I feel like every baker has their banana bread recipe that they swear by. Somewhere along the way they found the worn out index card in Grandma’s recipe box or discovered an award-winning concoction in a cooking magazine. Or more recently, their bananas went bad again so they desperately Googled “best banana bread recipe ever.”
I’ve tried plenty of excellent banana breads and muffins and cakes. But none of them are my great-grandmother’s recipe (which was from her sister, which was from another grandma, which was from who knows where). It’s the recipe my mom unswervingly used when I was little, and slice after slice cemented my taste buds into refusing to accept anything else as real banana bread.
Other breads taste great. But to me, this one is better. It’s less crumbly, more dense, more deliciously like biting into a slice of my childhood than any other recipe I’ve tried so far.
Especially when it’s slathered with butter.
My favorite part? Using whole wheat and replacing the sugar with honey hardly messes with it’s deliciousness.
Banana Bread
Makes 1 loaf
INGREDIENTS
- 3 very ripe bananas, mashed
- 2 eggs
- 1/2 cup oil or melted butter
- 1 1/2 cups flour (all-purpose or whole wheat)
- 1 cup sugar or 1/2 cup honey
- 1/4 teaspoon salt
- 1 teaspoon baking soda
DIRECTIONS
- Combine all ingredients in a medium-sized bowl, stirring well.
- Pour batter into a greased loaf pan.
- Bake at 350 degrees Fahrenheit for 1 hour.
- You can double or triple the recipe, use in cake pans or muffin tins, and the bread stores well in the freezer.
WHAT ABOUT YOU?
Are there any family recipes that made a strong impression on you as a child?
Cheers,
Find more foodie inspiration today at What’s On Your Plate!
10 comments
1 ping
Susie Bee on Maui (Eat Little, Eat Big)
05/25/2011 at 10:22 AM (UTC -6)
Aloha Steph,
How lovely to have a family recipe like this. Glad to hear swapping out some plain flour for whole wheat keeps it special!
One thing I recall from my mom’s cooking, of all things, is her sweet and sour chicken-loved it. I’ll have to ask her for the recipe.
Steph
05/25/2011 at 10:57 AM (UTC -6)
Susie Bee – Sweet and Sour Chicken sounds lovely! I tried several Asian-inspired chicken dishes a while back, but haven’t found one that gives the same great taste after I try to make it a litte healthier.
Eric
05/25/2011 at 11:06 AM (UTC -6)
Yeah, it’s really good. And it’s gone.
Eric
05/25/2011 at 11:07 AM (UTC -6)
Speaking of it being gone, I toasted a few slices and slathered them with peanut butter. Holy schneikes, delicious.
Steph
05/25/2011 at 11:14 AM (UTC -6)
Eric – “holy schneikes” – lol! Good call on the peanut butter!
Elizabeth
05/26/2011 at 8:11 AM (UTC -6)
This makes me wish I liked bananas!
Steph
05/26/2011 at 11:04 AM (UTC -6)
Elizabeth – Lol!
Alicia
12/28/2011 at 2:13 PM (UTC -6)
I tried this recipe today with my three year old son, and we both loved it! This will definitely be my new go-to banana bread recipe-so simple and tasty! I also wanted to say how much I’ve been enjoying your blog, it’s really been an inspiration for me to feed my family healthier on a tight budget. So, thank you!
Poonam
02/08/2012 at 4:03 PM (UTC -6)
just made it & it turned out beautiful. i used store whole wheat flour & honey. my son loved it. thanks a lot for sharing this recipe. i have 1 question though. how do u freshly ground whole wheat at home?
Steph
02/08/2012 at 5:19 PM (UTC -6)
Good question Poonam! I have a countertop wheat grinder (also called a flour mill), which is an appliance that specifically grinds all sorts of flour. I can make corn meal, rice flour, chick pea flour, and of course, wheat flour. I talked about it more indepth in these posts: http://thecheapskatecook.com/2011/06/24/why-i-love-my-grain-mill-why-i-dont/
http://thecheapskatecook.com/2011/06/16/5-reasons-i-grind-my-own-flour/
So glad the banana bread turned out nicely for you when you used the whole wheat and honey! It’s our favorite banana bread recipe.
Honey Butter » The Cheapskate Cook
03/08/2012 at 10:18 PM (UTC -6)
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