Banana Bread Done Simple

I remember growing up as a child my mother made homemade bread on a Sunday afternoons. She would make a wide variety of breads- Sweetbread, Whole Wheat Bread, White Bread, Roast Bake, Floats etc. The kitchen would always buzz with activity as she would flit to and from the stove; making masterpieces from common ingredients. She was always preparing something, whether it was homemade wine, brewed from fermenting the blossoms of the hibiscus plant. Jams and jellies from the boiled remained of the sorrel plant after boiling them’, more often she would substitute guava to make the most wonderful preserves. I fondly recall the fresh scrubbed jars, filled with the still-warm jam, resting in water baths to cool.

Nothing could beat the rich, inviting smell of freshly baked bread straight out of the oven. Warm loaves cut thin; add cheese, melted butter, homemade jam, all washed down with grated creole chocolate. Those memories would always live on, even though my mom is no longer with me.

Recently I came across an article in one of the daily newspapers concerning the history of banana bread, a traditional bread enjoyed not only in the Caribbean but globally as well. Originally a breakfast treat it became a popular loaf in the early part of the 1930’s, when baking soda and powder became available. During the renewed interest in baking during the 60’s as well as the availability of bananas year round means that you will find this treat almost anywhere, from grocery shelves to cooling on window stills…okay, so maybe not there.

Enjoy with nuts, chocolate, fruit or oatmeal. Try to get your hands on ripe or over-ripe bananas, even if it means that you store a hand or two away to ripen. The more ripe the bananas, the easier they can be mashed and incorporated into the dry ingredients. Also, they go a long way into adding aroma to the bread, letting you know long before they come out of the oven that they’re done. Here is my version of whole grain Banana bread.

2 Cups of Whole Wheat Flour

1/2 Cup of Wheat Germ
1/2 Cup of Bran
1 Cup of All Purpose Flour
1 1/2 Cup of Brown Sugar
1/2 Teaspoon of Baking Powder
1/2 Teaspoon of salt
1 Teaspoon of Ground Cinnamon
2 Large Eggs lightly beaten
1 Cup of Unsalted butter, melted and cooled

6-7 Ripe bananas, mashed well

2 Teaspoons pure vanilla extract
1 Tablespoon of Honey (Optional)

Method

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Combined bananas, sugar eggs, butter and vanilla extract in a separate bowl. Lightly fold dry ingredients to wet ingredients with a wooden spoon or spatula. The batter will be thick and chunky. Remember do not over mix batter. It is not intended to be a smooth consistency. Over mixing the dough will result in rubbery and tough bread. 

Butter and flour pan. Scrape batter in pan and drizzle honey on batter.  Bake until golden brown for 1 hour. Insert a wooden toothpick in the center about 55- 60minutes . Place on a wire rack to cool and then remove bread from the pan. (Now if you do not have wire rack like me, you can use a bread board). Serve warm.

Enjoy!