Banana Breakfast Bread

Good morning everyone!

TGIF!!! Don't you just love that feeling when the weekend is right around the corner? I do.

I start thinking about those fabulous lazy mornings that I don't have to wake up early. I love mornings when I don't have to rush around. You also have more time to make things like this...

A warm slice of banana bread is a great way to change up your breakfast routine. The same old thing day-in and day-out gets dreary after awhile. Sort of like the weather. I saw a glimpse of sunshine today, the first in a week and that was between the persistent snow squalls. If you're Canadian then you know what I'm talking about. One minute the sun is shining brightly and the next thing you know there's a blizzard outside your window. Yeesh! It doesn't make for a fun drive, but does make for some pretty sweet snowboarding conditions, which is what I really wish I could be doing this weekend.

I have to say as much as I love winter and being Canadian, I still love warm temperatures more. It's only January and I think I'm already in need of a break from this weather. So I'm glad to say that instead of letting it drive me to drink..eek!.. it drove me to the kitchen.

This is a reasonably healthy quick bread that I slightly adapted from the Eat Clean Diet Cookbook. It's got heart healthy flaxseed (nearly a whole cup), and only half a cup of sucanat, which is an unrefined dark brown sugar that retains it's molasses content and is basically pure dried sugar cane juice. It's also sourced from Costa Rica quite possibly one of my favourite places in the world right now. Le sigh.

It's also partly sweetend with the help of apple butter and is full of fibre.

Spread some pure Canadian maple butter on a slice for your breakfast, make a fresh pot of tea or coffee, sit back and watch the snow fly because it ain't going nowhere to soon.

Banana Breakfast Bread (makes 1 loaf)

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Ingredients:

• 1 cup mashed ripe banana (about 2 medium-sized bananas)
• 1/2 cup sucanat or other unrefined sugar
• 1 tsp pure vanilla extract
• 1/4 cup apple butter
• 3 egg whites
• 1 whole egg
• 3/4 cup whole wheat flour
• 3/4 cup whole wheat pastry flour or red fife flour
• 1/2 tsp baking powder
• 1 tsp baking soda
• 3/4 cup ground flaxseed
• 1 tsp cinnamon
• 1/4 tsp ground nutmeg
• 1/2 tsp sea salt

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 350*F.
2. Grease a loaf pan and if desired line with parchment paper so that it hangs over the two long sides.
3. In a large bowl, combine banana, sucanat, vanilla, and apple butter. Add eggs one at a time and beat together until smooth.
4. In a separate large bowl, whisk together flours, baking soda and powder, ground flaxseed, cinnamon, nutmeg, and sea salt.
5. Pour the wet ingredients into the flour mixture and fold together with a spatula until completely incorporated.
6. Pour batter into the loaf pan. Bake for 55 minutes or until a toothpick or knife inserted into middle of the bread comes out clean. Remove from oven and cool on a wire rack.

One thing is for sure: breakfast will not stand to be dull and dreary.

Whole Grain Soda Bread

Brrrr!!! This has been one cold snowy week. I swear it's been snowing ever since Sunday and it feels like -33C. I don't know what's worse the cold weather or the continuous snowsquall warnings. 

Anyway, if this weather indicates anything it's a piping hot bowl of soup and some fresh baked bread.

Gosh I love making bread! There's something about the routine and process of kneading the dough with your hands that lull's you into a sense of calm. It's almost like a form of meditation. HA! I bet you never thought you'd hear that about food.

It's very true though.

Quick breads are also pretty easy and fun to make. Like this Soda bread.

I prefer to make breads that need yeast, time, and the art of rising ...Am I the only one out there? But this soda bread can also give you a lovely rustic loaf of bread with the magic of: BAKING SODA!

Ok so it's not as amazing as I make it sound, however, with just a few ingredients, a little mixing, and 40 minutes in the oven you can have have a crunchy-on-the-outside, soft-on-the-inside beautiful rustic whole grain loaf of bread.

Hearty and delicious.

This bread is also free form so there's no need to worry about moulding moulding into a loaf pan. Just form the dough into a ball with your hands, knead a few times on a floured surface, then form into a round disc and place on a baking sheet lined with parchment paper. You'll also have to make two cuts on the top of the loaf for it to bake properly. Using a serrated knife gently cut an X into the dough about 1 inch deep and then bake.

This is loaf especially goes well with some homemade soup. The perfect winter meal. It's really good with steaming bowl of Vegetable Orzo Chicken Soup.

Whole Grain Soda Bread (makes 1 loaf)

(Adapted from Alive magazine)

Ingredients:

• 1 1/4 cups red fife flour
• 1 1/4 cups whole wheat flour
• 1/2 cup oat bran
• 1/2 cup wheat germ
• 1/2 tsp sea salt
• 1 1/2 tsp baking soda
• 2 cups low-fat or 1% buttermilk, plus extra for brushing
• 1 Tbsp rolled oats for garnish 

Directions: 

1. Preheat oven to 375* F.
2. In a large mixing bowl, stir together flour, wheat bran, oat bran, wheat germ, sea salt, and baking soda.
3. Make a well in the centre of the dry ingredients and add buttermilk. Using a spoon or fork, stir the buttermilk into the flour making small circles working your way outward to incorporate all the flour. 
4. Turn dough out onto a lightly floured surface. The dough will be sticky. With floured hands, knead the dough a 4-6 times. Form into a ball and place on a parchment-lined baking sheet. Press into a 6 inch round.
5. Using a serrated knife, make a large X across the top, cutting 1" inch deep.
6. Brush the top with a little buttermilk and sprinkle with oats.
7. Bake for 45 minutes until the crust is nice and browned and a tester or knife inserted in the centre comes out clean.
8. Transfer to a wire rack to cool slightly before cutting and serving.