Best Moist Banana Bread - with variations

We love a good banana bread at our house. We like it really moist, with some chunks of sweet banana marbled throughout the bread. Sometimes we add nuts and/or chocolate chips. Sometimes we add spices. Sometimes we top it with streusel... Our favorite way to eat it, is sliced the next day, slathered in salted butter. Oh yeah.

This is a great recipe. It is a culmination of years worth of refining and perfecting. This has more banana than most other recipes, but we like that.

This bread freezes well and also makes great neighbor gifts. Of course it's a great way to use up those dead-ripe bananas hanging around your kitchen!



Best Banana Bread Recipe:

1 c. organic whole wheat flour
1 c. organic all-purpose flour
1 c. organic evaporated cane juice, brown sugar, white sugar, or organic coconut palm sugar
1/2 t. sea salt or BioSalt
1 t. baking soda
1 t. ground allspice, optional
1/2 t. ground nutmeg, optional
2 large organic eggs
1 t. real vanilla extract
1/2 c. buttermilk, almond milk, or coconut milk that has 1/2 T. lemon juice added
1/2 cup organic butter, or deodorized coconut oil, melted (or rice bran oil)
3 large very ripe bananas
1 c. chopped walnuts or pecans, optional
1 c. semi-sweet chocolate chips, optional
Additional brown sugar and chopped nuts, optional



Method:

Whisk together the whole wheat and white flour, sugar, salt, baking soda, and spices in a large bowl.

Make a well in the center of the dry ingredients in the bowl.

In a separate bowl, whisk together the eggs, vanilla, and buttermilk.

Pour the liquid ingredients into the well and mix slightly by hand.

Add oil and mix in a bit.

In a small bowl, peel and mash the bananas with a pastry blender to make a chunky puree.

Add the mashed bananas to the batter last, along with the nuts and/or chocolate chips, if using.

Mix together gently by hand, being careful not to over-mix.

Spoon batter into 2 oiled 8x4-inch loaf pans.

Sprinkle tops with additional brown sugar and chopped nuts, if desired.

Bake in a preheated 350 degree F oven, for 45 to 55 minutes, until bread springs back when touched (or a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean). It is better to under-bake than over-bake this bread.


Notes: 

You may cut the sugar down to 3/4 c. if you desire a less sweet bread.

If you don't like chunks of banana in your bread, puree the banana.

Enjoy, 

Leila