Eggless Oat Flour Banana Bread
- 15 min prep
- 130 min
- Bake
- Serves 8
- 320 kcal
- 6.2 g protein
A moist, tender loaf made entirely with oat flour, ripe bananas and a flax egg. No maida, no eggs, no dairy, and you can grind the flour in your mixie.
Ingredients
- 2 cups (200 g) oat flour (or 2¼ cups rolled oats ground fine)
- 1½ tsp baking powder
- ¾ tsp baking soda
- 1 tsp cinnamon powder
- ¼ tsp salt
- 1 tbsp ground flax seeds mixed with 3 tbsp water (flax egg)
- 3 large very ripe bananas, mashed (about 1⅓ cups / 320 g)
- ½ cup (100 g) brown sugar or coconut sugar
- ¼ cup (60 ml) neutral oil or melted coconut oil
- ¼ cup (60 ml) oat milk or any plant milk
- 2 tsp lemon juice or vinegar
- 1 tsp vanilla extract
- ⅓ cup (40 g) chopped walnuts
Method
- 1Heat the oven to 175°C. Line a 9 x 5 inch (23 x 13 cm) loaf tin with baking paper, leaving an overhang on the long sides. In an OTG, use both rods and the lowest rack so the top does not sit close to the upper element.
- 2Stir the ground flax and water together in a small cup and leave for 10 minutes until it turns thick and gloopy.
- 3If grinding your own oat flour, blitz rolled oats in a dry mixie jar in short pulses until fine, then measure 200 g. Whisk it with the baking powder, baking soda, cinnamon and salt.
- 4In a large bowl, mash the bananas until mostly smooth. Whisk in the flax egg, sugar, oil, oat milk, lemon juice and vanilla.
- 5Add the dry mix and stir until just combined. The batter will be thick and spoonable. Fold in most of the walnuts.
- 6Scrape into the tin, level the top and scatter the remaining walnuts. Bake for 50 to 60 minutes, until the top is deep golden, springs back when pressed and a skewer in the centre comes out with no wet batter.
- 7If the top browns too fast after 35 minutes, lay a piece of foil loosely over it.
- 8Cool in the tin for 20 minutes, lift out with the paper and cool completely on a rack before slicing. Oat flour loaves are fragile while warm.
Notes from the Department
- Weigh the oat flour if you can. Scooped oat flour packs down and gives a dry, crumbly loaf.
- Let it cool fully, ideally an hour. Sliced warm, oat flour bread looks gummy even when it is properly baked.
- Turn the batter into 10 muffins and bake for 22 to 25 minutes if you are short on time.
Nutrition per serving
- Energy
- 320 kcal
- Protein
- 6.2 g
- Carbohydrate
- 42 g
- Fat
- 15 g
- Fibre
- 5 g
- Sugars
- 18 g
Why this works
Oat flour has no gluten, so it cannot build the stretchy network that holds a wheat loaf together. Banana and a flax egg take over that job: the banana is sticky and dense, and ground flax forms a gel that binds the crumb. The lemon juice gives the baking soda something to react with, so the loaf rises properly without curd or buttermilk.
The payoff is a soft, moist loaf with a gentle nutty flavour that maida does not have, and every slice is built on whole-grain oats.
Making oat flour at home
Grind rolled or quick oats in a dry mixer jar in short bursts, scraping the sides in between, until it looks like fine flour. Sift out any large flakes and grind them again. Make extra; it keeps in a jar for a month. For a strictly gluten-free loaf, start with oats labelled certified gluten-free and check that your baking powder is gluten-free too.
Swaps
Use jaggery powder for the sugar, or replace a quarter of it with maple syrup. Swap walnuts for dark chocolate chunks. If you are not cooking vegan, regular milk and melted butter work in the same amounts.
Storage
Wrap and keep at room temperature for 2 days or refrigerate for up to 5. Toast fridge-cold slices on a tawa with a little ghee or oil; they come back to life. Sliced and frozen, it keeps for a month.
Questions people ask
- Can I make banana bread with only oat flour?
- Yes, this loaf uses no other flour. It is slightly denser and more tender than a wheat loaf, and it needs to cool fully before slicing so the crumb can set.
- What can I use instead of a flax egg?
- Use ¼ cup (60 g) thick curd if you eat dairy, or 3 tbsp of applesauce. The flax egg gives the best structure in an oat-only batter.
- Why is my oat flour banana bread gummy in the middle?
- It was either underbaked or sliced while warm. Bake until a skewer comes out clean and let the loaf cool for at least an hour. Very large bananas can also add too much moisture, so measure 1⅓ cups mashed.
Inspired by My Quiet Kitchen. Method, notes and photograph by the Ministry of Oats.
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