A week or two ago I found a recipe for a nut and seed bread filled with banana, orange juice and, if I am not mistaken, chocolate. I emailed the recipe to some family and friends because it looked not only healthy but also yummy! I’ll provide a link for that recipe at the end so you can try both.

The thing with the other recipe is that it calls for – and let me think a minute so I get this right…self-rising whole-meal flour. I asked the blogger (and my Aunt Paul of course) if you had to use the self-rising flour. The blogger said…

“I use wholemeal Self Raising Flour because it is less processed than the typical Self Raising Flour. Self Raising Flour helps your cake to rise. You can use the equivalent amount of plain flour but you would also need to add baking powder – 3 tsp”

This sent me, and my curious mind on a mission to research flour. Bleached, unbleached, self-rising, whole-meal, best for bread, best for cake and pastry, whole wheat, Canadian, American, flours from the UK…wait, what? There’s a difference between our Canadian flour and those made elsewhere? Apparently there is. Our flour has a higher protein content than flours milled elsewhere. But what does that mean? Here is some information…

Which flour to use

All that said, when I sent the yummy looking recipe with orange juice, banana and nuts and seeds my Aunt Paul gave me a recipe that she used to bake all of the time. And it looks equally yummy. Aunt Paul says that she thinks adding cranberries and orange juice to her recipe would be extra delicious!

Ingredients

• 1 egg
• 1 cup of buttermilk
• 1/3 cup of oil
• 1 cup of white flour
• 1 cup of whole wheat flour
• 1 cup of brown sugar
• 1/3 cup of finely chopped nuts
• 2 Tbsp. each of wheat germ + flax seed + sesame seeds + sunflower seeds + poppy seeds
• 1 tsp. of baking powder
• 1 tsp. of baking soda
• 1/2 tsp. of salt

Instructions

1. Preheat oven to 350°F (180°C). Grease a 9″ x 5″ (2 L) loaf pan.
2. Combine egg, buttermilk, oil and flour in large mixing bowl. Add remaining ingredients and mix well.
3. Spread in prepared pan.
4. Bake in preheated oven for 50 to 60 minutes, or until toothpick inserted in centre comes out clean. Cool 10 minutes, then remove from pan and cool on wire rack.

Here is the link to the other recipe…

Seeded Banana And Orange Bread

I can’t wait to hear which recipe you try! Maybe you will combine the two and make your own creation! Happy baking!