Foodie

Wednesday, September 21, 2011

Flax-o-nana Bread/Banana Bread



I named this bread Flax-o-nana cos it is a banana bread with flaxseeds and oats added.   I have heard so much about Flaxseeds, .is it the new wonder food? Some call it one of the most powerful plant foods on the planet.That’s quite a tall order for a tiny seed that’s been around for centuries.

I had wanted to bake healthy so this banana bread was baked with whole wheat flour, flaxseed meal, quick oats and instead of butter, i used olive oil.  All healthy, healthy and suprisingly, it turned out very well and it was accepted by the family with no questions.  The flaxseed meal was nutty and the bananas kept the cake moist. This recipe is definitely a keeper.  i did bake a banana bread with whole meal flour before and it was a total disaster, the bread was dense, googy and whatever, it was definitely not a bread..  I have given up trying to find out what went wrong and brave myself to try this recipe.  BTW, the disaster did not go to waste, it was recycled and became banana biscotti which turned out to be a hit. 

Ingredients

1/3 cup flaxseed meal
1/3 cup quick oats
3 1/3 cups whole wheat flour
6 bananas
1 1/2  cups sugar(2 cups if you like)
4 large eggs
1 cup olive oil
2 tsp baking soda
2 tsp salt
2 tsp vanilla extract


Method:

Preheat oven to 350F

Grease 2 -  4 x 8 inch loaf pans or 4 - 3 x 7 inch loaf pans and line the bottom of pans with wax paper.

Combine the bananas and sugar and mix with a potato masher until smooth.

Combine the olive oil, eggs and vanilla extract in a separate bowl then add the banana sugar mixture.

Combine the flours, baking soda, and salt in another bowl.

Add to the combined wet ingredients.  Mix to combine, do not overmix.

Pour batter into the lined pans

Bake for 50 minutes - 1 hour for the bigger loaf pans and 45 minutes for the smaller loaf pans, or until center registers 210F and a toothpick stuck in the center comes out clean.

Allow to cool on cake rack for 15 minutes then remove from pan and allow to cool completely before slicing.

Tightly wrapped bread will keep at room temperature for about 5 days.

13 comments:

Wendy said...

This looks really healthy. I buy flaxseed but I do not know what flaxseed meal is.

Wendy said...

This looks really healthy. I buy flaxseed but I do not know what flaxseed meal is.

Unknown said...

wendy

flaxseed meal must be ground flaxseed. I bought it from Sprouts.

Janine said...

wow this really looks like a very very healthy cake! i was wondering if i have normal rolled oats can i use that instead?

Unknown said...

janine

Rolled oats need to be cooked first before using and there is no liquid in this recipe to allow you to do that. I would suggest you omit it and replace with whole meal flour if quick oats are not available.

Janetan said...

hmm..this look delicious!! i'm wondering what kind of banana you are using?? or how many cup of banana should i use for this recipe? and in your recipe, you did not mention about beating the eggs or cream the butter..and is it only using baking soda only ok?
sorry if i ask too much, i once baked a banana quick bread but the method compared to yours is quite hard..yours looks more easy. thanks for sharing.

Unknown said...

janetan

there is not much choice of bananas here, it is the long cavendish. If you are in malaysia or singapore, use pisang emas etc as long as they are ripe. you should use 1 cup of mashed bananas. You can lightly beat the eggs before adding in to the rest of the wet ingredients. yes, this cake need only baking soda to give it a good rise. To get a good bread, do not overmix when adding the wet to the dry ingredients. Just stir until combine, it will be lumpy, that's fine, it is come out great, tender and moist.

Wendy said...

Thanks, Lily. I will check it out at the grocery stores.

Janetan said...

lilyn,
thanks for the answering of my question. i'll let you know the result once i try to bake it..hopefully mine will be as good as yours~ (if it has at least 60% i'll be very happy) enjoy your day~

Rebecca Lee said...

Hi Lily, this banana bread with flaxseed meal & quick oats is very interesting. When I have banana ( thanks for telling us 1 cup of mashed banana is enough as I thought of adding 2 cups as the bananas in overseas are long !!). 1 suggestion-- the banana must be very ripe or ripe, otherwise not nice at all !! And must be mashed as once I have a lot banana from my garden, I sliced some, ontop of the mashed banana in my banana cake and ended up those sliced banana were hard after baking !!I will make it like the way I make my carrot cake. Beat egg with sugar then add in the oil slowly while beating. May be it will be much lighter. I will tell you when I bake it- not long as the banana is going to ripe in 1 month's time.
I will blend the flaxseed myself as I have a pk with me. Lily, is it ok ?? Thank you so much Lily as I don't know what to do with it. I'm sure there is no problem to use rolled oats , as I used it before, if too huge pieces, blend it as that was what I did before. Adding this and that, even Atta flour too in my cake!! HA!! All turned out good & healthy !!

Unknown said...

rebecca

yes, you can grind the flaxseeds before using. Add in the sugar in the recipe to the flaxseed and grind together to prevent it becoming a paste.

Rebecca Lee said...

Thank you so much Lily, once you told me to use bread flour in order to nice, soft bread. Yes, indeed it became soft. May be it is ok to use normal flour for buns only but not bread as the volume is bigger. I added more oil as I afraid to put on too much weight ! HA !!
Nowadays, all bread have too much added chemicals so I think it is better to invest a bread machine. So easy, in the evening I put all ingredients in and press and it will bake it for you. I don't like the little metal in my loaf, so I set to dough making only, then I remove that little piece of metal -- which for kneading the dough. Then I added anything I like -- cinnamon powder, raisin, walnut, sugar, melted better and spread onto a rolled out dough then seal it and put it back to the machine to let it raise then bake it. The next morning a aroma bread is ready for breakfast.

Unknown said...

rebecca

i do use all purpose flour for my sweet buns but when i make loaf/sandwich bread, i prefer bread flour.

good job on your homemade breads and continue to bake more, it is so rewarding

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