Friday, January 30, 2009

Whole Grain Banana Bread


For many years I have been trying to find the right combination of flours to make my banana bread recipe 100% whole grain. When I use 100% whole wheat flour, it comes out too dry. The last few times I made it, I used about half whole wheat and half white flour just because I got tired of making it and nobody eating my experiments. Well, I can't blog a half whole grain recipe on a whole grain blog, so I was determined to try again. This time I used spelt flour and barley flour. I liked the texture, but the flavor was a little different than I was used to tasting. I think next time I might try a combination of whole wheat, barley, and spelt flours. I love my banana bread with lots of walnuts. My family, however, prefers it with lots of butterscotch chips.

2 1/4 cups spelt flour
1 1/4 cups barley flour
1 1/3 cups sugar
2 tsp baking powder
1 tsp salt
1 tsp baking soda
2/3 cup unsalted butter
2 cups mashed bananas (about 5)
4 eggs, slightly beaten
2 tsp vanilla

Mix first 6 ingredients with fork. Cut in butter. Stir in eggs, bananas, and vanilla. Add nuts or butterscotch chips.
Pour in two greased loaf pans.
Bake for 55 to 60 minutes in a 350 degree oven.

3 comments:

Alison said...

Okay, so I don’t know if it is total taboo to comment on your own blog, but someone has to do it. I gave a loaf of bread to my daughter and son-in-law last week. On Sunday, Justin told me how much he loved the bread made with these grains. He said it was soooo moist that he didn’t even need a glass of milk to drink with it. I told him to comment on my blog about how he liked the bread. It is probably pathetic to beg for comments too. I just want the world to know that someone appreciates my cooking. Thanks Justin! I love how you will eat anything I make and like it!

cathy said...

I'm glad to know I'm not alone with the banana bread dilemma. Because I'm such a white bread loser I just use half and half, but I'll have to try some spelt flour next time.

Ashlee, Justin, & Owen said...

This is Justin and I endorse this message.