ʻUlu Maiʻa Bread (Breadfruit Banana Bread) Recipes

Recipe Experiments with ‘Ulu Flour

Experimenting with ʻulu (breadfruit) flour from Kahumana Organic Farms. Below are my current recipe notes, which I may update with more information and photos as I continue to experiment. I’m currently short on time to do extras like taking nice photos!

A slice of the ʻulu maiʻa bread, showing the pieces of cooked, ripe breadfruit inside.

Recipe: ʻUlu Maiʻa Bread with Whole Wheat Flour

• 1 1/2 cups very ripe mai’a (banana), mashed or pureéd.

• 3 eggs, large.

• 2/3 cup sugar.

• 1 cup ‘ulu flour.

• 1/2 cup whole wheat flour.

• 1 teaspoon baking soda.

• 1/4 teaspoon salt.

• pinch of 5-spice powder (optional; can use cinnamon instead).

• 2 cups of ripe ‘ulu (breadfruit), cooked, peeled, cored, and diced into roughly 1/2” square cubes.

• 8” x 8” x 2” baking pan, greased or lined with parchment paper.

Preheat oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit.

Beat together the banana and eggs (I do this by hand with a dough whisk). Stir in the sugar. Stir in the flours, baking soda, and salt (as well as the five-spice or cinnamon, if you are using it). Fold in the diced ‘ulu. Pour into the baking pan and bake for 30 - 40 minutes.

Recipe Notes

• Spices: the Chinese five-spice or cinnamon is there to enhance the flavor of the ‘ulu. You can add more if you want to be able to taste the spices; my goal is to be able to taste the ‘ulu.

• Cooking the ‘ulu: can be baked or steamed until tender. I use ‘ulu that is as ripe as possible - soft and fragrant.

  • Roasted ‘Ulu recipe from Hawaiian Electric.

  • Steam: cut into quarters and steam for 30 - 40 minutes, until tender. Pull out the core. Peel the skin off.

• Baking pan: I use this size to try to keep this bread from getting really dense (I’m concerned that the weight of the dough in a loaf pan would make it really solid). This could also work as muffins.

Recipe: ‘Ulu Mai’a Bread, Gluten Free

• 1 1/2 cups very ripe mai’a (banana), pureéd.

• 3 eggs, large.

• 2/3 cup sugar.

• 1 1/2 cups ‘ulu flour.

• 1 teaspoon baking soda.

• 1/4 teaspoon salt.

• pinch of 5-spice powder (optional; can use cinnamon instead).

• 2 cups of ripe ‘ulu (breadfruit), cooked, peeled, cored, and diced into roughly 1/2” square cubes.

• 8” x 8” x 2” baking pan, greased or lined with parchment paper.

Preheat oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit.

Purée the banana (I use a stick blender for this). Beat the eggs and sugar with a hand mixer until pale yellow and about triple in volume. Stir together the puréed banana and ‘ulu flour. Add to the banana mixture the baking soda and salt (as well as the five-spice or cinnamon, if you are using it), and stir well. Fold in the egg and sugar mixture. Fold in the diced ‘ulu. Pour into the baking pan and bake for 30 minutes.

Recipe Notes

• Because there is no gluten in this, my goal is to get more air into the dough.

• This bread came out dry. Possibly overbaked (I left it in for 40 minutes); next time I plan to add some liquid. Also considering using brown sugar instead of white sugar, for more moisture and a little more flavor.

Where to buy ‘ulu flour and ‘ulu

‘Ulu Flour

Kahumana Organic Farms Ulu Flour / Hawaiian Breadfruit Flour

The ‘ulu flour I am using came from Kahumana Organic Farms. Kahumana Organic Farms is a nonprofit co-creating a healthy, inclusive and productive farm-based community with homeless families, people with disabilities and youth on Oʻahu. You can purchase fruits, vegetables, and ʻulu flour from the farm through their Community Supported Agriculture (CSA) subscriptions, and farmers markets on Oʻahu (please note, though, that at the time I am writing this, not all markets are open).

I have not been able to find ‘ulu flour for purchase elsewhere, and I haven’t tried making it myself at home.

• Kumu Myles: Ulu Flour on YouTube. Video shows ‘ulu being shredded, dried, ground and sifted.

‘Ulu

Fresh ‘ulu can be found in Hawai’i for sale at farmers markets, Asian groceries, Polynesian markets, and some grocery stores.

• The Roots Program in Kalihi (O’ahu) partners with farmers to provide Polynesian cultural foods, including ‘ulu.

• Cooked, frozen ʻulu can be purchased from the Hawaiʻi ʻUlu Cooperative; shipping is free in the state of Hawaiʻi.

Sweet Coconut Brown Rice with Mango (Instant Pot)

A scoop of sweet brown rice with fresh mango slices fanned out on the side. This makes a hearty and filling breakfast!

Sweet Coconut Brown Rice with Mango

Ingredients

Makes 3 cups cooked rice. 3 - 6 servings, depending on how much rice per serving.

• 1 cup sweet brown rice

• 2 cups coconut milk (plus more for serving with, if desired)

• 2 dried dates, chopped (optional)

• pinch of salt

• 1 fresh mango, peeled and sliced

Cooking Instructions

Instant Pot (electric pressure cooker): combine the rice, coconut milk, dates (if using) and salt. Cook at 15 minutes high pressure with natural release. For the easiest cleanup, put the rice mixture in a Pyrex cooking dish. Use a rack in the pot. Pour a cup of water into the pot, then put the Pyrex dish on the rack.

