Recipe: Chestnut Flour Banana Bread (Gluten & Dairy Free)

Recipe: Chestnut Flour Banana Bread (Gluten & Dairy Free)

This one is loved by most of the children who pass through our doors! Chestnut flour brings a wonderfully unique nutty taste and a boost of extra nutrients, plus it's naturally gluten and wheat free with no inflammatory dairy in sight. Our organic deodorised coconut oil steps in for butter — it's completely tasteless in the bake, while quietly packing in brain-fuelling MCT oil.

It's the kind of loaf you can feel genuinely good about putting in a lunchbox, sharing over a cup of tea, or keeping in the tin for whenever hunger strikes. Simple, wholesome ingredients, no refined sugar, and a beautiful golden finish — this banana bread never lasts long in our kitchen.

Ingredients

Makes 1 loaf (approx. 8 slices)

• 3 ripe bananas, mashed

• 3 medium eggs

• 200g chestnut flour

• 100g organic deodorised coconut oil, melted and cooled

• 2 tsp vanilla extract powder

• ¼ tsp ground cinnamon

• 1 tsp baking powder

• ½ tsp bicarbonate of soda

• Pinch of fine sea salt

• 1 extra ripe banana, halved lengthways (for decoration)

Method

1. Preheat your oven to 180°C (350°F / gas mark 4) and line a 2lb (900g) loaf tin with parchment paper.
2. In a large bowl, mash the three bananas until smooth, with just a few small lumps left for texture. Crack in the eggs and whisk lightly to combine, then pour in the melted coconut oil along with the vanilla extract powder and cinnamon, mixing until everything comes together.
3. Sift in the chestnut flour, baking powder, bicarbonate of soda and salt, then fold gently until you have a smooth, thick batter with no pockets of flour remaining.
4. Pour the batter into your lined tin and level off the top. Take your extra banana, halve it lengthways, and lay both halves cut-side up onto the batter for a beautiful bakery-style finish.
5. Bake for 45–50 minutes, until well risen and golden, and a skewer inserted into the centre comes out clean.
6. Leave the loaf in the tin for 10 minutes before transferring to a wire rack to cool completely — if you can wait that long!

A note on ingredients

Chestnut flour behaves much more like a regular flour than coconut flour, so this recipe doesn't need extra liquid to compensate — it bakes up moist and tender without any heaviness. As there's no added sugar, the sweetness comes entirely from the ripeness of your bananas, so the spottier and softer, the better.

Keeps well wrapped for up to 3 days, or slice and freeze for up to 2 months. It's especially delicious lightly toasted.