Whole Grain Banana Coconut Bread

Heather U.'s Note:

While this site already has numerous recipes for banana bread with a coconut theme, this one is unique in its emphasis on a whole grain flour base. The coconut flavor is subtle-- if you like a strong coconut flavor, up the amount of coconut extract, and include the optional fresh coconut. As with many of my recipes, this one calls for ingredients that are "nonstandard" (i.e., weird!...the province of health nut fanatics!), but go out on a limb and try it--your taste buds won't be disappointed.

• Total Time: 1 hrs 6 mins
• Prep Time: 30 mins
• Cook Time: 36 mins

Ingredients:

Servings: 12

• 1 cup whole wheat pastry flour
• ½ cup oat bran
• 1⁄3; cup soy powder
• 2 tablespoons ground flax seeds
• 2 tablespoons cornstarch
• 2 teaspoons baking powder
• 1 teaspoon salt
• ½ cup chopped pecans
• ½ cup shredded fresh coconut (optional)
• 2⁄3; cup splenda sugar substitute
• ¼ cup brown sugar
• 1 tablespoon honey or 1 tablespoon barley malt syrup
• 4 tablespoons light butter
• 2 tablespoons lecithin granules
• 1 tablespoon liquid lecithin
• ¼ teaspoon xanthan gum
• 1 cup ripe to overripe banana
• 2⁄3; cup reduced-fat coconut milk
• 4 extra large egg whites
• 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
• ¼ teaspoon coconut extract

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit.
2. Grease 2 8x4” loaf pans or 1 9x5” loaf pan; I use cooking spray with no sticking problems; I used 2 8x4” loaf pans, and the resulting loaves were on the short side.
3. In a large bowl, whisk together the whole wheat pastry flour, oat bran, soy powder, flax seeds, cornstarch, baking powder, and salt.
4. Add the pecans (and optional coconut) to the dry mixture and stir to incorporate; set aside.
5. In the bowl of your food processor fitted with the steel blade, place the Splenda, brown sugar, honey or barley malt syrup, butter, both kinds of lecithin, and xanthan gum; Puree together for about 2 minutes (this will help the lecithin and xanthan bind it all together).
6. Add the banana, coconut milk, egg whites, and vanilla and coconut extracts to the food processor bowl, and puree again until well-blended; shake the can of coconut milk prior to opening it up so that the contents won’t be separated when you measure.
7. Pour the wet ingredients into the dry ingredients, and use a rubber spatula to fold it all together; be careful not to overmix the batter or the finished product will be tough as a result of activating the gluten.
8. Pour even amounts of batter into the loaf pan (s), and place in the preheated moderate oven.
9. Bake until internal temperature reaches 185 degrees Fahrenheit; this took 36 minutes for 2 8x4” loaves in my oven today but will take longer in a 9x5" pan; look for a firm, lightly brown top and look for the sides to pull away from the pan (s).
10. Chef notes: If you want to use your whole 14-oz can of coconut milk, triple this recipe (that's a lot o' banana bread--yay!); Also, if you want to eliminate the 1/4 cup of butter, just add an extra 1/4 cup of banana; the coconut milk, soy powder, lecithin, and flax seeds all have significant amounts of healthy fats in them so you should still end up with a moist tender bread; I haven’t tried that yet, so if you do, please inform us of the outcome in your review!

Reviews

[Katey in GB]

My family enjoyed this healthy bread. The coconut flavoring was not overpowering, but the bread smelled awesome while it was baking and while eating. I ended up cooking my one 9x5 pan more about 50 minutes to make sure it was cooked through.