I recently came across this wonderful recipe for spelt and ginger banana bread, posted by the Expat Gourmet.

Can't tolerate wheat? Try this delicious ginger banana bread made with spelt.

First, a little about the Expat Gourmet, who lives in Liverpool, England. Here’s how he describes his philosophy of food:

To me food is not just fuel. The food I cook and eat affects my mood and my state of mind, I am a great believer in the soothing and healing effects of great food and the therapeutic effects of cooking.

How did he come up with this particular recipe? He claims that until recently, he wasn’t very adventurous when it comes to baking – he didn’t really like to experiment with substitutions.

Flour comes from wheat and that’s that. The occasional polenta cake is called that for a reason. Well, that’s all changed since I moved to Liverpool and started living with my lovely housemate Gemma, who is wheat intolerant and does her baking with spelt flour. Gemma claims that wheat can be substituted with spelt in any recipe, and I am intrigued.

I was intrigued, too – so  I emailed him for permission to share the recipe. His response? “Yes you can, spread the spelt love!”

So here we go!

Expat Gourmet’s Spelt and Ginger Banana Bread

Metric conversion chart: http://www.metric-conversions.org/

INGREDIENTS
100g raisins
2 shots of rum
150g spelt flour
25g cocoa powder
1/2 tsp bicarb soda
1/2 tsp salt
125g butter
150g caster sugar
2 eggs
4 bananas, the browner the better
100g chopped crystallised ginger
1 tsp vanilla extract

PREPARATION:

• Bring the rum and raisins to the boil, then remove from the heat and leave to steep for about an hour or until the raisins have absorbed the rum, then drain.
• Preheat the oven to 170C and grease a loaf tin or line it with baking parchment.
• In a bowl that will accommodate the flour combine the flour, baking powder, bicarb and salt.
• In a larger bowl cream the butter and sugar until light yellow and fluffy, then beat in the eggs one at a time.
• Add the mashed bananas and make sure everything is combined well.
• Add the vanilla extract, drained raisins and chopped ginger.
• Gradually add the dry ingredients, mixing well all the time to eliminate lumps.
• Transfer to your loaf tin and bake on the middle shelf for 40 minutes to 1 hour, depending on your oven.
• When it’s done a skewer will come out clean. Leave to cool on a wire rack before you get stuck in.

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