Recipe: Clara’s Blueberry Banana Oat Bread
photo courtesy of Clara Wessells
This bread is delicious. My family likes to eat it for breakfast year-round, but sometimes during the holidays, we like to switch out the blueberries for more festive fruit like cranberries. It also works for most dietary concerns; there’s no gluten or dairy, so all of my extended family can enjoy.
——Clara
Ingredients
1 ¼ cups old fashioned oats
1 ¼ cups light spelt flour
⅓ cup sugar
2 teaspoons baking powder
½ teaspoon baking soda
large pinch of salt
2 – 3 ripe bananas, mashed (about 1 to 1 ¼ cups)
¼ cup unsweetened almond milk
¼ cup grapeseed or light flavored olive oil or applesauce
1 cup blueberries
Optional:
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 teaspoon cinnamon
Instructions
Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Grease a 9 x 5 loaf pan lightly with oil.
In a medium sized mixing bowl, add the flour, oats, sugar, baking powder, baking soda, optional cinnamon and pinch of salt, stir to combine.
Mash the bananas by hand in a small bowl, using the back of a fork or slotted spoon.
To the dry ingredients, add the mashed bananas, oil, plant milk and optional vanilla, mix to combine, just until the flour is incorporated. Don’t overmix, as over-mixing the ingredients will cause the gluten proteins to create an elastic batter that will not rise well.
Gently fold in the blueberries.
Pour the batter into a lightly greased 9 x 5 loaf pan. Optionally, add a few blueberries strategically to the top and sprinkle a small handful of oats over top. I added quick oats, but old fashioned oat would look nice too. You can also chop old fashioned oats into smaller pieces.
Place loaf pan in oven and bake for 50 – 55 minutes, rotating the pan once halfway through. Top will turn golden and toothpick placed in the center will come out clean.
Once done, let cool for 15 minutes in the pan. You should be able to tilt the pan and the loaf will come out clean, place on rack to cool completely.
Store covered on the counter for up to 3 days or in the refrigerator up to 1 week. Keep in the freezer for up to 3 months – place completely cooled loaves in freezer containers or bags. Thaw the wrapped loaves overnight in the refrigerator.
Recipe originally from simple-veganista.com