Long ago, I got a recipe for banana bread. The joke is, you always say you’re gonna make it, but never do.
Well, I do. At various times, I’ve made plenty of banana bread, and we seldom throw out bananas any more. So this comes with a lot of practice, and a picky wife who wants it her way. Well…why not? I’ve got time, and plenty of shots to experiment.
So here’s where we ended up, driven by two major requirements: no processed flour and (almost) no processed sugar. And with the help of ChesterGPT (although I didn’t take all of his advice — just asked chemistry questions for the most part), I came up with this recipe that we both like plenty. It’s up to you if you want to try it, but for what it’s worth, you might like it too. It’s certainly healthier than what you might expect out of a sweeter loaf of “bread.”
Modified Banana Bread
Wet:
½ cup butter, melted and cooled
2 eggs room temp
5 very ripe bananas
Dry:
2 cups oatmeal
1 tbsp ground flax seed (I use golden)
½ tsp cinnamon
1 tsp baking soda
1¾ tsp baking powder
½ tsp salt
A generous ¼ cup chopped walnuts
A generous ½ cup dark chocolate (60%) chips
Grind the oatmeal and flaxseed into a fine flour in a food processor. Empty into a largeish bowl (that’ll hold it with a little room). Add cinnamon, baking soda, baking powder and salt. Mix decently.
In a larger bowl, mix melted butter, eggs, and bananas into a well-blended liquid. I do this by hand. It doesn’t have to be completely pureed – small globs of banana seem fine to the final result.
Sift the contents of your dry bowl into the wet. I do this with a wire-mesh strainer and take this opportunity to break up any clumps in the powder until there’s nothing left but remnants of a few oats or flaxseeds that were not completely powdered. I toss those out (about a tbsp worth at most), although I’m sure they wouldn’t kill you if you just tossed them in the mix. The resulting batter should be thick but spoonable -- not overly stiff.
Mix in the nuts and chocolate chips. Set this aside and let it rest about 10 minutes to hydrate the oat/flax flour. Use that 10 minutes to pre-heat an oven to 350f/175c and grease a bread pan (I use butter).
Depending on your oven, it should have preheated in the 10 minutes you’re letting the mix rest. Dump it in the pan and bake for 55-65 minutes, again, depending on your oven. I have to cover it at about 20-25 minutes or the top will burn. Bake to about 200f/94c internal temp if you have the means to measure (although I just did it to 195 and was fine). When it’s done, take it out and cool it as long as you can stand on a rack before you jump the gun and slice off a piece to enjoy with a glass of cold milk.
This recipe has some benefits — it’s gluten-free and low sugar. I add no sugar but the chips and bananas, while the recipe I started with called for a lot. I tell you, it’s better without. Doesn’t leave an overly sweet taste in my mouth.
If you try it, let me know.