Banana Bread

Experiment #5: Banana Bread

I used my favorite recipe from the Better Homes and Gardens cookbook as a starter. I had already changed it up to include wheat bran, ground flax seed, and more cinnamon in the past. Tonight I tried it with stevia.

Ingredients:

• 1 1/2 cups flour
• 1 1/2 tsp baking powder
• 1/4 tsp baking soda
• 1 tsp cinnamon
• 1/8 tsp salt
• 1 egg
• 2 lg mashed bananas
• 1/4 tsp Kal stevia
• 1/4 cup canola oil
• 1 tsp lemon peel
• 1/4 cup wheat bran
• 1 T Ground flax seed
• 1/4 cup 2% milk

1. I combined the flour, baking powder, baking soda, cinnamon, and salt in a large mixing bowl and then made a well in the center
2. In another bowl, I mashed the bananas, then added the egg, oil, lemon peel, wheat bran, and flax seed and mixed it well. I added 1/4 tsp stevia and tasted for sweetness. I was planning on adding a whole tsp in 1/4 tsp increments but thought it tasted fine after just 1/4 tsp. This stuff is strong!
3. I poured the wet mixture onto the dry mixture and stirred just until moistened (that is important to do in any quick bread--don't over stir!)
4. The batter seemed dry so I added 1/4 cup milk.
5. I poured batter into a pre-greased loaf pan and popped into a 350 degree oven for 50 minutes.

Nutrition Facts: 130 calories per serving (12 servings per loaf), Total Fat 5.5g, Saturated Fat: 0.6g, Sodium 59mg, Total Carbs 18.8g, Dietary Fiber 1.8g, Protein 2.8g

The whole loaf has about 1,580 calories, so if you cut it up different, then redo the math. I usually cut the loaf into 6 pieces, and then cut each piece in half when serving (I don't like thin slices, they tend to fall apart). If I has used sugar, it would have been about 180 calories per serving. Not bad!
Thoughts: I added the wheat bran to replace some of the bulk that I am losing from the sugar. It is only 30 calories for 1/4 cup so I figured why not? And it's healthy. It probably dried the batter out a bit though so I needed to add some milk to the batter. Next time I think I will add the milk to the wet ingredients right off the bat to minimize stirring in the end.
This is still in the oven as I type, so I will update this after I have tasted it... it sure smells good though!!
Update: I definitely did not add enough stevia. It is pretty good nevertheless. I will probably sprinkle brown sugar on it before serving it to the boys. I can eat it as is. Also the texture is different. The inside is nice and moist, but the outside is much crispier. I am guessing this is due to the wheat bran. I probably could have left that out altogether.... Also it did not come out of the pan nicely; the bottom stuck. I did not wait for it to cool like I usually do though.
For next time:

1. Add more stevia (1/2 tsp)
2. Use less wheat bran
3. Add applesauce instead of milk
4. Let cool 10 minutes before removing from pan

Morning-after Update: I wrapped the bread in foil and let it sit overnight. It tasted much better today. The crust softened up and it even seemed sweeter. I sprinkled a trace of brown sugar on it and I really enjoyed it.