Best Flour for Gluten Free Banana Bread

Have you ever wondered what the best flour for gluten free banana bread is? 

Many recipes, such as banana bread say to use a gluten free flour blend, but they don’t tell you which blend to use. Different blends can make a difference in recipes. Knowing the blend used to make the recipe is important.

I have always wondered why recipes do not specify what blend was used. 

There is a lot of science behind gluten free baking. When you take out the gluten, you change the entire chemistry of the recipe. Replicating it can be challenging.

Different blends contain different ingredients. The taste and texture of both the batter and the final result can vary with different blends because the ingredients in a blend can vary a lot.  

See those two batters? They have totally different textures. One is much thicker than the other. The only difference in those two batters is the gluten free flour blend that was used.

They are the exact same recipe and contain the exact same ingredients. The blend totally changed the texture of the recipe. 

The brand of blend you use does make a difference! 

The ingredients in a blend that work well for a cookie or pancake might not work well in gluten free banana bread. Some blends have more rice flours while some have more starches. Some have whole grain gluten free flours and others don’t. The amount of gums also vary between brands.

Each brand has it’s own unique blend recipe. Some brands will give you totally different results from others. 

I often get asked what gluten free flour blend I like and use. Most of the time I use individual flours instead of a gluten free flour blend, but when I use a flour blend, I almost always use Bob’s Red Mill 1-to-1 Gluten Free flour blend. It usually gives me good results and is easy to find at stores in my area.

Recently I have found myself grabbing my gluten free flour blends more and more. One of the main reasons that I have been grabbing blends more than normal is because 2020 happened. 

Gluten free ingredients and products have been hard to find in my area. The individual flours have not been well stocked at the stores I shop at. Even online, many things are out of stock or back ordered.

Gluten free blends are now easier to find than the individual flours. 

Because of this, I have bought more blends than normal over the last few months. Often times, I am grabbing whatever blend I can find. However, I have realized the end results really vary depending on the blend. 

I decided that it was time to do some recipe testing with different blends. I wanted to take notes on how different blends worked in different recipes.

I started with testing the best flour for gluten free brownies. After I tested the brownies, I started testing different blends in gluten free banana bread.

It is time to share the results on which flour blend works best in gluten free banana bread.  I am sharing what we liked and didn’t like about each gluten free blend. 

Best Flour for Gluten Free Banana Bread

The recipe I used for testing the different blends was my favorite gluten free banana bread recipe. It is a tried-and-true favorite at our house. 

I wanted a recipe that I knew worked well and my family loved. This banana bread recipe is one that I have made for years. It is the banana bread that we make the most, so we know exactly how the taste and texture should be. 

Over the course of two weeks, I made banana bread multiple times using different blends. My family taste tested them and each wrote down their thoughts on each blend in banana bread.

When testing the flour blends, I really wanted to see what the best gluten free flour blend to use in gluten free banana bread was, so I used the exact same ingredients and baked them in the exact same loaf pan. The only difference in the recipe was the gluten free flour blend that I used. 

Before I share the results, I want to make sure that you know this is not a sponsored post. I paid for all the ingredients that I used, including the blends. This is an honest opinion about which of the blends my family really likes the best.

You also might notice that one family member is missing from the taste testing. My oldest daughter hates bananas. She has since she was very young, so I was not going to force her to taste test banana bread. 

Banana Bread Using King Arthur Gluten Free Measure for Measure Flour

The main ingredients in the King Arthur blend are rice flours, sorghum flour, tapioca starch, and potato starch. The first ingredients in this blend are white and brown rice flours. 

• Fluffier and lighter than normal, but slightly gummy in the middle. – My husband who does not have to eat gluten free and eats non-gluten free food often
• Lighter in texture. My favorite. – My son who also does not eat gluten free
• Loved the taste. Middle gummy and not quite done. – Me
• Had a little gluten free aftertaste. Dry the next day. – My daughter who eats gluten free and loves anything banana

Overall we liked the taste of the King Arthur gluten free blend in the banana bread. The majority of us liked the taste and texture, except for the middle where it wasn’t quite done. However, my daughter did not like it as well the next day. 

