I think the first thing I ever baked was banana bread. It's classic, delicious, and really hard to screw up. My favourite recipe is at: Simply Recipes
Banana Bread Recipe
INGREDIENTS
- 3 or 4 ripe bananas, smashed
- 1/3 cup melted butter
- 1 cup sugar (can easily reduce to 3/4 cup)
- 1 egg, beaten
- 1 teaspoon vanilla
- 1 teaspoon baking soda
- Pinch of salt
- 1 1/2 cups of all-purpose flour
METHOD
No need for a mixer for this recipe. Preheat the oven to 350°F (175°C). With a wooden spoon, mix butter into the mashed bananas in a large mixing bowl. Mix in the sugar, egg, and vanilla. Sprinkle the baking soda and salt over the mixture and mix in. Add the flour last, mix. Pour mixture into a buttered 4x8 inch loaf pan. Bake for 1 hour. Cool on a rack. Remove from pan and slice to serve.
My Healthy Tricks:
- substitute part coconut oil and part vegan butter for the 1/3 butter
- use equal parts whole wheat flour and all purpose flour
- reduce the sugar to less than 3/4 cup, and top up to 3/4 with agave
Helpful Hints:
- Add cinnamon (and occasionally nutmeg!) for extra flavour
- Don't over-mix the batter
- If you have bananas going bad, peel them and put in a ziploc in the freezer. All ready to defrost when you're ready to bake! Note: Drain the liquid after defrosting them, otherwise your bread will be mushy
- A few chocolate chips and crushed nuts on top of the loaf can't hurt...
Num, Num!
