Whole grain banana bread seems like such a boring first post, I know, but it’s one of our favorites!
Okay. So let’s talk bananas. They need more than a few dark spots. They need to be as dark as possible. When you peel them, they’ll probably be brown and nasty looking. That’s what will do the job. If your bananas aren’t ripe enough, your bread won’t be as sweet as it should be, and since we’re reducing the sugar quite a bit, we need those bananas to be sweet.
The bananas and cinnamon mellow the whole grain taste that many, including myself, really dislike.
Hope you enjoy the bread!
100% Whole Grain Banana Bread
- Prep Time:
- Cook Time:
- Ready in:
- Yield: 12 servings
Ingredients
- 1½ cups (195 grams) whole spelt, whole wheat pastry, or whole wheat flour
- 1 teaspoon baking soda
- ½ teaspoon baking powder
- ½ teaspoon salt
- 2 teaspoons cinnamon
- ½ cup (100 grams) unrefined sugar, or normal brown sugar
- 2 eggs
- ¼ cup (85 grams) honey
- 3 tablespoons oil
- 1 teaspoon vanilla
- 4 medium bananas, mashed
- ½ cup (60 grams) chopped walnuts
- Cinnamon sugar (1 tablespoon unrefined sugar + 1 teaspoon cinnamon)
Optional:
Directions
- Preheat your oven to 350°F / 175°C. Grease a 10.5″ x 3″ (27cm x 8cm) pan and grease it well.
- In a medium-sized bowl, whisk together flour, baking soda, baking powder, salt, cinnamon and sugar.
- In another medium-sized bowl, lightly beat the eggs. Add honey, canola oil, vanilla and mashed bananas.
- To prevent more dish washing, I put one banana at a time in the liquid mix, and mash it with the bottom of a glass. If they’re ripe enough, really TRULY ripe enough, this will be easy. You can also puree the bananas. Add the nuts if using.
- Add the wet mix to the dry mix, but just until combined.
- Pour into the prepared pan and add cinnamon sugar, if using.
- Bake for 40-45 minutes. Remember to adjust the time accordingly depending on pan size.
- Remove to a rack to cool for 15 minutes before turning out onto the rack to cool completely.
Notes
- If you live in a humid environment, refrigerate this after a few days. It’s incredibly moist and humidity isn’t its friend.
http://www.texanerin.com/2011/09/100-whole-grain-banana-bread.html
10 comments on "100% Whole Grain Banana Bread" — Add one!
I vowed to myself I would make this recipe because it was your first and I remember you writing it was one of your least popular and I felt sad thinking that your first recipe was something you were allergic to- bananas! At least I thought I read that before. Anyway, I finally made it and its delicious! I used the most disgusting black bananas and I ran out of honey so I substituted half the honey for agave. the bread was very flavorful, moist and I loved the crunchy cinnamon sugar topping. It was also a winner with my kids!
Oh, thank you Heather! It is indeed my first and least popular. You are so sweet to have made this just because of my whining. :) I did indeed write those things you mentioned in my roundup post of 2011. You have a good memory! So very happy that you and your kids enjoyed it. It’s still Mr. T’s favorite… after all this time. Thanks a ton for the feedback and rating! And really, thanks for giving this post some love. :D
Hi, I always like to try new recipes of banana bread for my boyfriend who really loves it, but this is the first time I use whole wheat flour in it! it turned out delicious!
I replaced the honey with molasses and I added 100g of chocolate and caramel chips just to be sure to cover the whole wheat taste..the result was just perfect! thank you!I will substitute plain flour with whole wheat more often from now on :)
May (from Geneva, Switzerland)
Anon – That's great to hear! I'm happy that you both enjoyed it. And chocolate chips is a nice addition! I hope your day got a little bit better after eating some banana bread. :) Thanks for the feedback!
Just made this bread. I only used 3 bananas as they were kinda big and added some mini chocolate chips cause I was having a bad day. This is nothing short of awesome and it really doesn't taste like 100% whole grain. My husband loved it too! Thanks for sharing!
Paula
Anon – Hi! Just replace it with brown sugar. I hope you like it. :)
Hi. Was wondering what i can use instead of honey??
What a fantastic way to wake up. Thank you both. :)
Kristine – I'm so happy that you all enjoyed it! I think this bread is a good way to get the little ones to eat whole grains as they probably don't even notice. I hope you're able to try out some more recipes and thanks so much for leaving feedback. :)
Anon – That is indeed strange. This was my very first post and not a single comment until last night when not one but two people made it. It just made my day.
I'm so happy that it worked for you. Let me know if your other versions work out! I love to reduce sugar whenever possible. Good luck with Houston baking. :)
Strange – I made this last night and came to leave a comment too! My husband loved this recipe so thank you! I used coconut oil instead canola oil and next time I think I will use less sugar as the bananas provided plenty of sweetness. I may also experiment and try this recipe with zucchini or pumpkin.
Love your site! We are transplanted Houstonians from Canada and still trying to adjust to baking at sea level and with humidity!
Made this yesterday. Yummy. First time I had ever made a whole wheat banana bread (i can't think why its taken me so long!). This recipe was completely delicious and healthy enough that I was happy for my little girls to eat – they loved this version.
Only came across your site before Christmas (linked from whatcathywouldeat). Can't wait to try some more of your recipes.