Hard to choose from bunch of banana bread recipes

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This article was published 28/01/2015 (4280 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

WE got a huge response to last week’s request for banana bread recipes. Thanks so much to the many readers who answered the call, including Naomi Doerksen, Lindsay Storie, Jeanette Johnston, Brenda Vincent, Karen Solomon, Carol Gillis, Vicki Lazaruk, Donna Whonder, Wendy Barker, Christie Macdonald, Gina Chodirker, Marcy Mazur and Linda Snider. It was very hard to choose from so many recipes, including some that had been inherited from mothers and grandmothers.

I ended up going with a good basic recipe from Margaret Daley-Wiebe, as well as a whole-wheat version from Wendy Phillips of Oakville, Ont.

This week, Kathy Maendel is looking for good recipes for spanakopita — not in small appetizer form, but as a main dish — and for blintzes.

Banana Bread

250 ml (1 cup) mashed banana

250 ml (1 cup) granulated sugar

60 ml (¼ cup) vegetable oil

125 ml (½ cup) sour cream

2 eggs, beaten

375 ml (1½ cups) all-purpose flour

5 ml (1 tsp) baking powder

5 ml (1 tsp) baking soda

2 ml (½ tsp) salt

 

Preheat oven to 160 C (325 F).

Grease or line with parchment paper a 23×13 cm (9×5 inch) loaf pan.

In a large bowl, combine banana, sugar, oil, sour cream and eggs. Mix thoroughly. Combine dry ingredients and add to banana mix, stirring just until combined. Pour into prepared pan and bake for 75 minutes. Cool for 5 minutes, then turn onto wire rack to cool completely.

 

Tester’s notes: This is a moist and delicious basic banana loaf. My baking time was slightly less than 75 minutes, so start checking for doneness at the one-hour mark. Make sure to follow the instruction to turn out the loaf onto a rack to cool after five minutes. This keeps the banana bread from steaming in the pan and becoming stodgy.

 

Whole-Wheat Banana Bread

375 ml (1½ cup) whole wheat flour

75 ml (1/3 cup) wheat germ

5 ml (1 tsp) baking soda

2 ml (½ tsp) salt

125 ml (½ cup) margarine

175 ml (¾ cup) sugar OR 150 ml (2/3 cup) date paste

1 egg

2-3 bananas

60 ml (¼ cup) plain yogurt or buttermilk

 

Preheat oven to 175 C (350 F). In a medium bowl, sift flour, wheat germ, baking soda and salt. In a large bowl, beat together margarine, sugar or date paste and egg. In a small bowl, mash together bananas and yogurt or buttermilk. In alternating portions, add flour mix and banana mix to margarine mix. Spread into a 23x13cm (9×5 inch) loaf pan and bake for 60-65 minutes. Cool in pan 10 minutes and then turn out to cool completely on wire rack.

 

Tester’s notes: This is a tasty bread, not too sweet and with some healthy add-ins. (I somewhat undermined this healthiness with the addition of chopped dark chocolate, a suggestion that came from several swappers.) I must admit I didn’t sift the dry ingredients, as I have had troubles with whole-wheat flour and wheat germ getting stuck in my sifter. Instead, I whisked everything really well. I also baked the batter in four mini-loaves, again following a suggestion made by several bakers, reducing the oven time to 20-25 minutes. (Make sure to check as the loaves bake, as they can brown quite suddenly.)

 

If you can help with a recipe request, have your own request, or a favourite recipe you’d like to share, send an email to recipeswap@freepress.mb.ca, fax it to 204-697-7412, or write to Recipe Swap, c/o Alison Gillmor, Winnipeg Free Press, 1355 Mountain Ave., Winnipeg, MB, R2X 3B6. Please include your first and last name, address and telephone number.