Fe Fi Fo Fum Banana Bread Delirium

Published June 1, 2011

Aren’t Those Past Their Prime?

As I grew up we’d always have bananas sitting around in the kitchen and every once in awhile as a few would start to turn brown, Mom would break down and bake some banana bread. I always loved Mom’s bread as it came hot from the oven. I’d top it with a little butter and watch it melt. Then I’d devour it. I can still picture those days—there was something magical when Mom made us a treat for it reflected an expression of her love. Yes, there’s no doubt Mom had a way with cooking. Still, if given a choice today, I think I’d pick my recipe for banana bread, instead.

Appreciate The Taste

You can buy flaxseed preground for baking.

Flax is a heart healthy grain with a delicious nutty flavor.

What makes my banana bread better? It’s a matter of ingredients. I add whole wheat flour, flaxseed meal, applesauce and cinnamon. Really, this bread tastes amazing and once you’ve tried it you’ll begin to wonder why so many more traditional baking recipes rely so heavily on white flour. There’s a nutty goodness to whole grains that just can’t be beat.

Let’s Gather The Ingredients

1 egg

¾ cup applesauce

¾ milk

3 tablespoons extra light olive oil

2 teaspoons vanilla

2 bananas peeled and mashed

½ cup white sugar

¾ cup brown sugar (packed)

2 teaspoons cinnamon

I like to gather the ingredients before I start in case I need to run to the store.

1 teaspoon salt

1 teaspoon baking soda

1 cup white flour

1 ¼ cups whole wheat flour

¼ cup flaxseed meal

Mix It

This recipe goes together quickly so start by preheating the oven to 350 degrees.

It's easiest to mash up the bananas first then add the other "wet" ingredients.

Now, measure all the wet ingredients and sugars into a bowl and then use an electric hand mixer to combine them.

Add the whole wheat flour, white flour, flaxseed meal, and other dry ingredients, and then continue mixing until the batter is smooth.

Add the flours and blend the batter until it's smooth.

Spray a baking pan with an oil spray to keep the bread from sticking to it. If you’ve got a glass pan or ceramic bakeware you’ll probably get better results. I’ve always found metal pans harder to bake with as my bread crust gets over-cooked. If you’ve got a trick for preventing that, how about sharing it in our comments section below?

We've finished mixing the bread. Now, we bake it.

Grease the pan and pour in the batter.

Pour the batter into the pan and place the pan on the middle rack in your oven. Set the timer for 60 minutes. As this cooks, take a minute to enjoy the delicious aroma as it fills the house. Mmm!

This banana bread is almost ready to eat.

After letting the bread rest a couple minutes, remove it from the pan.

When the timer goes off, insert a toothpick into the top of the bread to make sure it’s done. When the toothpick comes out clean, remove the bread from the oven. Note: Depending on the pan and your actual oven temperature the baking time may vary by 10 minutes or more. Don’t be alarmed—just keep checking every 5 minutes or so until the toothpick comes out clean.

Fresh home-made banana bread, hot from the oven.

Mmm. Nothing like hot bread from the oven.

After letting the bread cool a couple minutes, use a knife and carefully go along the edge of the pan. Now, gently flip the pan over to remove the bread, and then turn the loaf upright. If you have a cooling rack, place the loaf on the rack to cool. After about 10 minutes or so, you should be able to cut a piece and try it.

This bread is great with butter, but it’s so good you may decide it doesn’t need a thing. You’ll have to excuse me, now. I’m heading back to the kitchen to snarf down another piece.

Enjoy!

By Bob Anderson
© 2011 Javabird LLC. All rights reserved.

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If you enjoyed today’s recipe you might also enjoy:
A Chocolate Cake A Man Can Bake
Or to see a complete list of all our recipes visit our Recipes page.