Maple Banana Bread

You’ll come to realize through reading this blog that I am an opinionated person, with opinions on many things. One of those things is banana bread. I am sick to death of recipes that yield dry, crumbly, or doughy-in-the-middle bread. Even worse are the recipes that have so much sugar that the bread is practically a dessert. If I wanted banana cake I would make banana cake {mmm…maybe with a sour cream/cream cheese frosting…but that’s another post}. When I want banana bread I want it moist, evenly cooked, healthy but delicious, and with the natural sweetness of the bananas shining through.

I came up with the following bread. It is healthy and hearty, moist and tender, sweet and perfect with pats of Earth Balance melting down over its warm happiness.

Maple Banana Bread
Makes 1 loaf.

3 ripe bananas, mashed
½ cup pure maple syrup
¼ cup canola oil
¼ cup unsweetened apple sauce
¼ cup non-dairy milk
1 tsp apple cider vinegar
1 tsp vanilla
½ tsp baking soda
¼ tsp nutmeg
½ tsp salt
2 cups whole wheat pastry flour

1. Preheat the oven to 350 F. Grease an 8 x 4 loaf pan generously.
2. In a medium bowl, stir together bananas, maple syrup, canola oil, apple sauce, milk, vinegar, and vanilla until well combined.
3. In a small bowl, sift together baking soda, nutmeg, salt, and flour.
4. Stir the dry ingredients into the wet mixture until just combined. Pour into loaf pan and smooth the top.
5. Bake for 1 hour or until a toothpick inserted in the middle comes out clean.

This bread is a great jumping off point for the addition of chocolate chips, nuts, or even peanut butter {sub 1/4 cup of peanut butter for either the applesauce or the oil}. I’ve also made it with 1/2 cup of cocoa powder stirred in to make “chocolate banana bread”.

It also doubles REALLY well. I tend to get overzealous when buying bananas {you never know when your 2-year-old is going to demand 3 bananas in a single day!}, and therefore frequently find myself with 6 bananas that are past their prime. Usually by the time I get around to making banana bread, I have enough bananas to make two loaves. One for us, and one for a neighbor or friend. Or…two for us. Because really, this bread is flippin’ delicious.