Stovetop: combine the rice, coconut milk, dates (if using) and salt in a pot that will hold at least 4 cups. Bring to a simmer. Put a lid on the pot and let simmer gently until the rice is tender, about 30 minutes. Take the pot off the heat and let sit for 10 minutes before serving.

Serving Suggestions

Can be served warm or cold. Put a scoop of the cooked coconut rice in a bowl along with some mango slices. Pour additional coconut milk over the rice if desired. If it is not sweet enough for your taste, a drizzle of honey or maple syrup, or a sprinkle of the sweetener of your choice can be added.

This can be very filling, so 1/4 cup cooked rice with a few mango slices may be the right amount after a large meal. If you are serving this on its own for breakfast, you may want 1/2 to 1 cup of cooked rice per serving.

The coconut rice can be cooked ahead of time and kept in a covered container in the refrigerator for 2 - 3 days and then reheated. The rice tends to dry out in the refrigerator, so add a tablespoon or two of water or coconut milk when reheating.

Notes about the ingredients

Sweet Brown Rice

This rice has a chewy texture and a toastier, nuttier flavor than white rice. A note about finding this rice: I use Lundberg Farms Organic Brown Sweet Rice, which I can buy from the bulk bins at Kokua Market Natural Foods in Honolulu. Lundberg Farms seems to only sell this in a 25-pound bag. Bob’s Red Mill did have it in a 1lb 11 oz. bag, but now I can’t find it on their website. You may be able to find sweet brown sticky glutinous rice at an Asian market, like ROM AMERICA brown sweet sticky rice (Amazon Associates link below - I receive a small fee if you make a purchase with that link). It does not contain gluten. Sticky rice is gluten-free. What makes it sticky and glue-like (glutinous) is a naturally high amount of amylopectin, a type of starch. While I do find this to have a mild natural sweetness that goes well with ripe fruit, it may not be sweet enough for your taste. Chopped dates go well with the flavor of the rice and can be added before or after cooking. Honey and maple syrup also go well with this.

Coconut Milk

If you can use homemade coconut milk from fresh coconuts, use it! Otherwise, use an unsweetened packaged coconut milk.

Mango

Use a fresh, tree-ripened mango for the best results. Mangoes that have been picked green for shipping just don’t have as much flavor. If you live in an area with mango trees, this is a great recipe for celebrating mango season with! If you just can’t get a mango, try this with fruits that are locally grown. Peaches, nectarines, apricots, and cherries, for example, are also juicy, tender, and sweet.

Eco-print experiments: can you use just the plant tannins?

Can you eco-print without using alum? Short answer: yes, if you like faint blotches of color. I've provided a brief description of what I tried, possible problems, and what I plan to try in future experiments.

Cotton muslin with purple basil, yellow onion skins, marigold flowers, pomegranate rinds and pomegranate arils (seeds).

If you've ever wondered if you can do an eco-printed textile using just the natural tannins in the plants, this experiment suggests that one answer is yes, if you want just a few blotches of color. Although I have two kinds of alum in my botanical dye supply kit (aluminum potassium sulfate and aluminum acetate), I was curious about what kind of results I might get just using plants, including ones that are high in tannins. Plants high in tannins, used for botanical dyeing, and commonly available in Hawaii include yellow onion skins, pomegranate rinds (fresh or dried - you get darker results with dried), kukui leaves (Aleurites moluccanus), rosemary, thyme, and eucalyptus leaves. Most natural/botanical dye books focus on plants available in North America and Europe; for tropical locations, I highly recommend Hawaii Dye Plants and Dye Recipes by Val Krohn-Ching.

Cotton/linen gauze bundle

I tried three textiles: a cotton/linen gauze (a scarf purchased at a markdown sale that I had previously tried dyeing with dried pomegranate rinds), a silk/hemp blend (fabric purchased almost 20 years ago that had been dyed at least twice but had faded when used as a curtain), and cotton muslin. The cotton muslin had the best results.

Cotton/linen gauze with yellow onion skins, pomegranate rind pieces, pomegranate arils (seeds), and marigold petals

For these bundles, fabric was soaked in water and plant materials were placed on the damp fabric, rolled around a piece PVC pipe (the cotton muslin was tied around a bundle of rosemary branches without leaves), and tied with cotton thread. The bundles were then boiled. For the cotton/linen, the bundle was baked in a pan of water; the other bundles were boiled in a pot on the stove.

Silk/hemp blend with kukui leaves, taro leaf, and pieces of taro stem

In addition to the lack of additional mordants, likely reasons why the fabric did take on some color overall but very little distinct printing:

• Boiling temperature was too high. This should be kept to a low simmer.
• Bundles were not tied tightly enough. The fabric ballooned out a bit around the wrapping and the ties loosened when wet.
• Not enough plant material. Additional plant material can be added to the dyepot.

For future experiments:

• Post-dye iron dip (update: tried it with a section of the cotton muslin, will post results later)
• Scour cotton fabric with soda ash before mordanting and/or eco-printing.
• Mordant cellulose fibers (plant fibers, like cotton, hemp, and linen) with tannin first, then mordant with alum, and then try eco-printing.
• treat cellulose fibers with soymilk before printing.