To give credit where it is due, the basic sweet bread batter that inspired this creation was a recipe at Sugar Free Low Carb Recipes. I changed it up by adding vanilla, sweetener, baking powder and glucomannan powder. I believe the smooth texture is now the perfect foundation for my favorite sweet breads.
This morning, I added 2 mashed bananas for a lovely banana bread (cut into 18 slices) that only has 3.74 g. net carbs per slice! The texture of this batter is amazingly smooth and moist. No crumbling! The basic batter only has 1.08 g. net carbs (cut into 18 slices), so conceivably you could add any variety of fruits, dried fruits, nuts and flavorings for an endless variety of breakfast/dessert sweet breads. Be sure to add in the added carbs for any nuts you add and recalculate your new per-serving numbers, because the numbers below only reflect the basic batter and 2 mashed bananas. This is suitable for Atkins OWL or above and I believe for Paleo-Primal adherence as well.
This recipe appears in Vol. 5 of Jennifer Eloff’s latest cookbook series Low Carbing Among Friends. These books are a compilation of fantastic recipes from well-known low-carb cooking gurus on the internet. Even George Stella has participated in Jennifer’s latest cookbooks. They would make a wonderful addition to any low-carb cook’s library and you can order your copies at Amazon or here: http://amongfriends.us/order.php
INGREDIENTS:
1/3 c. coconut flour
2/3 c. almond flour
¼ tsp. sea salt
1 T. glucomannan powder
1 tsp. baking powder
Sweetener equivalent for ½ c. sugar (I used ¼ c. Steviva)
1 stick unsalted butter, melted
3 T. coconut oil, liquified
½ tsp. vanilla
8 eggs, beaten
2 mashed bananas
DIRECTIONS: Preheat oven to 350º. Grease a loaf pan with a bit of coconut oil or butter. I use an odd-size loaf pan 4″x 2½x 10″ that allows me to get 18 smaller slices from my loaf. Using a standard loaf pan, you may only get 9 slices and have to cut them in half to get the carb values shown below for each of my 18 slices. Mix dry ingredients in a small mixing bowl. In a larger bowl, beat or whip all wet ingredients. Add the dry items to the wet and whip with a whisk or electric mixer until smooth. Fold in your desired fruit, nuts or flavorings and stir well. Spoon batter into greased pan, level with a spoon and bake at 350º for 40-45 minutes or until a toothpick stuck into center comes out dry/clean. Cool a bit, slice into 18 servings (or 9 cut in halves) and serve warm.
NUTRITIONAL INFO: Makes 18 servings, each contains: (2 bananas calculated in below, but no nuts)
141 calories, 12 g fat, 5.61 g carbs, 1.87 g fiber, 3.74 g NET CARBS, 4.24 g protein, 90 mg sodium
Buttoni's Low-Carb Recipes 
I love the Honeyville blanched almond flour also and have bought from them for a few years. Costco carries a 3 lb. bag of it now if anyone belongs or has a friend that does..
Wish we had a Costco. Have to drive an hour to Austin to go to one, so we finally let our membership drip as that was just too much of a hassle.
What exactly is Glucomannan?
It’s a fiber taken from the Konjac tuber. When added to baked goods, I find it improves smoothness, texture, crumb and crust. If omitted, I don’t know that your banana bread would look or have the mouth feel of mine. But the bread should BAKE OK without it.
Thank you Peggy. Do you think I could use all coconut oil instead of the butter?
Sure, just be aware the taste of coconut may come through a bit.
This looks amazing! Do you think you could substitute some canned pumpkin for the banana to make a pumpkin bread? Maybe add some pumpkin pie spice as well. I would love your guidance on this transformation!
Sure, that will work. Just use an equal amount of pumpkin so the moisture to dry ingredients ratio doesn’t change. That’s a GREAT idea, Linda!
(trying to convert to a 13×9 btw)
Do you know the approx. volume of your loaf pan, and that of the mashed bananas? :O using this to convert a recipe…
I just checked and my extra-long pan holds 5 cups of batter with 3/4″ head space for rising. Two MEDIUM bananas usually gives me about 2/3-3/4 cup of mashed banana. I usually get 1 c. mashed from 2 LARGE bananas. But I’ve never found making banana bread the precise volume is crucial. Every recipe I’ve ever made called for 2 and I’ve never measured it out to see how much that really is. Sorry.
I too am without glucomannan . From the name it sounds like it is a substitute for gluten. Wrong? If so would adding gluten work?
It provides elasticity and increases volume a bit. Don’t know if subbing in gluten would result in the same bread or not. Low-carb baking is such a science experiment. if you try it, let me know how it comes out…..I’m curious.
Thank you for your kind response. I’d like to make your french toast recipe with this recipe. Of course, I love banana bread and I guess I could try it and see how it effects my blood sugar. Do you purchase your almond meal/flour from Netrition, too?
No, I buy the 4# bag (and also my oat fiber) from Honeyvillegrains.com and store most of it in my freezer to be safe. Just keep a little in my pantry in a canister. It’s a little better deal at Honeyvillegrains and they’re great to do business with. It’s one of the few things I DON’T buy at Netrition.
I’ve been buying an almond meal at Trader Joe but I recently read (maybe it was on your site) that the almond flour is better to use in baking than the meal. There is a $2 a pound differenc between Trader Joe’s price and Honeyville grains almond flour/meal. Do you think there is that much difference between the meal and the flour? Also,w hat do you use the oat fiber for? Thanks for all your help.
I think the grind on the flour is finer, so the final texture is a bit smoother and therefore better in my opinion. But it’s not enough of a difference if cost is a problem for you. I have tried to grind my own at home, and I just can’t get it fine enough to be happy with the results.
I use oat fiber for the slight floury taste it has. You don’t really get that when you use all nut flour. Oat fiber enhances final texture, making a smoother baked product, less grainy, with fewer air holes.
Thank you. I hope I’m not driving you crazy with all my questions. I sure appreciate your help. I wondered why you are no longer using Carbquik?
I read Wheat Belly by Dr. William Davis. Don’t want to eat wheat ever again. It’s been so genetically modified it is metabolized to the detriment of health and fitness. But I’ve chosen to not remove those recipes that use it from my site in case others might be interested in them. Much experimentation went into my baked goods recipes and I want to keep the fruits of my kitchen experimentation on the site for posterity.
I was wondering if the glucomannan powder was essential? I do not have it on hand. Also, where do you purchase yours?
Welcome to the site, GDgirouard! Hmmmm……(with a smile on her face) how should I answer that question? Guess it kinda depends on your definition of essential and whether you’re looking for banana bread Nirvana or not. Just kidding. 🙂 I’m sure the bread will cook properly and will taste exactly the same, GD. But it likely won’t rise quite as high as mine pictured, nor be as smooth in appearance/texture. But if you’re craving banana bread RIGHT NOW, go for it! LOL I have been buying my Konjac brand of glucomannan from Netrition.com, where I can find most of my LC baking needs. Their $4.95 flat-rate shipping is really nice (since food is so darn heavy) so I wait and place larger orders to save! I have heard in several discussions on my favorite LC forums that many like this brand better than the NOW brand, but I confess I’ve not personally used the NOW brand, so I can’t speak from experience on that. They will both work and render same taste results (both are tasteless in baked goods). NOW brand users say the amount of gluc needs to be “tinkered with” up or down to get the same results I get with the identical measure of the Konjac brand.
Please note the addition of 2 mashed bananas to your printed recipe. I hit the submit button too fast. 🙂