This recipe come from The King Arthur Flour 200th Anniversary Cookbook and it’s definitely my favorite banana bread recipe. I never used to use whole wheat wheat flour in quick breads but I think it really adds to the flavor (and nutrition) in this bread. The only changes I make to the original recipe are to occasionally add equal parts wheat germ and applesauce (about 1/4 cup each). Here is the recipe:
Whole Wheat Banana Bread
1/2 C. (1 stick) butter
1 C. sugar
2 eggs
1 C. mashed ripe banana (2 or 3 bananas)
1 t. vanilla
2 C. King Arthur Stone Ground Whole Wheat Flour
1 t. baking soda
1/2 t. salt
1/2 C chopped walnuts (optional, pecans are also good)
1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees
2. In a large bowl, cream butter and sugar.
3. Add the eggs, bananas and vanilla (plus applesauce if using) and beat well.
4. In a separate bowl, mix together the flour, baking soda and salt (plus wheat germ if using).
5. Stir the liquid ingredients into the dry ingredients. At this point, add the chopped nuts if using.
6. Pour this mixture into a greased, 9×5-inch loaf pan and bake for 60 minutes. Let cool in pan for 10 minutes then take it out and let cool on wire rack.
7. Enjoy!
I have that cookbook, and have been to the store in Vermont. Neat place, and lots of cooking gadgets.
10:03 pm Jul 3rd, 2006Delicious! I added a little flaxseed and some chocolate chips instead of nuts. Very nice. I think the sugar could be decreased a little without hurting the results, but it’s delicious as is.
5:17 pm Dec 2nd, 2006Thanks for this great post, i have bookmarked your site in the hope there will be more of this
Greets
Ans
9:17 am Jan 5th, 2007[...] to get through my leftover turkey) courtesy of Simply Recipes (best overall food blog) and the Whole Wheat Banana Bread from Pinch My Salt (best new food blog). With so many food blogs other there, it's easy [...]
11:56 pm Jan 11th, 2007I have been looking for a good whole wheat banana bread recipe for awhile. I love this one! I added a little flaxseed and no nuts and it is still delicious.
7:43 pm Mar 7th, 2007This recipe is so wonderful. I cut the sugar to 2/3 cup, added 12 cup of ground flaxseed meal and a half cup of applesauce. I also skipped the nuts (allergies) and added chocolate chips to the mix. They were so moist and so nutritious!! And, my son’s third grade class loved them!!!
2:18 am Mar 21st, 2007oops – That is 1/2 cup of ground flaxseed !!And, they were made into muffins for the kids!!
2:25 am Mar 21st, 2007[...] Whole Wheat Banana Bread [...]
9:25 am Sep 28th, 2007this recipe was a pleasant surprise…i was a bit skeptical if it would actually taste good… not only did it taste good, but is probably the best banana bread recipe ever – this is my opinion and the opinion of my roommates and coworkers
i made it just as it says here using 3 big bananas (love the taste of banana!) and landolakes spreadable butter with canola oil.
5:43 pm Aug 30th, 2008I’ve used a very similar recipe to sneak more whole grains into the kids diet. I decreased the sugar to 1/2 cup & used white whole wheat flour (king arthur) and added 3T ground flax. They gobble it down every time…so do I! Thanks for the post.
8:34 pm Nov 5th, 2008[...] from Pinch My Salt, a San Diego-based food blog 1/2 C. (1 stick) butter 1 C. sugar (per usual, I used raw/unrefined) [...]
11:03 am Nov 7th, 2008Can you convert this to a bread machine recipe??? I have arthritis and cannot use my hands to knead the bread, so I have to use the machine. Would love to make this for my family.
1:15 pm Mar 25th, 2009Hello,
First time checking out your site…lots of recipes that I can’t wait to try!!
I was baking my Oma’s Banana Bread Recipe when half way trhough I realized I did not have all purpose flour. I called my dad, who lives 2 minutes away, who brought me over whole wheat flour. I thought…”Oh, no,not whole wheat!” Yet, what else could I do, but give it a try. I googled some whole wheat banana bread recipes and found your’s that contains the same ingredients (minus the nuts and apple sauce) as my original recipe.
I baked it for 1 hour and 12 minutes (gas stove – does that make a difference??) and it tastes delicious (minus the nuts and apple sauce)! I think I might have to convert this recipe to whole wheat from now on!!
Silvia
9:14 pm Oct 10th, 2009