Healthy Banana Bread

Measure out the flours by scooping up gently and scrape off the top of the cup evenly with a knife or spatula. Put flours, cinnamon, allspice, yeast, salt and vital wheat gluten in a large container that has a lid. Whisk all dry ingredients together. This prevents the vital wheat gluten from forming lumps. Mix together the lukewarm water, oil, honey, vanilla, mashed bananas and optional walnuts. Add to dry mixture and stir using a large spoon or you can use your hands. Incorporate well but do not knead. I have nitrile medical gloves at home and use those so the dough doesn’t stick to my hands but they are not necessary. Yo

When you’re ready to bake, lightly grease a non-stick loaf pan**, 8-1/2 x 4-1/2 inch. Sprinkle the dough surface with flour and remove half of the dough, about cantaloupe size or 2 pounds. A serrated knife works well to cut the dough. Once you have the dough in your hands, add a little more flour to keep it from sticking to your hands. Gently stretch the dough surface around to the bottom on all four sides. Rotate the ball a quarter turn as you go then shape into an oval. Place the dough into the pan. It should fill the pan approximately three-quarters full. Cover loosely with plastic wrap and let rest for 1 hour and 45 minutes. If using unrefrigerated dough, let rise for 60 minutes. Keep the rest refrigerated until next time. The lid should remain on the container but loosely covered. THE DOUGH WILL LAST UP TO 7 DAYS REFRIGERATED.

Remove the loaf from the pan and let cool on a rack. If you encounter problems getting the loaf out of the pan, let it sit for about 10 minutes. This will allow it to steam free of the pan and you should be able to tip it out. If you still have problems, use a rubber spatula and slide it around all four sides between the bread and the pan. This will help loosen it and prevent you from scratching the pan.

I welcome any questions you may have and would love to hear about your results! If you have your own healthy banana bread recipe you'd like to share, please do!

As whole grain type doughs age, they will become dense and in the end, won't rise very much. Whole wheat flours have much less gluten than white flour which means less rising power and a less airy crumb (bread interior). The addition of vital wheat gluten assists with the rise and helps the doughs' storage life in the refrigerator.

Non-stick loaf pans are recommended because of the high moisture content in the dough. Wet dough tends to stick to pans more so lightly coating the pan with oil, shortening, butter or margarine is advised.