Homemade Oat Flour Banana Bread with Chocolate Chips

An easy choc chip banana bread made with homemade oat flour.

BANANA BREAD

Banana bread is a staple bake in our house. 

I often wonder if I only buy so many bananas so I can make banana bread?

My husband and son queue up for a slice as soon as it's out of the oven. 

Every time they do this, even though I tell them repeatedly that it needs to cool first. 

Of course it always ends up being cut while still warm.

WHAT'S SO GOOD ABOUT BANANA BREAD

• It's easy to whip up a batch of banana bread (you don't even have to get your stand mixer or electric hand mixer out).
• The batter just needs a quick mix with a spoon or spatula.
• It uses store cupboard ingredients and uses up those over-ripe bananas that otherwise might end up in the bin.
• You can mix it in one bowl if you like (wet ingredients first, then dry) and save on washing up.
• You can change it every time. Add spices or chocolate chips or raisins or nuts.
• It's delicious!

also try Basic Wholemeal Bread

BAKING WITH OAT FLOUR

If you're running out of flour, oat flour a good substitute for plain flour and you can make it yourself at home.

You can use just oat flour or you can use 3/4 oat flour and 1/4 plain flour to lighten it up.

If you're using oat flour in place of self-raising four you will need to add 2 tsp baking powder per 1 cup or 150g of oat flour and if there's cocoa powder in the recipe, add 1 tsp of bicarbonate of soda too.

I've been experimenting with oat flour and I've made this banana bread with both a mixture of oat flour and plain flour and I've also made it with just oat flour and it still makes a great banana bread.

You can also try this Rhubarb and Custard Cake which is also made with oat flour.

HOW DO YOU MAKE OAT FLOUR?

Oat flour is easy to make at home.

It's made from oats, either porridge oats (also known as rolled oats), oatmeal or jumbo oats. That's it just oats.

1. First weigh out the exact amount of flour you need in the recipe in oats. So if you're recipe calls for 250g of flour, weigh out 250g of oats. 
2. If you use cup measures whizz up the flour first then measure out in cups to get an exact measurements.
3. Place your oats in a food processor or blender and whizz them until they turn into a fine flour.

PORRIDGE OATS

Oats are one of the best staples you can have in your store cupboard.

They're great for making creamy porridge in the morning, but you can also use them to make Scottish flapjacks, to make a crunchy topping for your fruit crumble like my blackberry and pear crumble or add them to smoothies to thicken them and of course you can make oat flour.

Oats are full of slow release energy. They are also high in protein, vitamins and minerals.

I use Hamlyn's of Scotland oats for breakfast and in my recipes. Their oats are really good quality, 100% natural with no added salt, sugar or additives.

Hamlyn's are a family business who have been milling premium Scottish oats since 1888 and their products are sold in all good supermarkets.

They mill porridge oats, porridge oats with bran (10% wheat bran added), oatmeal and pinhead oatmeal.

Check out the Hamlyn's website for all their oat recipes for more inspiration.

BANANA BREAD TIPS

1. Use ripe bananas.
2. Mash the bananas until they are gloopy.
3. You need enough liquid to be able to mix into the dry ingredients.
4. Add the dry ingredients into the wet ingredients.
5. Do not over mix or your banana bread will be rubbery.
6. Fold in gently with a metal spoon or silicone spatula.
7. Line your loaf tin.
8. Loaf tin liners are ready cut and shaped. They are fuss-free and worth buying.
9. Cover the banana bread with foil for the last half hour to prevent over browning.
10. Use a skewer to see if the banana bread is ready. Insert the skewer, if it comes out clean (no batter) the banana bread is ready.

STORING BANANA BREAD

I store banana bread in foil on the counter top, but only because it only lasts one or two days in my house.

You can store it for 2 or 3 days in an airtight container.

FREEZING BANANA BREAD

To freeze banana bread wrap it tightly in freezer safe cling film, then wrap in foil or pop in a freezer bag and mark with the date.

You can freeze it for 3-4 months.

Alternatively you can slice the banana bread, then wrap the slices individually in cling film before adding to a freezer bag.  

If you wrap individual slices you can take out just what you need and leave it to defrost at room temperature or toast from frozen.

Did I mention how good banana bread is frozen? 

So good. 

Slather your toasted banana bread with butter or dairy-free spread. 

Heavenly!

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WHAT YOU NEED TO MAKE BANANA BREAD WITH CHOCOLATE CHIPS

• ripe bananas
• sugar
• cinnamon (optional)
• milk (dairy or dairy-free)
• vanilla extract
• flour (plain, oat flour or a mix of both)
• baking powder
• salt
• chocolate chips (optional)

HOW TO MAKE HOMEMADE OAT FLOUR BANANA BREAD WITH CHOCOLATE CHIPS

Scroll down for a free printable recipe

STEP ONE - LINE THE TIN

Line a 2 lb loaf tin with non-stick baking paper or a loaf tin liner.

