📖 Instructions

1. Alright, let's get this banana bread baking! First things first, fire up that oven to 350°F (175°C). Trust me, a preheated oven is key to even baking. While it's heating up, go ahead and grease a loaf pan. I like to use a little baking spray and then line it with parchment paper, leaving some overhang. This way, you can just lift the banana bread right out when it's done.
2. Now, grab your largest mixing bowl. In it, whisk together your gluten-free flour blend, baking soda, salt, and cinnamon. Give it a good mix to make sure everything's evenly distributed. This helps avoid those weird pockets of baking soda, you know?
3. In a separate bowl, mash those ripe bananas until they're nice and smooth. Seriously, the riper the better! Those overly ripe bananas will give your bread an amazing sweetness and moistness. Next, whisk in the melted coconut oil (or butter, if you prefer), brown sugar, eggs, and vanilla extract. Mix it all up until it's well combined.
4. Pour the wet ingredients into the dry ingredients and gently fold everything together with a spatula. Don't overmix! Overmixing can lead to a tough, dense bread. Just mix until the flour disappears. If you want to add any mix-ins like chocolate chips or walnuts, now's the time. I love adding chocolate chunks, personally.
5. Pour the batter into your prepared loaf pan and spread it out evenly. Now for the fun part: sprinkle those sea salt flakes on top! Don't be shy; they add a delicious salty-sweet contrast. I like to use Maldon sea salt flakes, but any coarse sea salt will do.
6. Pop the loaf pan into the preheated oven and bake for 55-65 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean. Keep an eye on it towards the end – every oven is different. If the top starts to get too dark, you can loosely tent it with foil.
7. Once it's done, take the banana bread out of the oven and let it cool in the pan for about 10 minutes before transferring it to a wire rack to cool completely. Trust me, the aroma is gonna drive you wild! Resist the urge to slice into it right away; it needs to cool down a bit to set properly.
8. Once it's cooled (or at least mostly cooled, who am I kidding?), slice it up and enjoy! This gluten-free banana bread is amazing on its own, but it's also fantastic with a little smear of butter or a dollop of whipped cream. I hope you love it as much as I do!