Raw Food Alchemy by Amie Sue
Who doesn’t love banana bread? It’s a moist, sweet, and cake-like bread that smells like heaven. This raw version lives up to that description beautifully! I have made many raw breads and this combination of ingredients simply is amazing. My husband and I found the balance of flavors and texture to be just about perfect. The most important ingredient is the banana. I am serious :)… you must use RIPE bananas! It effects the flavor of the bread. To see if it is sweet enough, don’t be afraid to taste the “dough” before you shape the loaf and start dehydrating it.
You will notice in the ingredient list that I used 3 different sweeteners. Each one adds a specific type of flavor and sweetness. Dates offer a mild, rich sweetness, which lends a subtle complex flavor. They have a second purpose in the recipe as well, they work as a helpful binding agent. Stevia liquid offers sweetness without a particular flavor profile such as honey does. Stevia won’t affect the texture of the recipe either. Honey has a warm, grounding flavor, the sweetness of which varies due to where it was collected. Be sure to use raw honey because some manufacturers tend to add corn syrup in processed honey. If you are bee-gan (a vegan who doesn’t consume honey) you can use any other sweetener of your choice. Such as raw agave which has a balanced sweetness, with no strong undertones in flavor.
To accelerate ripening bananas at home, you just need ethylene gas. What aisle can that be found on in the supermarket? haha Think I am joking? The produce aisle! Luckily, tomatoes, apples, pears and bananas all produce it at an increasing rate as they ripen. If you put an apple or tomato in a brown bag with bananas, that will speed the ripening. Because bananas produce it, you can place the bananas in a bag to trap the gas and ripen them faster as well. If you use unripe bananas, the bread will taste bland. If you think that bananas only add flavor, you are wrong. The are loaded with; vitamins A, B1, B2, B3, B5, B6, B9, C, Calcium, Iron, Magnesium, Phosphorus, Potassium and Zinc! I will take my supplements in the shape of Raw Banana Walnut Bread, please. Much easier and more enjoyable that a capsule, don’t you agree?
I often find that my raw breads don’t require any type of “butters” or spreads on them because they are so dense and moist but for my sweetheart I made a Coconut Date Butter which compliments the Banana Walnut Bread quite well.
Dry Ingredients:
Wet Ingredients:
Hand mix in:
Fold the dough, making in into a tight loaf.
Photo below ~ With a serrated knife make cuts on top of the load in the thickness you want.
These are score marks. I usually cut mine in about 1″ thicknesses. Sprinkle crushed walnuts, cinnamon
and dried banana bites (optional) on top.
This loaf is 8″ long, 3 1/2″ wide and 3″ high.
Dehydrate whole at 145 degrees for 1-2 hours. Remove from dehydrator and slice.
Place slices on mesh sheet and continue drying at 110 degrees for 6 hours or longer. You don’t
want to over-dry the bread. It should be firm on the outside and moist inside.
Enjoy!
This looks amazing, Amie Sue! Is there any replacement for the almond pulp? I never have almond pulp o hand because I do not get around to making almond milk! What is the purpose of the almond pulp?
THANKS YOU!!!! BLESSINGS!!!
Hello Chris… you can try almond meal but it might be a bit denser. You could try sprouted buckwheat flour…but I encourage you to make some nut milk, any kind and use the pulp in the recipe. You might a new love for a non-dairy drink. :)
I accidentally went to your website, and learned a lot from it. I am tring to be a raw vegan. at least one mont and then we will go from there. But thank you very much for your good receips and teaching adwices. I never see bread receipes before. I am just exploring in the” raw world” Good luck to me :)
Melania
Well Melania, I am glad that you accidentally found my site. If you have any questions, please let me know and i will help as much as I can. amie sue
This is on the menu for next week. Thanks, Amie-Sue.
Keep me posted! Enjoy!
Bravo!
The recipe is excellent with other fruit-nut combos as well. We’ll be eating persimmon-pecan bread next week.
Can an oven be used for dehydration of the Banana nut bread (I think 150 is lowest setting)? Or will this make the bread “baked” vs raw? If it’s ok, how long does the bread need to be inside the oven? Thank you.
Tina… the oven will “cook” it and defeat the aim for retaining the enzymes. amie sue
OMG….I love your website! :)Thank you
lol Valentina… thank you, I am so glad that you do. If I can be of help during your recipe exploration here, just let me know. Have a great evening, amie sue
Made this recipe with very ripe persimmons and pecans instead of banana and walnut. Superb! Thank you.
OH sounds scrumptious! I wonder if they have any ripe ones where I am right now. I might has to try this. Thank you :) amie sue
Looks & tastes like pumpkin bread, with the orange color and the spices. The persimmon season is almost done, so hope you get a few ripe stragglers.
I am going to check tomorrow. :) Sounds delicious! amie sue
Gingerbread that was black with molasses was a mainstay when I was a child. I think I’ve figured out how to make a raw version of that childhood favorite using your recipe here, with a few subsitutions.
I’m trying out my idea this weekend.
Thanks, Amie Sue. You’ve opened so many doors for me; I’ve learned so much from you.
That is music to my ears Ben! Thank you :) I hope… no I know, it will turn out great. Have a wonderful evening. amie sue
Turned out great. Thank you.
Thumbs up* Thanks for letting me know Ben!
I’ve been using this recipe as a base to make savory breads that I shape like flat breads. I’ve skipped the oats entirely–I use more almond meal instead. Thanks so much.
Greetings from Portugal, and thank you for a wonderful site. Being new to this approach of food preparation, I am kind of wondering why you can not use a conventional oven set at the same temperature. The dehydrators seem quite expensive. I am not trying to be obtuse, just trying to get my head around the alchemy of it. Thanks
Good morning Michael….
