This might just be the best banana bread I have ever had - no exaggeration - and my mom agrees. This loaf was gone in about a minute because it was so dense, but felt light going down, so rich, but not overwhelming and so soft, but also filling. The recipe for this banana bread has been tested at length through America's Test Kitchen, and at Caroline's Test Kitchen, with a key change, it has been perfected. Okay, maybe not quite perfect, but definitely getting there.
My sister is gluten free and I am always trying to include her in my cooking and baking. This time, I substituted both the all-purpose flour and whole wheat flour with oat flour. I haven't done much baking with oat flour, so I did a quick internet search and found that oat flour is lighter than all-purpose flour. I don't have a scale, so instead I did my best guess and substituted the all-purpose and whole wheat flour with 2 cups of oat flour. I will definitely be making this again to continue to experiment with oat flour!
Yields: one 8-inch loaf Active Time: 15 minutes Total Time: 1h 20 mins
Ingredients ~
2 cups oat flour
3/4 cup sugar
2 teaspoons baking powder
3/4 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg
3 large ripe bananas, peeled and mashed well
4 tablespoons (1/2 stick) unsalted butter, melted and cooled
2 large eggs
1/4 cup low-fat plain yogurt
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/2 cup walnuts, toasted and chopped coarse
Instructions ~
Adjust an oven rack to the middle position and heat the oven to 325 degrees. Lightly coat an 8 1/2 by 4 1/2- inch loaf pan with vegetable oil spray.
Whisk the oat flour, sugar, baking powder, baking soda, salt, cinnamon, and nutmeg together in a large bowl. In a separate bowl, whisk the mashed bananas, melted butter, eggs, yogurt, and vanilla together.
Gently fold the banana mixture and walnuts (if using) into the flour mixture with a rubber spatula until just combined (do not over mix). Scrape the batter into the prepared pan and smooth the top.
Bake until golden brown and a toothpick inserted into the center of the loaf comes out with just a few crumbs attached, 55 to 65 minutes, rotating the pan halfway through baking.
Let the loaf cool in the pan for 10 minutes, then turn out onto a wire rack and let cool for 1 hour before serving.
Recipe Adapted From: America's Test Kitchen Healthy Family Cookbook
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