Monday 19 March 2007

Banana Blueberry Bread

The one week school holidays is over. It was a good break for all of us. The boys are back to school and I had some quite moments this morning.

I had some left over blueberries and bananas, and decided to bake something with them. After looking through the various recipes I have gathered, a banana quick bread recipe from the Australian Women's Weekly cookbook series, Great Casual Food, caught my eye. I liked the fact that it uses 1 egg and only 20g of butter!

I added in blueberries, reduced the sugar amount, used low-fat milk and turned it to a Banana Blueberry Bread. I don't know whether this could be considered low-fat, but I would certainly feel less guilty if I eat more than 2 slices at a go.


The taste of quickbread is almost similar to muffins...this loaf turned out to be very soft and fluffy, especially when it was fresh out of the oven. The sweetness of the bananas blends very well with the slightly tangy blueberries. This recipe is certainly going to be the "base" for all my future banana quickbreads...besides being low fat, it's so easy to make! I am sure it can live up to other variations such as banana-strawberries; banana-orange, banana-raisins, and of course banana-chocolate chips.

Ingredients:
(makes one loaf)

185g self-raising flour
20g butter
80g sugar
1 egg, lightly beaten
60ml low fat milk
1/2 cup mashed banana (about 2)
1/2 cup fresh blueberries

Method:
  1. Preheat oven to 180 degC. Grease 14cm x 20cm loaf pan; line base with parchment paper.
  2. Working over a bowl, toss the blueberries with about 1 ~ 2 teaspoon of flour in a sieve, and set aside. Coating the blueberries with flour helps to keep them from sinking to the bottom of the muffins as they bake.
  3. Sift flour into a mixing bowl, rub in the butter with fingertips.
  4. Stir in sugar, egg, milk and mashed bananas. Do not over mix, the batter should be lumpy. Gently stir in blueberries and spoon mixture into loaf pan.
  5. Bake for 30 mins or until skewer inserted into the centre comes out clean.
  6. Remove from oven, let cool for a few mins. Unmold and leave to cool completely.

15 comments:

Unknown said...

Wow...this look really yummy!!
Great shots too!

Happy Homebaker said...

Thanks Jacelyn!

:: Pastry Girl :: said...

thks for dropping by at my blog! :)
I have worked at Mac before and frying those fries really bring back memories!

Wow.. blueberry bread. I love berries. I just ate strawberry jam with real fruits in it for breakfast! Yum.

Happy home baking! Look fwd to more interesting baked goods of yours..

Chawanmushi said...

Hi happy homebaker
I love quick breads too.
This certainly looks good and I'm going to givr it as try one of these days :-)
Thanks for sharing this.

Happy Homebaker said...

hi chawanmushi, thanks! This is one good recipe which is easy to bake and contains very low fat :)

Anonymous said...

very yummy thanks

Happy Homebaker said...

hi MiuMiu, thanks for visiting :)

Anonymous said...

hi.. i have been following your blog some time back and i really your recipes. Am really tempted to start baking one day. so, would like to get some tips from you on some basic tools for baking to start off with. thanks!

Happy Homebaker said...

Hi, you will need an oven, an oven thermometer, a balloon whisk, a spatula, 1 or 2 mixing bowls, a sieve, measuring spoons, a weighing scale, baking paper (parchment paper), a 7" or 8" round baking pan (best to get those with removeable base). At least one baking tray for making cookies and muffins (you may use paper muffin cups or get a muffin pan). These are the most basic items that you need. An electric hand held mixer for making chiffon cakes and sponge cakes will be good to have. I do not have a standing mixer, but many home bakers use a standing mixer. If you are serious in this baking hobby and has the budge, you may consider getting one. Hope this helps :)

Anonymous said...

thank you very much for the reply..

Anonymous said...

thanks for the reply.. it is certainly helpful.
just one more thing to ask, do you have any particular oven brand to recommend for a beginner like me?

Happy Homebaker said...

Hi, Sorry, I am not able to make any recommendation on any specific oven. It depends on your usage, your kitchen space and your budget.

sunayana said...

Hi Happy Home Baker, your banana and blueberry bread was looking so delicious and i am planning to bake this. Here i will be getting only frozen blueberries, can i use them instead of fresh berries?

Happy Homebaker said...

You may use frozen blueberries. Do not thaw before using.

sunayana said...

thank you so much for your guidence.