Eggless, butter- less Oatmeal-Flaxmeal Banana-Raisin Bread

While I have made some eggless cakes, they have been made using tried and tested recipes from my other blogger friends. But I can never confidently tell someone what is the perfect, fool-proof substitute for egg. I have read up tons of stuff regarding what could be substituted for eggs. Reading and doing is two different things! I had overripe bananas lying around. I had also recently got a bag of Flaxmeal which I use with my oatmeal. I decided to try substituting Flaxmeal for eggs. Banana bread would be a safe bet as there would be little that could go wrong. So I set about experimenting, switching oatmeal for flour and Flaxmeal for eggs and butter. I didn't want to take too big a chance, so I added 1/4 cup olive oil. The result was a resounding success! The bread was moist and delicious! The only difference when compared to the regular banana bread is that the loaf is not as big. It is 3/4 it's size.You can find my original banana bread recipe here.

Servings: 6-8

Ingredients:

Oat flour: 2 cups
Flaxmeal: 3 tbsp+ 3/4 cup
Water: 1/2 cup + 1 tbsp
 Baking soda: 1 tsp
 Salt:1/4 tsp
 Ground cinnamon: ½ tsp
 Ground nutmeg: ¼ tsp
 Vanilla extract:1 tsp
 Brown sugar:3/4 cup
Olive oil: 1/4 cup
Overripe bananas: 2 cups( 4 bananas),mashed
 Walnuts:½ cup,chopped(optional)
Raisins: 1/4 cup ( optional)

Method:

In a mixing bowl mix together 3 tbsp Flaxmeal with 1/2 cup and 1 tbsp water and keep aside.

Preheat oven to 350 F degrees. Lightly grease a 9 x 5 inch loaf pan and keep aside.

Beat together the flaxmeal+water mixture, oil, sugar, baking soda, salt, cinnamon, nutmeg  in a medium bowl until smooth. Add the banana,  beating until smooth. Add oat flour and 3/4 cup flaxmeal, raisins and nuts, stirring until smooth. Spoon the batter into the prepared pan and let it rest at room temperature, uncovered for 10 minutes.

Bake the bread for 45 minutes. Lay a piece of foil gently across the top and bake until a cake tester (like a toothpick) inserted into the center comes out clean, 10 to 15 minutes more..

Remove the bread from the oven and allow it to cool for 10 minutes before turning it out of the pan onto a rack to cool completely.

 Slice and serve with a cup of tea or coffee.

Enjoy! I am bringing this to all the wonderful gals at Angie's Fiesta Friday. This week's co-hosts are the very talented and capable Selma @Selma's table and Elaine@Foodbod.

Cooking made easy:

Oat flour can be easily made at home by grinding oatmeal to a fine powder using a regular blender/ mixie.

Flaxmeal can also be made at home by grinding flax seeds in a blender/ mixie.

Tip for healthy living:

Flaxseeds are extremely healthy. They are not only rich in omega-3 fatty acids,but are also great source of dietary fiber. Flaxmeal is a great way of incorporating flax seeds into our daily diet. You could just mix it into your regular shakes/ smithies, oatmeal etc.

Food for thought:

A thing well done is worth doing. Hugh Leonard