THE BUCKWHEAT BANANA BREAD
I’ve been baking this bread and variations of it for years, and now many of my friends make it on a regular basis. Banana bread is everyone’s favourite and this malty, not-too-sweet version toasts beautifully and was a stand-out hit at the cafe and has been getting rave reviews since the booked launched so I had to share it with you!! Bananas not only flavour the bread in this recipe but also work with the buckwheat to make the dough — that’s right, no eggs or gluten needed. I’ve thrown in cinnamon and raisins to sweeten and walnuts for crunch. It’s made all the more glorious with some salty butter. For something fancy, whip up the butter to make it fluffy and sprinkle with black or flaky salt — or serve with olive oil and ricotta (see page 52 of the book).
INGREDIENTS
290g (2⅓ cups) buckwheat flour
2 tsp baking powder
1 tsp baking soda
1/2 tbsp ground cinnamon
1/4 tsp sea salt
4 ripe bananas (about 400g), mashed, plus
1 ripe banana, sliced (about 90g)
120ml (1/2 cup) water
1 tsp vanilla extract
60g (1/5 cup) raisins
30g (1/4cup) walnuts
METHOD
Preheat the oven to 180.C (fan 160.C/gas mark 4). Mix the buckwheat flour, baking powder, baking soda, cinnamon and sea salt together in a large bowl.
Mix the mashed bananas, water and vanilla together, then add to the bowl. Mix in the raisins, walnuts and remaining banana slices.
Transfer the mixture to a 750g (11/2 lb) loaf tin lined with baking parchment. Bake for 25 minutes, then turn the tin around and bake for another 15 minutes until the bread is firm-ish to the touch. Allow to cool before slicing.
Extract from East by West - page 60. For more simple and delicious recipes buy the book here.
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