The middle of the loaf was gummy and not quite done. I baked this the same amount of time I always do and as I did for the other banana bread that I tested. For some reason, this blend needed a little more cooking time than the other blends did. I would use this blend again in gluten free banana bread, but I would add a few minutes to the cooking time. 

Banana Bread Using Krusteaz Gluten Free All Purpose Flour

The main ingredients in the Krusteaz gluten free blend are sorghum flour, brown rice flour, millet flour, and rice flour. The first ingredient in this blend is sorghum flour. 

• Slight gluten free taste, but not much. Texture like banana bread should be. – My husband who does not have to eat gluten free and eats non-gluten free food often
• Good texture and taste. It is like banana bread should be. – My son who also does not eat gluten free
• This was good. The whole grains paired well with the flavor of banana bread. Slight gluten free taste. – Me
• Tasted like a healthier banana bread. Good banana flavor. Slightly dry the next day. – My daughter who eats gluten free and loves anything banana

The Krusteaz gluten free flour blend paired well with banana bread. We all agreed it was a blend that we would use again in this recipe. The overall taste and texture was very close to regular banana bread. 

Banana Bread Using Better Batter All Purpose Flour Blend

The main ingredients in the Better Batter blend are white and brown rice flour and tapioca and potato starch. This blend also contains pectin, which I have never seen in a blend before. 

• Thick, dry crust, yet gummy and not done in the center. Tastes very gluten free. – My husband who does not have to eat gluten free and eats non-gluten free food often
• Weird taste and texture. The outside crust was way too done. – My son who also does not eat gluten free
• Did not like the taste or texture. The texture was terrible. The outside was overdone and yet the middle was not done at all. Taste and texture were not at all how banana bread should be. – Me
• Gummy texture. Odd taste. Not a strong banana flavor. Gluten free flavor took over the banana flavor. Taste and texture very gluten free. – My daughter who eats gluten free and loves anything banana

We all agreed that we did not like the Better Batter flour blend in banana bread. It is not a blend that I would use again for banana bread. The bread did not cook evenly at all. The outside was way too done, but the inside was not done at all.

You might be able to lower the oven temperature and cook it longer, but since we didn’t like the taste either, I am not going to bother using it in banana bread again. I ended up throwing out the last third of the loaf because no one would eat the rest of it. 

Banana Bread Using Bob’s Red Mill 1-to-1 Flour Blend

The main ingredients in Bob’s Red Mill 1-to-1 blend are sweet rice flour, brown rice flour, potato starch, and sorghum. 

• Good texture and taste. Very much like regular banana bread. – My husband who does not have to eat gluten free and eats non-gluten free food often
• Okay, but not as good as the King Arthur or the Krusteaz. – My son who also does not eat gluten free
• I liked the texture of this one. The taste was also good. – Me
• Cake-like and moist. Sweeter tasting to me. – My daughter who eats gluten free and loves anything banana

I have made banana bread using the Bob’s Red Mill blend before, but we had not compared it to other blends. The Bob’s Red Mill 1-to-1 Blend is one we would use again. The taste and texture were very close to regular banana bread. 

A Summary of Our Thoughts

I love it when a gluten free recipe is so good you can’t tell it is gluten free. Three of these blends were good enough that I would make them again. 

However, the Bob’s Red Mill and the Krusteaz were our favorites when you compare them with the other blends in the exact same recipe. They were the closest in both taste and texture to the original recipe. Krusteaz may have actually won out on this one, but Bob’s Red Mill 1-to-1 gluten free blend is a great choice as well. 

The King Arthur Flour Measure for Measure flour blend was good, but it did need to bake for a few minutes longer. I would use it again in banana bread or in another quick bread, but I will keep in mind that it might need a little bit longer in the oven. 

I will not be using the Better Batter flour blend again for banana bread. The fact that I threw out the last third of the loaf says a lot. I can’t remember the last time I threw out banana bread. I had to throw out the brownies I tested with Better Batter as well. I have not given up on this blend, but I am not impressed with it so far. 

I am working on some more testing with these blends as well as adding another blend or two to the testing, so stay tuned for more.