Wednesday, August 8, 2012

Zucchini Banana Bread (grain and sugar free)


I am on zucchini overload right now, as it is just flowing in from my CSA like the land of milk and honey. I love the stuff; I've been sautéing it in grass-fed butter, roasting it, grilling it, and of course, using it in zucchini bread. I've made this bread several times now, each time changing up a thing or two to get to the "perfect" consistency. And this is it!

The key to this bread is in wringing out the excess water from the shredded zucchini before adding it to the batter. Otherwise the bread becomes too soggy (although still very good) and harder to cut without it falling apart.

I'm getting back on my high protein/fiber kick, and that is where this recipe really shines. Made exclusively from blanched almond flour, it is a sure fire way of getting the muscle-building protein and digestion-pleasing fiber in, while ditching the grains altogether. And the truly amazing thing about baking with blanched almond flour is that there is no need to add xanthan gum to bind things together. For some reason, it just works without it (something very rare in gluten free baking). Some people have sensitivities to xanthan gum; I personally don't, but if you do, it's just another reason that you will love this recipe.

Zucchini Banana Bread (grain and sugar free)

Dry ingredients:

3 cups blanched almond flour
1/2 cup xylitol
2 heaping teaspoons cinnamon
2 teaspoons baking soda
1/4 teaspoon powdered stevia
pinch salt

Wet ingredients:

4 eggs
1/4 cup milk
2 teaspoons vanilla
1 ripe banana, mashed
2 heaping cups shredded zucchini

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Lightly spray 4 mini loaf pans with coconut oil cooking spray (I use Pampered Chefs stoneware mini loaf pan).

Mix all dry ingredients in a large bowl. In a separate bowl, whisk the eggs, then add milk, vanilla, and banana and stir. Add wet ingredients to dry and stir to combine.

With a paper towel, wring out the excess water from the shredded zucchini, then add to the batter and lightly stir a few more times to fully incorporate the zucchini.

Pour the batter into prepared loaf pans, lightly spreading the tops of the loafs with the back of a spoon to even out.

Bake for about 50 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted in the middle of the loafs come out clean. Cool in pans for at least 10 minutes before transferring to a wire rack.

The bread can be left out on the counter for the better part of a day, but thereafter wrap the loaves in a paper towel, seal in a ziplock bag, and store in the fridge.

5 comments:

  1. Is the xylitol necessary?

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  2. Yes, some kind of sweetener is necessary, in my opinion. If you can't tolerate xylitol (or just don't have it/use it), you can sub the granulated sweetner of choice (rapadura, sucanat, raw cane juice sugar, etc.). I have not experimented with a liquid sweetener, but you could try this (agave, honey, maple syrup, etc.), and then I would just omit the milk (which would then make this recipe dairy free too).

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  3. I don't think I've ever had zucchini and banana together in a bread. Your grain free loaf looks and sounds delicious! Shared on my Facebook page :)

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  4. Where do you find blanched Almond flour? If not using xylitol, wouldn't the stevia be sweet enough? Can't wait to try this!

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  5. My son and I really enjoyed this bread. I think it would be better with one ore banana. The steVia alone would not be sweet enough. ( that should say more - I'm having difficulty w. my iPad). You can make your own almond flour or buy it at whole foods or other natural food stores. To save $ I purchase mine at trader joes. It's not blanched, but t works just fine. ( theirs is labeled as almond meal.)

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