A good tip is to add dabs of butter or dairy-free spread around the edge of the tin to hold the baking paper or loaf tin liner in place.

It makes it much easier to pour in the banana bread batter.

STEP TWO - MAKE YOUR OAT FLOUR

Whizz porridge oats in a blender or food processor into a fine flour.

Add the flour to a large mixing bowl.

If you are using plain flour too, add it too as well as the baking powder and salt, then mix.

STEP THREE - PREPARE THE BANANAS

You need three medium to large ripe bananas for this bread.

Peel, then mash the banana until soft and gloopy.

STEP FOUR - WET INGREDIENTS

To the mashed banana add the vanilla extract, sugar and milk (dairy or dairy-free).

Mix well.

STEP FIVE - BANANA BREAD BATTER

Add the wet ingredients to the dried ingredients.

UPDATE AUGUST 2021: I now just prepare the wet ingredients and weigh the dry ingredients on top, then fold in. Less washing up and easier to incorporate all the flour.

If the mixture is too dry (it depends on the bananas), you can add some extra milk. Just enough to be able to mix the batter.

Add the chocolate chips.

Fold the wet ingredients into the dry ingredients gently.

Do not over mix or your banana bread will be rubbery.

Pour into your prepared loaf tin.

STEP SIX - BAKE

Bake in a pre-heated oven until golden and a skewer comes out clean.

Cover with foil for the last 30 minutes of the bake to prevent it browning too much.

Cool in the pan for 10-15 minutes, then remove from the tin and continue cooling on a wire rack.

When cool, slice and enjoy!

For more Scottish recipes have a look at my recipe index of Scottish Recipes for Vegans and Vegetarians

Homemade Oat Flour Banana Bread with Chocolate Chips

Yield: 10-12

Author: Jacqueline Meldrum

Prep time: 10 MCook time: 1 H & 10 MTotal time: 1 H & 20 M

An easy choc chip banana bread made with homemade oat flour.

Ingredients:

• 3 medium ripe bananas
• 120g/1/2 cup + 2 tbsp caster sugar
• 2 tsp vanilla extract
• 200ml dairy-free milk
• 450g/2 cups + 1 tbsp oat flour (see notes)
• 2 tsp ground cinnamon
• 1 tsp baking powder
• a pinch of salt
• 100g/2/3 cup dark chocolate chips

Instructions:

How to cook Homemade Oat Flour Banana Bread with Chocolate Chips

1. Preheat the oven to 180c/160c fan/350f/gas mark 4.
2. Line a 2 lb loaf tin with non-stick baking paper or a loaf tin liner.
3. Mash the bananas in a bowl.
4. Add vanilla extract, sugar, cinnamon and dairy-free milk and mix well.
5. In another large mixing bowl add the flour, the baking powder, the salt and chocolate chips, then mix well.
6. Pour the wet ingredients into the dry and fold in gently with a metal spoon or silicone spatula. Don't over mix.
7. Pour the banana bread batter into your lined loaf tin and bake oven for 1 hour 10 minutes.
8. Cover the loaf with foil for the last 20 -30 minutes to prevent it over-browning.
9. Do a skewer test 10 minutes before the bake time is up, if the skewer comes out clean the banana bread is ready.
10. Leave your banana bread to cool in the loaf tin for 10- 15 minutes until cook enough to handle, then remove from the tin and continue cooling on a baking rack.
11. Enjoy!

Notes:

UPDATE AUGUST 2021: I now just prepare the wet ingredients and weigh the dry ingredients on top, then fold in. Less washing up and easier to incorporate all the flour.

To make oat flour, weigh 450g of porridge oats (rolled oats) into a food processor or blender and whizz into a fine flour.
You can use plain flour instead or a mixture of oat flour and plain flour.
DO NOT over mix the batter or your banana bread will be rubbery.
You can store it for 2 or 3 days in an airtight container.
To freeze banana bread wrap it tightly in freezer safe cling film, then wrap in foil or pop in a freezer bag and mark with the date. You can freeze it for 3-4 months.
You can also wrap individual slices, then store in a resealable freezer bag.

Calories
274.25

Fat (grams)
4.63

Sat. Fat (grams)
1.01

Carbs (grams)
51.33

Fiber (grams)
4.12

Net carbs
47.21

Sugar (grams)
16.78

Protein (grams)
7.73

Sodium (milligrams)
81.90

Cholesterol (grams)
1.66

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baking

Scottish, vegan

Created using The Recipes Generator

Disclosure: I created this recipe for Hamlyns of Scotland. I was not required to write a positive review and any opinions expressed are my own.