Gluten Free Plantain Bread – Only 2 Ingredients!

I’ll admit, I was pretty skeptical when I stumbled across this recipe. A gluten free bread made with two ingredients?? Hmmmm. I’m glad I tried it! I was surprised at how quick, easy and tasty it was. I found the recipe from the purelytwins website. I’ve only ever had fried plantains so this was new to me.Plantains are part of the banana family but not as sweet and more starchy. They are also longer and larger than a banana. They are often used the same way as a vegetable, mainly fried or baked and generally eaten cooked, not raw.  Plantains are high in Vitamin A and C and B6. They have more potassium than a banana and also provide adequate levels of minerals such as iron, magnesium, and phosphorous.

The peel of a plantain varies in colour as it ripens, from green to yellow to black. The colour determines how you should cook it. When it is still green it is at its starchiest and you should fry it. When the peel is yellow it has sweetened a bit and you should grill it. When the peel is black (no, it’s not bad!!) you would use it in baking because it is at its sweetest flavour. Check out this video explaining the different stages of ripeness.

The plantain has a very thick peel and can be a bit tricky to get off when they are at the green stage. I took a sharp knife and carefully cut into the peel without hitting the flesh, then with my thumbs peeled off the skin. I’ll admit I was a bit eager to try this recipe and should have let them ripen a bit longer. Also, don’t be deterred by the brown spots, unlike a banana, you want these to have a few brown spots!

Now, onto the bread recipe…Makes 4 servings of 2 slices each

2 plantains, peeled (about 250g or 8oz in total)
2 whole eggs
Dash of cinnamon – optional
9″ round pie dish or 8″ square baking dish

Preheat your oven to 375F. Peel your plantains and slice into chunks.  Combine all the ingredients in a blender and blend on high until it is well combined and resembles cake batter.  Grease the pie dish, then pour the batter in and bake for 25-30 minutes until the edges just start to turn golden. Once it’s cooled, cut it into quarters, then slice those in half lengthways to get 2 slices.

You can use this any way you would use bread. I topped mine with some PB2. Divine!

Feel free to experiment with other flavours by adding berries, or even cocoa. Because plantains are quite mild in taste you could even make the bread more savoury by adding spices. The combinations are endless!
Nutritional Info for 1/4 of the bread
116 Calories, 22g Carbs, 3g Fat, 3g Protein, 34mg Sodium, 4g Sugar

Sources:
www.nutrition-and-you.com/plantains.html