I am always in search of good snack food that is delicious but not full of sugar so I made this adapted banana bread recipe which is a great way of using up overripe bananas and fills that criteria perfectly.
It doesn't have much sugar because the banana adds sweetness and I use half and half sugar and honey. I also use half coconut oil and half butter but if you wanted an extremely virtuous version you could use 100% honey and 100% coconut oil.
Sliced banana bread
Ingredients
Half cup brown sugar
2 tablespoons honey
1 egg
1 teaspoon cinnamon powder
2 big ripe bananas (or 3 smaller ones)
20g melted butter, 20g melted coconut oil (or whatever ratio suits you)
Pinch salt
Half cup porridge oats or oatmeal
One cup flour (I used white but you could use wholemeal)
1 teaspoon baking powder
Optional: 50g roasted hazelnuts or pecans roughly chopped. You could also add dark chocolate chips for a great version.
Method
Mash the banana in a big bowl and beat in the sugar, honey, egg, melted butter/oil, salt and cinnamon.
Use a metal spoon to stir in the oats, flour and baking powder gently. Stir in the nuts/chocolate chips if you are using them.
Line a small loaf tin with baking paper and spoon in the mixture
Bake at a low temperature (175 degrees centigrade) for about an hour but check after 50mins by inserting a skewer into the centre to see if it comes out clean.
Leave to cool slightly before slicing so it doesn't fall apart.
Serving suggestion - almond butter and fresh banana
This is great on its own but I love it topped with almond butter and fresh banana for a filling snack.
I have recently got into making homemade bread and have since made about 10 successful loaves. I'm not sure if this qualifies me to teach others how to become master bakers but if you haven't made bread before I would strongly encourage you to give it a go. Its therapeutic, you can get great results without much practice, it's much healthier than eating bought bread (especially if you experiment with different types of flour) and its not at all expensive.
This basic recipe can be used with a variety of types of flour. This loaf was made with half strong white flour and half country grain flour but I will describe variations later.
Ingredients
450g flour
300ml water
7g salt
5g yeast
The length of the ingredients list is testament to how simple making a loaf of bread is. It also highlights the difference from shop bought loaves which will have all manner of chemicals added!
You can use any normal table salt for this recipe.
Method
If you are using normal dried active yeast (not easy bake yeast) you will need to reactivate it first. Do this by mixing 5g in a mug or small bowl with 50g tepid water (one third boiling to 2 thirds cold) and half a teaspoon of sugar. When measuring water weigh it don't use a measuring jug as this is more accurate. Leave the yeast for 10 mins while you weigh the other ingredients.
Weigh the ingredients into a bowl, it is easiest to do this with electric scales. Remember that as you have used 50g water to reactivate the yeast only add 250g tepid water to the mixing bowl. Mix the salt in.
When the yeast is frothy on top, add it to the other ingredients and mix in the bowl.
Turn the dough (which will be a bit sticky at this stage) onto a clean surface
Kneading
One method of kneading is shown in my video below:
This is a traditional method which uses the hell of your palm to stretch the dough. This method is fine for most dough but can get a bit messy if your dough is sticky.
An alternative method is shown in my video below:
This is useful for stickier doughs or at the end of your kneading when you want to get the dough into a good shape.
Using your preferred method (or a mixture), knead the dough for 10 minutes. Scrape out or clean your mixing bowl (it doesn't have to be pristine) and coat the bowl with a little olive oil to stop the dough drying out. Then fold the dough into a ball and put it in your mixing bowl and cover in cling film.
Leave the dough to rise until it has doubled in size (this depends on the temperature of the room but will probably be between 1 and 2.5 hours). To speed it up put the heating on!
Knocking back
When the dough has doubled in size, turn it gently onto your work surface and pull, push and knock it into a flat oval shape. Then take the 'corners' of the dough and fold it into the center from several points, prodding the corners down. Then turn your ball over and shape it as shown in my video below:
Proving
Place your ball onto some oiled greaseproof paper and place your mixing bowl upside down on top to keep it moist. If your mixing bowl isn't very big the dough might tough the sides as it rises so you might want to cover it in oiled cling film instead.
Once again leave the dough until it has regained it's original size (about one hour). It is better to under prove than over prove at this stage so if you're not sure leave it for less time.
Baking
Preheat the oven to 250 degrees and have a baking tray in the hot oven. Put a dish of water in the bottom tray (the moisture helps get a good bake). When your dough is ready transfer it (this is where the baking paper helps!) onto the tray. After 10 mins turn the oven down to 200 degrees. Bake for another 30 minutes.
The timings will vary slightly depending on your oven. This worked in mine which is not fan assisted so you might want to take the time down a little.
Once the bread has come out of the oven leave it to cool on a wire rack and don't eat straight from the oven as it will give you tummy pains!
Try eating with cheese and the plum chutney from April's post. I did and the chutney has had a couple of months to mature now and was delicious.
Variations
There are endless variations to making bread as you know! Another version I have tried is 50% rye flour, 25% white flour and 25% wholemeal flour which is great with smoked salmon and very filling. If you find the rye to dense then you can reduce the quantity and replace it with white flour. Rye flour can be a little harder to find and is a bit more expensive but I found the dough easier to work with. 50% wholemeal and 50% white loaves are also good. Adding walnuts and raisins is also yummy if you want to add a bit more to you bread. I'll include some other varieties when I have tried them!
