Banana Bread

This is my favorite banana bread recipe.  It is easy to make any time I have a few bananas that have gotten too ripe.  The bread turns out soft, moist and delicious.  (The batter is so good too!)

I used to make the recipe with 4 bananas, until one day I had only 3.  I added in 1/4 cup of applesauce as a substitute for one of the bananas and it turned out great.  My family said they liked it just as well or better.  So if you don't have any applesauce in your home, but you do have an extra banana - that will work for you.

Also, a tip about brown sugar.  If you don't have any, but you have molasses - you can use 1/2 Tablespoon of molasses combined with 1/2 cup of granulated sugar.  Mix well and use.  If you want dark brown sugar, use 1 Tablespoon combined with 1/2 cup of sugar.

When baking this recipe, I've found that the toothpick trick doesn't work very well.  I have taken it out of the oven too soon because the outside looks browned, just to find when it cools that the very middle is still a bit doughy.  Still good, because to eat the dough is wonderful - but not exactly "bread" in the middle.  I would suggest leaving it in for at least 40 minutes, and adjusting for your own oven the next time you make it if needed.

This is a recipe that gets the whole house smelling good, and my whole family is hungry before it comes out of the oven.

Ingredients:
3 medium ripe to over-ripe bananas, mashed well with a fork
1/4 cup of applesauce (I use no-sugar added)
1/2 cup coconut oil, warmed up if needed so it is liquid
1/2 cup brown sugar (*see tip above)
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 cup whole wheat flour
1/2 cup white flour
1 1/2 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
a pinch of salt (~1/16 teaspoon)

Directions:
1.  Preheat your oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit, and grease a bread loaf pan with a bit of coconut oil.
2.  In a large bowl, mash up the bananas well with a fork (or potato masher, or hand blender, or whatever works well).
3.  To the mashed bananas, add the applesauce, coconut oil, brown sugar, vanilla extract, and mix well.
4.  In a separate bowl, combine the wheat flour, white flour, baking powder, baking soda, cinnamon and salt.
5.  Fold flour mixture into the banana mixture really well (I use a spatula to do this and then scrape down the sides).
6.  Pour the batter into the greased bread loaf pan and bake at 350 degrees Fahrenheit for 40-45 minutes.


This recipe was adapted from a recipe found on the website www.vegrecipesofindia.com.  The original recipe can be found here.