Moist Whole Wheat Banana Bread
As if the world needs another banana bread recipe, right?
Well, if you’re conflicted like I am about balancing pure culinary delight with a modicum of health and nutrition, then you’ll find this moist whole wheat banana bread recipe a worthy contribution. It satisfies on all levels.
This is straight out of Whole Grain Baking by King Arthur Flour. I tweak it very slightly in the video but I’m not sure it’s to any advantage. The video, by the way, is quite unnecessary as the instructions below are more than adequate. But I do have fun shooting them and like to think there’s a chance someone will pick up a thing or two from watching.
Note: If you want to get wild and crazy, try adding a half cup of dried sweetened cranberries or, as my chocoholic wife quickly discovered, a half cup of semi sweet chocolate chips will send banana bread lovers over the top and maybe convert a few critics.
Enjoy!
Moist Whole Wheat Banana Bread Recipe and Instructions:
Be sure to use ultra ripe bananas for this. Their skins should be mottled black and they should feel soft to the touch. Using what you would normally consider to be ripe bananas will diminish the bread’s rich flavor.
½ cup (1 stick or 4 ounces) unsalted butter
½ cup (3 ¾ ounces) packed light or dark brown sugar
¾ teaspoon baking soda
½ teaspoon salt
½ teaspoon ground cinnamon
¼ teaspoon ground nutmeg
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 ½ cups (~ 12 ounces) mashed ripe banana (3-4 medium to large bananas)
¼ cup (3 ounces) honey (I used sugar – works fine)
2 large eggs
2 cups (8 ounces) whole wheat flour, traditional or white whole wheat (I found that 2 cups was closer to 10 ounces – guess my whole wheat is heavy)
½ cups (2 ounces) chopped walnuts
Preheat oven to 350 F degrees. Lightly grease a 9 x 5 inch loaf pan.
Beat together the butter, sugar, baking soda, salt, cinnamon, nutmeg and vanilla in a medium bowl until smooth. Add the banana, honey and eggs, beating until smooth. Add the flour and nuts, stirring until smooth. Spoon the batter into the prepared pan and let it rest at room temperature, uncovered for 10 minutes.
Bake the bread for 50 minutes. Lay a piece of foil gently across the top and bake until a cake tester (like a toothpick) inserted into the center comes out clean, 10 to 15 minutes more. Remove the bread from the oven and allow it to cool for 10 minutes before turning it out of the pan onto a rack to cool completely.
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Wow, that certainly looks like an excellent recipe that I will definitely try. Thanks:)
I want to try it also. However, would not 2 cups of whole wheat flour be 16 ounces?
I think you might be thinking of water. It weighs 8 oz/cup. WW flour runs closer to 5 oz per.
My husband always buys to many bananas…no matter what I say….so today I will make this recipe with 5 leftover bananas…he bought 6 fresh yesturday!! We still have some leftover banana bread from last week in the frig…: (….quess I will send some fresh over to the neighbors… : )…..I’m looking forward to trying this with my white wheat…though my very favorite recipe is called banana,banana bread on the All Recipes.com.
Hi Sylvia.
How did it go? You could be the first to report on this recipe. I’m looking forward to seeing if others are as enthusiastic about it as I am.
Hi Eric, I love watching your videos and have learned a lot from you.Would you consider doing a cottage cheese dill bread? I had this years ago and have wanted to be able to bake it myself. I know with your input this would be possible.
Am I the only one to notice that this is yet another no-knead bread recipe? Keep ‘em coming, Eric!
Can’t wait to try this one.
Hi Fran,
Cottage cheese dill bread sounds good. May be quite a while (ages) though before I’d get to it as my list is miles long. So much bread, so little time.
Hey Tom,
How about that. I hadn’t though of it but you’re sure right. Who kneeds it? Sorry.
I’m tapping my fingers waiting for someone to tell me they’ve tried this banana bread recipe and how much they like it… or don’t like it.
I love it! I was worrited it would be like some other whole wheat things ive had in the past “cardboard” but its nice. Its really hardy too. I ashamed to admit i actually overbaked it a bit and its still really good.
Hurray, we have our first independent report on this banana bread recipe.
Thanks Jessy, so glad you like it!
Is it possible to use sourdough leaven instead of baking soda powder? If yes, how much? Thank you and Ciao
Hi Luci,
Sounds like a good idea. You’ll probably have to experiment with this since you might be one of the first people on the planet to try it. But if it works, let us know!