Cost
As there are very few ingredient in these loaves they work out very cheap to make. You can get flour for as little as 80p for 1.5kg and yeast is very cheap (especially if you buy a tin instead of sachets which I do as don't like throwing any away). More specialist flours are a bit more expensive but the loaves you make with still cost you under a pound which compared to the prices charged at artisan bakeries etc is very good.
A nice loaf like this with some homemade chutney (see previous post) and some good cheese would make a great offering to take to a dinner party.
The other night I had a desperate craving for a pudding but all I had was some vanilla ice cream and a few store cupboard essentials. I was determined not to head out and buy a pudding after I'd eaten (a slippery slope I fear) so whipped up some mini crumbles in 10 minutes all out of ingredients I had in my cupboard. These mini puddings will satisfy your sweet tooth without leaving you feeling guilty and bloated...
Ingredients
Frozen berries / whatever fruit you have around
1 tbsp oats
2 tbsps white flour (plain or self raising)
1 tbsp butter or margarine
2 tsps sugar (I prefer brown)
Amaretti biscuits (optional)
Vanilla ice cream or cream to serve
Method
Preheat the oven to 200 degrees centigrade
Blend the butter, four and oats together in a bowl with your fingers until the mixture is crumbly. If it feels a bit dry and powdery add a little butter, if it is very moist add a little flour
Stir in the sugar and 3 amaretti biscuits (if using, I just happened to have them in the cupboard)
Place the fruit into little glass or ceramic ramekins and sprinkle the crumble topping on top. Don't press the crumble down too much or it will be too hard when it comes out of the oven
Sprinkle a little sugar and oats on the top
Bake for about 15 minutes or until the fruit is bubbling and the top is browned. Serve with ice cream and a tea spoon!
If you have some plums, apples or pears in the fruit bowl that are going a little soft you can use these in combination with berries on their own. These fruits work well with a little cinnamon which is a natural sweetener so you can use less sugar. Raisins or other dried fruits can also be added.
I use little glass ramekins that you buy 'Gu' puddings in. These work really well!
To make a super healthy version, swap the flour for brown flour and use more oats, minimise the fat used and add margarine instead of butter. Half the sugar added and add a little honey or cinnamon to the fruit to sweeten it naturally. Serve with yogurt for a pudding so virtuous it can hardly be called pudding.
I like this recipe as it affords some portion control over pudding size, is very quick and doesn't require lots of special ingredients. Enjoy!
Hello anyone who might be reading this! This is my first blog entry so forgive me if it takes me a while to get going. I thought that in the lead up to Christmas would share some of my ideas for homemade treats that can make lovely presents. One year I pledged to make EVERYTHING that I put under the tree at Christmas time but the considerable effort involved and the fact that I am no longer a student and actually have to work in the month leading up to Christmas has meant that I have altered my approach a bit. Now I just indulge my domestic whims whenever I have a free afternoon or see something particularly delicious in the market. If there are extra jars or sweets left over then I set them aside to give away later on! This weekend I just wanted to sit on the sofa in a blanket and watch the whole of Pride and Prejudice back to back. I knew that if that was all I achieved all weekend I would feel quite deflated at the end so I mixed up Colin Firth with some creative cooking! First, wholesome and delicious homemade granola.... Homemade Granola The best thing about homemade granola is that you can adjust it to make the perfect blend for you. It therefore seems a bit silly to give a list of ingredients but this should give you a good starting point. Recipe 250g rolled oats 100g flaked almonds, roughly chopped 75g pistachios, roughly chopped 75g desiccated coconut 100g mixed seeds (pumpkin and sunflower are particularly nice) 100ml honey 2 tbsps sunflower oil Gently heat the honey and oil in a medium deep pan until it is runny. Mix all the ingredients in so they are evenly covered in the oil/honey mixture. Spread the mixture on a large baking tray covered in greaseproof paper and bake at 180°C until the oats start to get crunchy. Mix the ingredients throughout so they bake evenly. This should take about 30mins depending on how thickly the mixture is spread. Take the tray out of the oven and let the granola cool before transferring it into an airtight container.
Variations This mixture is very nutty and dense which I like. Alternatively you could make a maple and pecan version (substitute honey for maple syrup), a Christmassy cranberry and dark chocolate version, a version with dried apricots..... Cost effectiveness This recipe makes quite a large quantity of granola but I find it goes quite quickly! The ingredients are quite pricey but if you buy the nuts in large quantities then it is good value compared posh granola you can buy in the shops and oats and desiccated coconut can be very cheap. Health benefits This recipe is not low fat but is full of skin-friendly unsaturated fats from the nuts and seeds and wholesome oats and is much lower in sugar than shop bought cereals. Eat with yogurt for a healthy breakfast or snack that will keep you full for ages.
I'm going to make some more of this nearer Christmas and put some in a pretty tin for my Mum as she loves granola. Next time I'll be telling you how to make some delicious red onion chutney and pretty Christmas cards! Helen x
