This recipe makes one virtuous loaf of banana bread. It contains no butter or oil, and it’s sweetened with a judicious half cup of brown sugar. Oh, and it’s made with whole wheat flour. With lots of filling, whole grain fiber and a decent amount of protein, it won’t send you on an insulin rollercoaster like your typical coffee shop slice. Spread some nut butter on top for even more staying power.
With all of this in mind, you might think that it’d make a better doorstop than dessert. But you’d be wrong, I swear! The brown sugar and ripe bananas lend plenty of sugary sweetness, and a good shot of vanilla amps up the heavenly aroma. Yogurt and whole eggs ensure a moist crumb. And as usual, I used whole wheat pastry flour, which produces far more delicate baked goods than regular whole wheat flour.
So come on. Go forth and bake yourself some dangerously healthy banana bread. Your tastebuds and your body will thank you!
Brown Sugar Banana Bread
3 ripe bananas
1/2 C. plain nonfat yogurt
1/2 C. brown sugar
2 eggs
1 Tbsp. vanilla
2 C. whole wheat pastry flour
1 tsp. baking soda
1/2 tsp. salt
1. Preheat oven to 350F and grease a loaf pan.
2. In a medium mixing bowl, use a fork to mash the bananas.
3. Add the yogurt, sugar, eggs, and vanilla. Stir until the eggs are incorporated — it’s okay if there are some lumps of banana.
4. Add the flour, baking soda, and salt. Stir until everything is combined.
5. Pour batter into a loaf pan, even with spatula, and bake for 50 minutes to 1 hour. It should be golden brown on top, and pass the toothpick test.
6. Remove from oven and turn out onto a wire cooling rack. Let cool, then slice and serve.
yum! i just made banana bread!! yours looks great
A use for dumpstered bananas is always appreciated.!
Love your bread. i used to make a banana muffins recipe that only contained 1/3 cup of brown sugar and it was still sweet; I will keep your recipe in mind, it looks like a great one.
where do you buy your whole wheat pastry flour?
I buy it at an open air market called The Milk Pail, in Mountain View, California. The brand is Giusto’s — I’ve cooked with the Bob’s Red Mill kind and it’s just not nearly as nice. You can order their flour online as well at http://giustos.com/home_baker/flours/pastry-cake-flours/organic-whole-wheat-pastry-flour.html
This sounds delicious! I often have a couple bananas that have over-ripened, and they usually get turned into more traditional banana bread/muffins that I end up largely giving away to friends/coworkers. I might keep this one for myself, though I might add coconut and walnuts.
My daughter can’t have wheat, so do you think i could use spelt or something else to make it gluten free
Sure, I don’t see why not! There’s also a gluten free All Purpose Flour by Bob’s Red Mill that you could try: http://www.bobsredmill.com/gf-all_purpose-baking-flour.html
I really wish I had yogurt…I’d be all over this. I LOVE banana bread. Toasted with peanut butter. I’m bookmarking…
I have made this bread several times and just recently substituted agave nectar for the brown sugar. I added pecans, then sprinkled finely chopped pecans with brown sugar on the top. I was delicious!!!! I also substituted canned pumpkin, added raisins and dark chocolate chips and put on the same topping as the banana bread. That was very good.
I’m glad you’ve been enjoying my recipe and getting so creative! Your variations sound positively delicious.
Amazing recipe. I halved it because I was low on ingredients and used a half brown rice flour and half whole wheat flour. Added walnuts/pecans and it turned out delicious! Thanks
Glad to hear you enjoyed it!
I just made this (doubled cause we had a lot of mushy bananas) and added blueberries. It’s still in the oven, but it smells amazing!