Since sourdough starter works slowly, I’m wondering if you would have to let it sit for a few hours to get established. Also, since starter is wet, and baking soda is dry, I think you would want to add more flour to the recipe.
Good luck if you try it.
Hey Eric, I tried the banana bread recipe and loved it! I used what I had on hand….substituted 1cup barley flour and 1 cup all purpose instead of whole wheat. I did not have enough bananas so I added 1/2c yogurt. Nice crumb!
Sounds great, Susan.
This is surprisingly good! It is a lot different than the recipe I usually use but I like it. Sweet but not too sweet. I like using honey in it. Makes it more moist I think. My daughter loved it and called it cake. Thanks.
wow!! this banana nut bread is delicious!! made it yesterday evening….it is all gone now. thankyou again for sharing your experience and recipes. I’ll try the recipe for whole wheat bread with the starter. I’ll let you know.
ps: it took me 20 more min of cooking, but it was worth to wait for.
ps to ps: I used 6 medium bananas , they were to ripe to eat.
it´s very tasteful!congratulations.
Hello,
Wanted to say I love all your bread videos and have become hooked on your website.
My husband makes wines and had some grape skins left over and I decide to try my hand a making a sour dough starter from them. It took less than a day to get it going, but still did wait the full three days. I tried two different flours, one ww and the other a masa. They both came out very well. Taking baby steps with this new found knowledge, I decided to make a very small loaf of sour dough bread , just 1 1/2 cups and used and old sunbeam bowl to raise and bake it in. It was a beautiful loaf of bread I have only dreamed to make. It was probably a little softer than shown here but still with a wonderful taste and texture. The second loaf , used the larger sunbeam bowl with the full recipe. Again another great loaf, again not as artisan as shown here, but created a happy table with flowers, wine, cheese and homemade bread.
I usually can’t stop when on a roll and I did make the ww banana bread and used the KA flour and exact recipe prescribed here. It is marvelous! I will make another loaf with pure maple butter to take to work.
Thanks for the healthy recipes. I hunt constantly for websites as yours.
Wishing you both great health always.
P
just made this – as mini muffins and mini loaves – came out great! I think next time I will add in another banana or two… I love that flavor! Keep ‘em coming!
Ok, I tried this one and it turned out well. Yay! It browned a little more quickly than the recipe said, and I know my oven was right on 350 the whole time because I have an oven thermometer. So next time I’ll cut the bake time down some. My husband liked it because he’s trying to eat more healthfully. I was afraid he wouldn’t like the pure whole wheat and started to mix it half white, but decided to go ahead and stick right to the recipe the first time around. It really was nice and moist, even though mine was a little overbaked, and it was still moist today. I had a slice with my spiced tea this morning.
I made this recipe last night and the taste is fantastic! Unfortunately my edges also were too dark, almost burned. It did need the full time to bake though, because the middle would not have been cooked. Next time I will try reducing the heat to 325.
I’m a newbie baker. Do you experienced bakers notice any difference using different loaf pans? I was using a non stick metal loaf pan. Would pyrex or ceramic be better to prevent burned edges?
Also, i greased the pan with unsalted butter.. maybe i should use oil?
Thanks for any help!
I love your videos Eric and thanks for shipping my goodies so fast!!!
Lee Ann
Newbie Baker ;p
Hi Lee Ann,
Reducing the heat should do it.
Different types of bread pans definitely have different baking characteristics. I don’t think butter vs oil is an issue.
Thanks Eric! I lowered the heat to 325 and it worked great! Loaf looked really nice and was not burned a bit! Did not get to taste it or take a picture, a friend ran off with it! (You would think people had never seen homemade bread before. : )
I wonder if the temperature issue is just a location or altitude thing? Down here in Louisiana we are below sea level, ya know . . . Hmm I will have to research that, maybe its in McGee’s book
Lee Ann
Don’t laugh, but has this bread given anyone gas? I’m serious, now!
I guess we don’t get enough fiber in our diet at my house….the first time I ate a piece I had painful gas later that evening. I didn’t connect it until it happened again the next time I ate a piece. I’m still eating it and not being bothered by it now, but my husband can’t eat a piece without his stomach cramping, so he stopped eating it. Next time I’ll use half white and see what happens. Would I need to adjust anything else if I did that?
Y’all stop that laughing.
Come on Doofas, it is only the guys who get gas, right? Girls just don’t do that! Hehe…
Sounds like some gastro bug…maybe the bananas were a little too ripe? Eggs OK?
Maybe you guys are sensitive to some things in the bread? Does this happen with any other foods?
