Try this Chai-Spiced Banana Bread recipe, or contribute your own.
- 1/2 cup buckwheat flour.
- 1/2 cup almond meal.
- 1 1/2 teaspoon baking powder.
- 1/2 teaspoon baking soda.
- 1 teaspoon cardamom.
- 2 teaspoons cinnamon.
- 1 teaspoon ginger.
- 1/2 teaspoon all spice.
- 1/2 teaspoon nutmeg.
- 1/2 teaspoon vanilla powder (or 1 teaspoon vanilla extract).
- 1/2 teaspoon sea salt.
- 2 large eggs.
- 1/4 cup melted coconut oil.
- 1/4 cup your choice of milk (full-fat or nut milk).
- 1 teaspoon apple cider vinegar.
- 3 medium very ripe bananas.
- 1 cup pecans.
- 1 tablespoon activated buckwheat groats.
- 1/4 teaspoon cinnamon.
- 1 tablespoon coconut oil.
- Carbohydrate 7.171515 g
- Cholesterol 423 mg
- Fat 10.01254 g
- Fiber 3.1203499109447 g
- Protein 12.820415 g
- Saturated Fat 3.1191825 g
- Serving Size 1 1 recipe (113g)
- Sodium 693.095 mg
- Sugar 4.0511650890553 g
- Trans Fat 1.7009885 g
- Calories 161 calories
Step-by-step
- Preheat oven to 180ºC / 350ºF / Gas Mark 4 and line a loaf tin with baking paper.
- In a large mixing bowl, combine all the dry ingredients.
- In a separate bowl, whisk together eggs, coconut oil, apple cider vinegar and milk. Add in bananas and mash into the wet mixture with a fork. Don’t mash into puree though, leave a few chunky banana pieces.
- Add the wet mixture into the dry and fold through until just combined.
- Pour the mixture into the prepared loaf tin. Sprinkle the pecans and activated buckwheat groats on top of the mixture. Then sprinkle with cinnamon and drizzle over coconut oil.
- Place loaf on the bottom shelf of the oven. Cook for 45 minutes or until a skewer inserted comes out clean. If you find your pecans are browning too quickly, place a piece of foil on top while the remainder of the loaf cooks.
- Once cooked through, allow loaf to cool slightly before removing from the tin and slicing into 12 slices. Serve with a slather of butter if you like.
Operating within a strict preparation limit of thirty minutes requires organizing dry components like buckwheat flour, almond meal, and aromatics before processing any perishables. Cardamom, cinnamon, ginger, allspice, and nutmeg function synergistically when exposed to warm fats, diffusing essential oils efficiently through the crumb. Measuring these fine powders into a single vessel ahead of time prevents over-mixing later, safeguarding the delicate gluten development in alternative grain matrices.
When incorporating the bananas, leaving visible chunks rather than reducing them to a liquid puree preserves pockets of moisture that generate steam during baking. This controlled release of internal humidity prevents dense pooling at the bottom of the loaf pan, keeping the interior tender while the exterior sets at 180 degrees Celsius. Apple cider vinegar reacts directly with the baking soda to initiate early carbon dioxide production, providing the initial lift necessary before thermal expansion takes over in the oven.
Baking on the bottom shelf of the oven exposes the heavy batter to radiant heat from below, encouraging vertical rise before the top crust forms prematurely under direct upper elements. Covering the surface with aluminum foil becomes necessary if the pecan and buckwheat groat topping darkens faster than the internal crumb cooks through at the forty-five-minute mark. Testing with a skewer ensures the center reaches structural integrity without sacrificing the moisture supplied by the mashed fruit.
Standard loaf pans constructed from dark metal absorb thermal energy rapidly, sometimes necessitating a reduction in oven temperature by ten degrees to prevent burning the outer edges. Allowing the baked loaf to rest briefly inside the tin before inversion permits the starches to set fully, preventing structural collapse during slicing. Standard kitchen knives glide cleanly through the cooled crumb once residual steam redistributes evenly throughout each portion.