Ohhh Portugal! My husband and I sooo want to visit that area one day. We have honestly talked about it every year and I am sure we will yet get there. :) Now for your question… I have yet to see a conventional oven get to the low temps of 105-115 degrees. That is why all raw recipes are done in dehydrators. The temp needs to stay under those temps in order for it to remain raw and keep the nutrients alive. Do you have an oven there that gets that low?
When people don’t have a dehydrator yet still want to make some of my recipes, the best advice I can give is to use the oven set at the lowest temp, keep the door cracked and place a fan on the side, blowing over the door (this helps whisk the moisture away) As far as the length of time the recipes will take… will be trial and error since I never “bake” mine. There is a risk of heating it to high and it is no longer raw, but in the end the ingredients used are still far healthier than the commercially made products. Does that help or make sense? Let me know Michael.
Have a wonderful day, amie sue
An excellent answer indeed that answered all the questions and uncertainty. Thanks for you knowledge and speedy reply. If you head this way. Please feel free to ask away, I know the country well and can probably give you some pertinent advice on areas etc. I am so looking forward to trying your recipes………how brill is that…….thanks again. Michael
Your welcome Michael… glad I was of help. I will certainly keep you posted when we head that way. Always good to get the locals tips! Have a great day, ammie sue
Just wondering what I could use instead of the oats for this bread? The prep work for the oats (soaking etc) is a bit much work, plus they aren’t raw & we can’t find any raw ones here in Australia. I LOVE the look & sound of this bread, but don’t want to use oats & I noticed not all of your bread use oats, so I am hoping there is a substitute for this one too :)
Your recipes are great! You have put in so much effort & it shows. I have made a few of your recipes & they have been VERY yummy, so thank you :)
I look forward to hearing from you soon :)
Hello Sarah…
You can use more almond meal/flour or us almond pulp instead of the oats. :) Thank you for the kind words, I appreciate them. Please let me know how it turns out. Have a wonderful evening, amie sue
Thanks so much! I will give it a go & let you know how it turns out :)
I would like to understand what type of oats you used. Are these the raw rolled oats? And don’t you need to saok them before using them if they are raw? I once tried to soak raw oats and then blend them with some cinnamon for a raw cereal they have such a starchy taste. If you don’t soak them are they better? I am very curious as to how to eat oats raw as I feel it may help me in my aspirations to sticking to more raw foods. thanks
Hello Bracha….
It all depends on what I can get and have on hand. My first choice is always raw oats, but sometimes I can’t get them and will use rolled oats (alway gluten-free). I soak all oats regardless if raw or not. I have seen many recipes on-line that don’t soak the oats… well some soak them overnight but often in milks and then they use the soak liquid in their recipes. Personally, I soak the oats separately overnight, drain and rinse the heck out of them. To me it doesn’t make sense to soak them, releasing the phytic acids into the soak liquid and then consuming that. For me, it is better to be safe than sorry. I hope this helps, amie sue
I made the bread yesterday. It was very good. It was a lot darker looking. Do you take the almond skins off before making almond milk? I’m not sure what you are doing different than me. Cinnamon also makes it darker. Your bread looks a lot like bread made in the oven. What am I doing different?
Hi Marlene,
Sometimes I peel my almonds when making nut milk if I want a blonde pulp. It is possible that when I made this, that could have been the case. I don’t remember. I tend to keep nut pulp in the freezer until I get a stock pile. If you want a lighter color in your bread, you can certainly remove the almond skins. It won’t effect the flavor but some people do find that almonds are easier to digest with the skin removed. Not sure if this is an issue. Have a wonderful week! amie sue
Hi Amie Sue,
Your website is world class!
The colors, the photos, the reciepies… the presentation is seriously helemaal TOP as they say here in the Netherlands. :)
Thank you for making it and offering it to all of us.
I am pacing around the dehydrator just WAITING for the banana bread to be ready.
I never have almond pulp, so substituted with sesame pulp.
The dough turned out a little wetter than the photos you have posted here, but that is because my date paste was very thin. It is working out though, I can tell. It looks fantastic. And, I’m taking your tip, IF I share it, I will not mention that it is raw!
in thanks, Irene
Thank you, again, for this recipe! And all the recipes!
Golly Irene,
Thank you soooo much. I just might have to start using that word, helemaal! hehe I bet your bread smells incredible! I love all the amazing aromas that come out of the dehydrator. :) Enjoy and have a wonderful weekend! Keep me posted how the bread turns out. amie sue
Hi, i just put my Honey Oat Bread in the dehydrator and i was looking for another bread to make. My question is, if i don’t have almond pulp around, what can i use instead ?
Aloha
Hi Carmen,
You can try almond flour/meal or oat flour but personally I wouldn’t. The nut pulp helps to give it that perfect texture. :)
OMG, you are a genius, lady! I am 90% raw but was getting a bit bored with it, especially missing my bread. Now I am excited again.
I love your photos. I want to eat EVERYTHING!
Awe thank you Victoria! I hope you get re-energized here with new and exciting dishes! Eat up! hehe Have a great evening, amie sue
Hello Amie-Sue
Made this recipe. Tastes really really good, looks not as nice as yours does~~ Think I added too much liquid or once again, my almond pulp was wetter than yours is. Took a bit longer to dry~~so what is a few more hours when you are smelling this wonderful odor wafting through the air from your dehydrator, meanwhile mouth watering during this lengthy period of time. HA HA So happy to be eating raw breads again. My taste buds thank you :))
Hi Linda… you will start to understand nut pulp the more you use it… when it is to wet or to dry and how to adjust your recipes. I am glad you have it a try though and liked it. :) I think I could smell it too. hehe Blessings, amie sue