is gluten. No, I don't have Celiac, however my roommate does and my mother is on some sort of Paleo-esque diet hoping to remedy her adrenal fatigue...
...easy to say that the baker in me has her hands full!

Look; it's smiling!

But despite having my taste buds revolt against some of the God-awful experiments I've turned out, I finally found one recipe that they appreciate -- a Gluten-Free Paleo-Friendly Cinnamon Banana Bread! You wouldn't expect me to have the sense to come up with one of these all on my own...but lo and behold, I have!

Actually, I owe 99.9% of this recipe's success to Sally at Sally's Baking Addiction: the woman is a genius. 'Nuff said, hands down; whatever you want to call it, I definitely have to give her the credit for the standard recipe. I modified it, I did, but there's no way intuition would have guided me hrough without her measurements! I love her blog too because she is careful to list the weight of the ingredients in grams; the incorporation of weighted measurements has made a world of a difference in my baking. I was shocked to discover how off my cup only measurements could be - even when I spooned the flour in, it could be a third more than it should have been! Seriously; if you're a real foodie baker at heart, invest in a kitchen scale. They have them everywhere (I got mine at Tuesday Morning for about $14): here are some from Walmart.com. Don't pay more than $20; really you shouldn't have to. 

*Ahem* now without further ado, here's the recipe!

Ingredients:

BANANA BREAD

• 2 cups (250g) gluten-free flour blend (I used 140g Bob's All-Purpose Gluten-Free Baking Flour and 110g Bob's Organic Coconut Flour) - Wheat flours are fine of course!
• 1 teaspoon xanthan gum (omit if your flour blend already has, or you're using wheat)
• 3/4 teaspoon baking soda
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
• 1/2 teaspoon ground cloves
• Pinch of cayenne pepper
• 1/2 cup (100g) light brown sugar, not packed
• 4 Tablespoons (60g) unsalted butter, softened (I used Kerrygold)
• 2 large eggs
• 3-4 Bananas (I used 4 average/small, but you can get away with 3 if they're big...though why you'd want to get away with less is beyond me... 
• 1/3 cup (80g) yogurt (I used plain greek yogurt, but I'm sure a flavored one would be lovely!)
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 1/2 teaspoon butter extract

Cinnamon Swirl

• 1/4 cup (50g) granulated sugar (I didn't actually scale this)
• 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
• 1 Tablespoon unsalted butter

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 350F. Spray a 9×5-inch loaf pan with cooking spray. Set aside.
2. In a medium bowl, whisk together the flour, baking soda, salt, and spices. Set aside. In a separate large bowl, beat the brown sugar and butter with a stand (I have a KitchenAid) or handheld mixer on medium speed until well blended – about 1 minute. Add the eggs one at a time, beating well after each addition. With a wooden spoon, stir in the mashed banana, yogurt, and vanilla. Slowly add in the dry ingredients. Do NOT overmix. "Batter" will be thick, and by thick, we mean more of a dough (like cookies) than batter. This is what makes the bread dense and moist - don't give into the scared little devil trying to get you to add more liquid!
3. Spoon and spread (it's very thick, after all) half of the batter into prepared loaf pan. With your fingers, flake the 1 Tablespoon of butter into the cinnamon and sugar until well combined. Spread the ingredients onto the layer of batter in the pan. Top with remaining batter. Bake for 40-45 minutes or until a wooden pick inserted in center comes out clean. Cool 15 minutes in the pan on a wire rack. Remove from pan and cool completely on the wire rack.
4. Top with frosting, glaze, or accompaniment of your choice....and CONSUME! (Ideally you'd get 14-16 slices out of this, but I won't hold it against you if you just tip the whole thing back into your mouth for a big ol' princess bite...). I didn't make the glaze that Sally has on her website, but I'm sure it would be divine! I like to have mine with Nutella or Peanut butter...or warm with a little ice cream/custard...