Very banana loaf/Banana-y bread

Banana bread is a pleasing way to extend the life of those overripe bananas. This bread is moist and delicious with loads and loads of banana flavor! It is a quick bread so there is no kneading or rising time involved. The color is gorgeous and the taste is delightful. When I want a fruity loaf, I immediately, whip up this banana bread.

If you are new to baking, this is the easiest bread to try. The aspiring cook in you will be very pleased in attempting this bread because it cannot go wrong. This banana bread stands high over many complicated or elegant cakes in taste and texture. It can be a real reward for your effort!

I have made a chocolate banana bread earlier, here: Cocoa banana bread. This is a recipe based on it. It takes about 15 minutes to gather the ingredients and an hour to bake. There is no need for a food processor or blender to mix and prepare the batter. Just a whisk or a fork will do the work for you.

I have added whole wheat flour, flax powder and buttermilk to push it to the healthier side. This banana bread is sweeter than the normal banana bread as there is extra banana on top and the flavor shines through. I have added almonds on top to add a nut factor to it. More chopped almonds added to the batter makes it nutty but my son doesn’t like to bite it in his cake. He likes uninterrupted softness. If you are in that club, join me and bake it like this.

Ingredients

• 1 cup all-purpose flour
• 1 cup whole wheat flour
• 1 tsp baking soda
• 1/2 tsp salt
• ¾ cup sugar
• 2 tbsp flax powder
• 2 bananas mashed + 1/2 banana for the top
• 1 egg
• 1/4 cup vegetable oil
•  ¾ cup buttermilk
• 2 tsp vanilla extract
• few almond slivers

1. Preheat the oven to 350 ° F. Grease and flour a 8″x5″ loaf pan or place a parchment paper inside the pan.
2. In a mixing bowl, whisk together the dry ingredients (flours, baking soda, baking powder, salt, sugar and flax powder) and set aside.
3. In another mixing bowl, whisk egg, then add buttermilk, vanilla and oil mixing them well.
4. Mix in sugar and the mashed bananas.
5. Combine all the dry ingredients and add to the wet ingredients little at a time to form a batter.
6. Pour it into the loaf pan and even it.
7. Top it with banana slices and almond slivers.
8. Place the pan in the center of the oven to bake.
9. Bake for 1 hour or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean.
10. Cool in pan for 5 minutes, then transfer onto a cooling rack.
11. Slice it and enjoy the soft, banana bread!

How easy it that!  It takes minutes to collect the ingredients available in your kitchen and mix them together. If you want, you can mix the wet ingredients and add all the dry ingredients into it and mix everything in one bowl…so easy!

Mixing the dry ingredients separately helps the leavening agent, baking soda to spread evenly and produce a better result. The reaction starts as soon as baking soda hits the wet ingredients. Bake the bread immediately by having a preheated oven ready.

With sweet breads, you should always stir to combine. Use a gentle touch and be quick. It is better to mix the dry ingredients little at a time until it is moist. Don’t over-do it or else you will get a dry and dense bread. Over mixing will cause large holes as air bubbles escape out while baking and make the bread tough. Air has to be trapped in, to give it a soft and spongy texture.

Can you smell it! It is absolutely delicious!

The crack on top happens when crust of this bread starts setting, in the heated oven before the bread finishes its rising. That is quite normal for quick breads. Test for doneness with a tester to see if it comes out without any crumbs. Use a tooth pick in different spots of the bread including the center to check if it is completely baked.

The best bananas to use in this recipe are those overripe ones that are half brown. Store your overripe bananas in the freezer instead of throwing them away. They are handy when you think of baking this bread.

You can toss in chopped nuts, raisins or chocolate chips for a crunch and additional taste. Cinnamon, nutmeg, and ginger flavors work well in this bread. Bake this batter in a muffin pan to make banana muffins.

Banana bread keeps well for a week in the refrigerator and for months in the freezer.  I will always come back to this basic banana bread recipe. It gives me greater freedom to add ingredients like nuts and dried fruit and make substitutions. It is a wonderful standard recipe that you can build upon and customize according to taste. This recipe is a keeper and I will return to it when the slightest craving strikes!

It tastes like a cake but can be eaten as a breakfast, snack or dessert, as you wish. For breakfast, add a dash of butter and toast it for an added taste. I had it with some chocolate banana ice cream as a dessert. This is the best banana bread I have ever tasted, it is so spongy and banana-y. Enjoy!

Let me share this with you when I party at Fiesta Friday #82 hosted by Angie and co-hosted by Kaila @ GF Life 24/7 and Sarah @ Sarah’s Little Kitchen. Have fun!