Deliciously Moist Healthy Wholemeal Banana Maple Bread
29 Jul 2009
You have been forewarned. There are no delicious, crumbly, nut-flecked pictures of banana bread in this post. Continue reading at your own risk.
Sorry about that little bit of melodrama, I just felt like it. I was not going to post this recipe simply because I baked it late in the evening and believe it or not, none of it was left next morning when the light was good and I could’ve gotten gorgeous shots of the bread. But the recipe was too good to not share. My own invention, I might add, I didn’t use butter or sugar. That sparked your interest, didn’t it? I have supplemented more commonly used ingredients with healthier counterparts wherever possible and the bread was amazingly moist on the inside, golden and crumbly on the outside and was even better toasted. This time around I have used pecans and the play on flavors when buttermilk and maple syrup combines, is fantastic. It is also very light. No wonder, none was left the next morning.
HEALTHY WHOLEMEAL BANANA MAPLE BREAD
[Preparation Time : 20 minutes/ Baking Time : 30 minutes/ Makes 1 Loaf]
Ingredients
1 cup plain flour
1 cup wholemeal flour
2 tsp baking powder
1/2 cup buttermilk
1/2 cup maple syrup
1/2 cup olive oil
1 egg
2 ripe bananas, mashed
1 tsp mixed spice
a pinch of salt
1/2 tsp ground cinnamon
1/2 cup pecans, coarsely crushed
Method
Preheat oven to 190oC. Grease and line a 9-inch loaf pan with baking paper.
Sift flours, baking powder, spice, salt and cinnamon in a bowl. Toss in the pecans and mix. In a separate bowl whisk maple syrup, olive oil and egg till creamy for about 2-3 minutes. Add the banana and flour mixture. Mix well using a wooden spoon.
Spread evenly in prepared pan and bake for approximately 30 minutes until golden, well risen and cooked through.
Cool completely. Slice, toast and slather with butter.
Sneh Roy is a Designer, Blogger, Thinker, Mum, Illustrator, Foodie, Food Stylist, Photographer & Cook. Writing from Sydney in Australia, Sneh is the Principal Tastemaker & Storyteller at Cook Republic. In those non food obsessed moments, she designs wacky characters, logos and websites. Take a peek at her fabulous design blog LBOI and the eye candy portal Stars We Love. Read more about Sneh.
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Don’t you hate when you bake at night and there is none left by the morning LOL I’ve been there too many times!
.-= stephchows´s last blog ..You got PB in my chocolate =-.
Great recipe – even without a picture of the bread! The fact that it was gone by the morning means that it must be pretty tasty! I like the idea to use maple syrup to sweeten the bread. This sounds like a perfect bread for autumn… Do you think it would lend itself well to muffins instead of a loaf of bread?
.-= Jen´s last blog ..Penny Pinching Pantry Ponderings =-.
Absolutely Jen. I think I might try muffins next time, I reckon baking time will be slightly less though.
Thanks Sophie and Sandi
Let me know how it goes if you try it!
I’m going to make this tonight — sounds beautiful. I’m Canadian and I love the maple syrup/pecan mix–perfect, Sneh
=-.
.-= Sandi´s last blog ..SandiMon: @catebolt it is so hard not to laugh. She’s got lopsided hair
Yummie yum,..the picture with the ingredients is cool!
The bread sounds so good to me,…A must try!
.-= Sophie´s last blog ..Sophie’s vegetarian haloumi burger with all of its trimmings! =-.
Thanks for sharing that very tasty recipe. I will try this at home and enjoy this.
Thank you much for the beautiful recipe!! I honestly forget how I stumbled upon your blog, but I love it as well as this relatively healthful banana bread recipe!! I’ve made it twice now and plan for more in the near future. Modifications I enjoy are: low-fat buttermilk, increasing the whole wheat flour content to 75% (I’ll try 100% next time), chopped raw almonds instead of walnuts, and adding dark chocolate chips. Amazing
With space constraints in the kitchen and a love for the healthy banana bread, I’ve been using a muffin tin all along for a similar kind of batter. Well, whatever works, huh? Mixed spice does magic.
p.s.Glad to have spotted your blog. Love the style immensely.
Len (from the urban peasantry)´s last [type] ..Homemade autumn sub and rowan berries
I tried this recipe day before yesterday and I must say that this is the most moist, tasteful banana cake I have ever eaten and I cannot believe that it has no sugar, no butter! And half whole wheat flour!! Cannot get better. Love it Love it! Thank you!