Coconut flour banana bread

The grain-free banana bread I've been making uses mostly almond flour.  This one uses strictly coconut flour.  I modified it to suit my taste and cut the recipe way down.  (I have to question any recipe that uses huge quantities of expensive items--- 8 eggs, 8 bananas, 1 cup coconut oil--- only to find it's for TWO loaves.  This recipe in particular is very easy to reduce.  And don't even get me started on the random capitalization.)  I made one quarter of the recipe as a test, but what I've posted here is for one full loaf.

Here's what I used:

4 very ripe bananas, mashed
1/2 cup coconut oil
4 organic eggs
1 tablespoon molasses
1 teaspoon butter flavoring
1 tsp vanilla
3 tsp cinnamon
1/2 cup coconut flour
2 teaspoons ginger
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/4 1/2 teaspoon sea salt
1/2 cup chocolate chips

Preheat oven to 350 F.  Mix together the bananas, oil, eggs, molasses, and flavoring.  Sift together the flour, ginger, baking soda, and salt, then stir into the wet mixture along with the chocolate chips.  Pour into a greased pan* (9x5") and bake for 45-50 minutes until golden brown.

Okay, I've already realized I made a huge mistake in that I used the full cup of coconut flour called for in the original recipe, which, remember, was for TWO loaves, and I made half a loaf.  So I've got four times the amount of coconut flour in there baking at the moment.  (I wondered why the mixture was so pliable, but these "alternative" recipes are usually strangely textured anyway.)  Well, I'll certainly be getting my fiber, anyway.

The original recipe doesn't state what size pans to use.  Frequently, wheatless recipes don't rise very much because they don't have the structure.  This recipe has all those eggs, plus baking soda, so it probably would rise some.

Conclusion:  Well, this is going to have to wait until I make the bread again, properly.  I won't mark it as a "fail" yet.  The flavor was good, but the texture sort of powdery, no doubt from the excess of coconut flour.  It was very filling too.

Recipe:  Paleo Banana Bread via Healthy Holistic Living

Grain-free pumpkin bread

It's a glorious fall morning---the kind that calls for something warm and spicy from the oven.  I've had such success with this grain-free banana bread, I wanted to try the recipe with pumpkin so I could indulge during the season without guilt.  Bananas have a natural sweetness that pumpkin doesn't have, so I did add some sugar to the recipe (I was out of erythritol) and dried fruit.  (I kept the dried fruit minimal in case I didn't like it.)

For round one, here's what I used:

2 cups almond flour
1/3 cup coconut flour
1/2 cup sugar
2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
1 teaspoon ground ginger
1 teaspoon pre-ground nutmeg
1/4 teaspoon ground cloves
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 cup pumpkin puree
1 tablespoon molasses
4 large eggs
1/4 cup melted butter/ghee (combined)
1/3 cup golden raisins
1/4 cup sweetened, dried cranberries

Preheat oven to 325 degrees F.  Grease an 8.5 x 4.5 loaf pan.  Combine dry ingredients in a medium-sized bowl and whisk together until is well mixed and there are no lumps.  Add the wet ingredients and stir until combined.   Add the dried fruit and combine.  Pour into loaf pan and smooth the top.  Bake for about 45-55 minutes. (Bread is done when a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean.)  Remove loaf from oven, let it cool in the pan for a few minutes and then transfer to a wire rack to continue cooling. Store in the refrigerator.

My 8.5 x 4.5 loaf pan is still in storage, so I used a 9x5, which really was too large.  But even though the loaf was thinner, it was underdone, heavy and dense.  I baked it for 50 minutes, but it needed another 5-10 minutes.  I could see that after about 10 minutes out of the oven, as it sunk in the pan.  Otherwise, the flavor was good.  Moderately pumpkiny, mildly sweet, good spice level, could have used a little more salt (I see I made that observation in the original recipe and had increased it)....  I like the raisins, but I'm not completely sold on the cranberries.  I've had other pumpkin items turn out heavy and dense; I wonder if cooking down the pumpkin to evaporate some of the liquid would help.  (I wonder if Libby's has started thinning their pumpkin puree, because this never used to be a problem.)

Conclusion: Not bad for a first try.  I need to find that proper pan size and make a few adjustments.  It will be reducing the moisture of the pumpkin puree that will be the trickiest.  I'm also wondering if any oil is needed in this recipe at all, since there's so much in the almond flour already. 

Grain-free gingerbread pancakes

I made these according to the original recipe, in a waffle iron, and they failed miserably. They were WAY too runny and soft and just made a mess.  I thought it was because the plantains were too ripe, but the next time I made them the greener plantains wouldn't break up into a smooth consistency.  I resolved the problem by using moderately ripe plantains and adding coconut flour and flax seed meal, which absorb some of that moisture.  I haven't tried adding protein powder yet, but think it will improve the nutritional value and can probably replace the coconut flour.

