Oat Flour Banana Bread (Gluten Free)

A super delicious and easy oat flour banana bread that's naturally gluten free and delicately fluffy. Solely made using milled oatmeal in a blender for extra fibre with a hint of cinnamon and honey.

Please note, always use gluten free certified oats if needed as some are contaminated during the manufacturer's process.

Over the past few weeks, I've been trying to create the best banana bread made with oat flour. It's taken me 3 banana bread attempts to get the fruit and flour ratios just how I want it.

My first one had too much milk and bananas in and took 2 hours to bake until I gave up with a cake tester. This would have been great for oat flour banana pancakes, though!

I then played around with a quick bread, which was better, but still stodgy. In fact, every banana bread recipe I've ever followed has come out partially stodgy with a raw middle. But because it's a delicious and a great way to use up ripe bananas, I wasn't going to let it beat me.

Equipment Used for Oat Flour Banana Loaf

So, I'm finally going to share with you the most delicious oatmeal flour banana bread. It has a delicious cinnamon and honey flavour throughout, too. Firstly, here's what I use to make it:

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• Kitchen aid or mixing bowl and whisk
• Sieve
• Measuring spoons
• Weighing scales if not using:
• Measuring cups
• Potato masher
• 2lb loaf tin - or try a 20cm round cake tin for a gluten free banana cake
• 2lb loaf liner
• Spatula
• Cake skewer
• Blender to mill oats to oat flour, which takes a minute

How to Make Banana Bread With Oat Flour

You'll find a full list of ingredients for my banana oat bread (no flour) recipe towards the bottom of this page by clicking below. I have weighed and measured everything in cups and grams so everyone can make it, even without kitchen scales.

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But, in a nutshell, here's my step by steps:

• Preheat your oven
• Butter and line a 2lb loaf tin
• Cream the sugar, honey, and butter
• Whisk in the eggs
• Fold in the flour, baking powder, and mashed bananas
• Transfer to the oat flour cake mix batter into the tin
• Bake for 50 minutes to 1 hour
• Test the banana and oat loaf with a skewer
• Remove from the oven, cool turn out on a cooling rack

What Is Oat Flour?

If you're new to baking banana bread with oats flour, it is a whole grain flour, milled straight from oats. It's much lighter than traditional flour, so when substituting, it should be done by weight, not volume (cups).

If you're new to baking with oat flour, it is a whole grain flour, milled straight from oats. It's much lighter than traditional flour, so when substituting, it should be done by weight, not volume (cups).

Is Oat Flour Gluten Free?

Oat flour is naturally Gluten Free, but not all manufacturers guarantee this due to potential cross-contamination. So if you have a gluten intolerance or celiac disease, you'll need to make sure you use certified Gluten-Free oats instead.

I personally like baking with oat flour because it can be more accessible in a flour shortage and higher in fibre. It can also give heavier cakes, like carrot cakes, a softer and fluffier texture. In fact, some bakers recommend swapping ¼ of regular flour for oat flour for better cakes in general.

Other Oat Flour Baking Tips

• As a rule, I also add 2.5 teaspoon of baking powder per cup of oat flour.
• Also, if preferred, you could substitute oatmeal for flour in banana bread, with a 1:1 ratio.

Buckwheat Banana Bread Variation

Another gluten free banana bread oat flour option is to make buckwheat banana bread instead. You can still use 145g, but it is heavier than oatmeal flour, so cups weigh differently.

In cups, this is ⅔ cup + 3 tbsp. However, a tip is, do not add anything on top, like dehydrated banana slices, as it will cause the banana loaf to collapse.

If you want to add any banana on top, do it after it's baked and cooled. You could drizzle icing first, then top with banana chips.

Baking Bread With Oat Flour

Now, you'll notice this banana oat flour bread has no yeast. This is because it doesn't do well with yeast needing gluten to rise. And the same goes with oat flour pizza, which resembled more like an oat flour galette or flatbread.

As for gluten free shortbread biscuits, oat flour works better than plain flour. You'll also find you don't need quite as much for it to bind.

Tips for Baking Banana Bread With Oat Instead of Flour

• Use ripe banana for the best sweetness. Or you could ripen bananas in the oven, unpeeled, for 15 minutes on gas mark 2 / 300f / 130c fan / 150 conventional and allow to cool before mashing
• Avoid using more bananas, which will result in a very heavy and dense loaf
• Don't add anything more than a tablespoon of milk. Some recipes call for this to loosen the mixture. However, adding too much milk, in my opinion, also makes it rather dense
• Trying to aim for a pound cake where eggs, butter and sugar are roughly equal, work best. Mine isn't quite this as I made it in US cups first for ease, then weighed everything in grams
• Avoid over mixing when folding in the oat flour. I only mix until the flour has just disappeared

Also, if you wanted, it would be extremely easy to make these as oat flour banana bread muffins. Just butter and line a muffin tin with papercases and fill each one halfway with batter.

Ways to Store Banana Bread

Once your oatmeal banana bread is completely cool, the most popular way to store banana bread is at room temperature.

Room Temperature

Banana bread should last around 4 days. Once cool, wrap in kitchen paper, cling film or foil and store in an air tight container.

In the Fridge

If you live in a hotter country, you can follow the above method and store for about a week. Although note, it will become more firm.

Freezing Banana Bread

If you want to make banana ahead of time and freeze it, then again, wrap it as above, closing the kitchen paper. Then store in an air tight container for up to 3 months in the freezer.

Thawing Banana Bread

To defrost frozen banana bread, simply leave it on the kitchen counter. This may take anywhere between 30 minutes to 3 hours.

More Gluten Free Recipes

• Buckwheat banana muffins
• Apple and Blackberry Crumble
• Buckwheat banana bread
• Toad in the Hole
• Prawn fritters with courgettes
• Cottage cheese scones with oatmeal
• Oaty apple crumble
• Oat flour pancakes
• Cauliflower cheese, using oat flour
• Air fried bananas covered in chocolate
• Vegan Banana Ice Cream

Recipe for Gluten Free Banana Bread

📖 Recipe