Oh, look. I made you banana bread. AGAIN.

But this time, I mean it.

No. LISTEN. This here is the one and only banana bread I’ve EVER had–gluten free or otherwise–that looks, tastes, and feels like the good old fashioned stuff of my youth.

I can’t decide if the fact that, since I started blogging 3 years ago, I’ve made banana bread approximately one billion times means that I’m just that committed to experimenting and learning new things? Or if it’s just…sad? Or maybe I just have commitment issues?

This recipe, actually, is still one of my favorites and I have used it as a base for so many other baked goodies (like these muffins). So, if you’re feeling like something Paleo, you really won’t find anything better…unless you want nut free and then there’s this recipe I threw together…and then apparently went on some kind of banana bread rampage when I made it almost weekly with some new flavor combo. Coconut curry? Choco-Cherry Upside Down Banana Bread? Smokey Bacon Ginger? I was totally tripped.

And now that the itch seems to have returned, I spent the entire weekend destroying the kitchen in search of the perfect gluten free version. I wanted it tender and moist without being crumbly. I had to LOOK like banana bread…you know, the light brown interior with those little black flecks? And–most of all–it could NOT have the rock solid crust that is so characteristic of gluten free baked goods.

So…I did some research—and MATH…so much MATH!—and found out that one of the most popular mixes used in a lot of commercial gluten free blends is *roughly* a 1:2:6 ratio of tapioca starch, potato starch, and rice flour with a little xanthan or guar gum. So for every cup of flour blend, that’s about 11% tapioca starch, 22% potato starch, and 67% rice flour (white, brown, or a combo).

It was perfect. I will literally never use another recipe. Never. I seriously cannot impress upon you just how perfect this is.

For the purposes of this recipe—and I am telling you all of this so that you not only understand the method to my madness but so you can appreciate just how much time and energy I expended to deliver this loveliness to the world—one cup of GF flour blend consists of 2/3 cups of rice flour (I used brown), 3.5 tablespoons of potato starch, and 2 tablespoons of tapioca flour.

Now you know. Let’s eat.