Can I Make The Gluten-Free Banana Bread Less Crumbly?

Our answer

Nigella's Gluten-Free Banana Bread (from COOK, EAT, REPEAT) is a popular gluten-free cake that is moist and studded with chocolate pieces. The loaf itself will never be quite as firm as a banana bread made wth regular flour, but it should not crumble excessively.

The recipe suggests using overripe bananas due to the fact that as bananas ripen, the starches turn into sugars and provide natural sweetness. If you use underripe bananas then this can make the loaf slightly firmer as the bananas are more starchy, though it will be less sweet and flavourful. Also make sure that the loaf is completely cold before removing it from the tin and slicing. We also wonder what type of knife is being used to slice the bread. If you are using a heavy, sharp knife then this can cause the bread to crumble slightly due to the amount of pressure you need to put on the knife to cut through the loaf. We would suggest trying to use a serrated knife with small teeth, such as a serrated fruit or tomato knife. If you don't have either of these then you could use a bread knife, though some bread knives have larger serrated teeth and these can also cause the banana bread to crumble slightly. Use short, sawing motions to cut the bread and try to avoid pressing down too much.