The full recipe makes about 16-18 pancakes (which is two good servings), but it completely filled my food processor and it was hard to get the mixture well blended.

2 large plantains (green/yellow) about 14oz
4 eggs
2 tablespoons coconut flour
1 tablespoon flax seed meal
protein powder
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon cinnamon
1 teaspoon ground ginger
1/2 teaspoon nutmeg
1/4 teaspoon salt  
3 tablespoons coconut oil, liquid
2 tablespoons molasses

Heat griddle on a low flame.  Place peeled plantains, cut into chunks, into a food processor and process as smooth as possible.  Add eggs one at a time alternately with dry ingredients and process between additions.  Blend until smooth and the eggs have fluffed up.   Just before cooking, add coconut oil and molasses and mix thoroughly.  (Stir up from the bottom to make sure it's all mixed evenly.)  Grease hot griddle, then add about 1/4 cup batter for each pancake.  Allow to cook until bubbles have formed.  Turn as soon as the pancakes are firm enough.  (It's easier to lay them down slowly than to flip them quickly.)  Cook about 2 minutes, then remove to a warm plate (or cooling rack if storing.)

These are great with butter and a little syrup, and you can eat a lot of them because they're not heavy.  I also like spreading them with almond butter and sandwiching with walnuts and maybe dates for a take along breakfast.

Conclusion:  These are a great low-carb breakfast, and high protein if made with protein powder.  I've made them several times.

Original recipe:  Flourless grain-free gingerbread waffles via PurelyTwins

Almond flour banana bread

Update: February 2019. I still used 2 teaspoons ginger (I might go 3 next time), 1 teaspoon butter-flavor extract, and 1 tablespoon molasses. But I also used a little more salt (about 3/8 teaspoon), and perhaps could go to 1/2 teaspoon, 1/4 cup erythritol, and 1/2 cup of UNsweetened flaked coconut. I threw in another 1/2 banana, and used 3 large eggs (that I think are actually closer to medium) and one jumbo. I didn't have the right-sized pan, so I used a 7.5 x 3.5 and a little, single-serve Bundt.  I baked the Bundt about 35 minutes (which made it dark on the outside, but still very moist), and the other about 48 minutes; it possibly could have gone 50.  Both gave me trouble getting out of the pan.  (They were quite soft.)  But the flavor is delicious--- really close to traditional banana bread.  It's going on my "favorites" list!

Update: March 2016, revised again. This time I used 2 teaspoons ground ginger, 1 teaspoon butter-flavor extract, 1 teaspoon coconut extract, 1/2 teaspoon banana extract, 1 tablespoon molasses, and 1/2 cup sweetened flaked coconut.

Update: August 2014, I remade this and made some changes that I really liked. I scrapped all the spices and extract called for and added 2 teaspoons of dried ginger, 1 teaspoon of coconut extract, and 1 teaspoon of Butter Vanilla Bakery Emulsion.

Another foray into a world without wheat or added sugar...  The original recipe calls for maple syrup, but I left out all the sweetening.  I had intended to add a little maple flavoring, but forgot.  I was a little concerned about how well that would mix with the other flavors going on anyway.  The almond/coconut/banana is tropical, while the cardamom is Scandinavian, and the vanilla/cinnamon are traditionally North American.  I balked at those last two -- there's a lot going on already.  Vanilla seemed entirely unnecessary and I just don't think cinnamon does anything for bananas.  I debated, but in the end threw in the cinnamon since it adds a sweet taste.  I've noted my changes within the recipe.

2 cups blanched almond flour
1/3 cup coconut flour
2 teaspoons ground cardamom
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 cup of mashed ripe banana (approximately 2)
4 large eggs
1/4 cup maple syrup
1/4 cup liquefied coconut oil (butter or ghee)
2 teaspoons vanilla extract

Preheat oven to 325 degrees F. Grease an 8.5 x 4.5 loaf pan.  Combine dry ingredients in a medium-sized bowl and whisk together until is well mixed and there are no lumps.  Add the wet ingredients and stir until combined.   Pour into loaf pan and smooth the top.  Bake for about 45-55 minutes. (Banana bread is done when a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean.)  Remove loaf from oven, let it cool in the pan for a few minutes and then transfer to a wire rack to continue cooling. Store in the refrigerator.

Conclusion:  This was okay as it was prepared.  No banana bread that completely eliminates added sugar is going to be great.  There was a slight bitterness that would have easily been masked by the maple syrup -- I don't know what it was from, perhaps the almond skins.  It would be very tasty with the added syrup, although these almond flour breads never quite hit the mark somehow.  (Lacking substance or something.)  The cinnamon was not detectable.

Recipe:  Paleo Banana Cardamom Bread via Paleo Spirit