Nope, it was the whole-wheat flour. I’m tellin’ ya, we don’t get enough fiber around here!
I ended up eventually finishing the whole thing by myself after my husband quit (a piece a day with my spiced tea), and it never bothered me again. My stomach was just reacting to that jolt of fiber! It stayed nice and moist for over a week. I really enjoyed it, but I’m still going to reduce the WW flour next time so my husband can enjoy it, too.
Ha – good for you!!! Fibre is your friend!! The flour here in Taiwan is actually really good for home brew bread! Very surprised. My sour dough starter is so active. Much better than in Australia – maybe ‘cos it is 30 degrees C here and was only about 20 C in Sydney! I have got to the stage now where I just pour some white flour, pour about 1/3 the same amount of WW and then add the other bits – Linseed, nuts, raisins (not in sour dough), cinnamon, etc, mix the dry things, pour in a cup and half or so of water, mix and wait!
These are really good recipes …good on you Eric! Banana bread will be going next week!
I made this recipe 3 days ago, and followed the directions exactly. I also only had chopped pecans on hand, so I used them instead of walnuts. It tastes absolutely fantastic! The only thing is, it’s really really moist, to the point where you can’t pick it up without it falling apart. I used 4 large bannana’s, and maybe I should have only used three??? I also used honey, instead the sugar that you use in the video, and maybe that made it super moist??? Maybe I didn’t cook it long enough… after I tried the first slice, I put it back in the oven for another 15 minutes, but that didn’t seem to help. It sure does taste great though!
Banana bread, like apple bread, muffins, cornbread – you don’t KNEAD any of these. They’re called “Quick Breads” in any cookbook. The key to good quality in quick breads is to remember not to overmix once you put the dry and wet ingredients together. Stir only until mostly moistened – the batter should be lumpy, and may even have some dry spots visible. Stir only till the ingredients are essentially well-distributed. Overmixing gives a loaf that is dense and hardly risen at all.
This is WHY they are called quick breads.
So why be surprised that you don’t have to knead? It’s typical for this type of bread. If you weren’t aware of the necessities for making quick breads, you’d better learn them before trying them, because most peoples’ inclination is to mix wet and dry together thoroughly. And that leads to failure.
I haven’t tried this recipe, because I was curious why there was no regular flour included. Whole wheat flour hasn’t got enough gluten to allow breads to rise properly. Most whole wheat cakes and breads include some plain flour – usually half flour and half whole wheat, to allow the bread to rise fully. The only kind of recipe that calls only for whole wheat flour is a cake or bread that is supposed to bake up flat. Of course quick breads don’t depend on gluten as much as yeast breads do, but even so, whole wheat quick breads usually DO call for some white flour, and this one doesn’t. It appears that people who make it love it, even if it tends to fall apart in the hand. So maybe it isn’t a big deal. I’d still prefer to try one that has some regular flour in it.
You can use any kind of nut you like in banana bread; it’ll turn out dandy. Walnut is traditional because its taste goes best with bananas. But pecans are no slouch! If I were rich enough, I might even try macadamia nuts.
If your husband got gas, maybe next time make it with half plain flour and half whole wheat. It might hold together better, then, too. If you want to know whether it was the whole wheat that caused his problem, get some wheat germ, and sprinklle some of it over some food he enjoys, like a casserole – any dish that allows for a topping of breadcrumbs or other goodies. If he gets gas again, you’ll know it IS the whole wheat. Wheat germ, BTW, is loaded with both fiber and vitamin B’s. Use it often – it adds a nice “nutty” flavor. It can even be enjoyed, with milk and sugar, as a breakfast cereal. If it wasn’t the whole wheat that caused the gas, make this bread next time with ONLY plain flour, but add 1-2 Tbs of wheat germ. Nice.
Also, ovens vary; you have to know YOURS pretty well to know if it is contributing to any problems you have with recipes. If your bread turns out perfect on the outside and kinda gooey in the middle, you should either lower the oven temp next time or else use a pyrex baking pan about 8×10″ rather than a loaf pan. With the batter spread out a bit more, it’ll be more likely to cook all the way through. But watch it, since it may not need as much baking time as a loaf does. Grease the pan first generously with butter or margarine. Also, if your moist fruity quick breds tend to scorch on the bottom before the middle is cooked, either use lower oven temp for the second half of the baking time (the first half is needed hotter, to permit rising), or put the bread pan on top of another (I use a two-ply cookie sheet; it insulates nicely) – or perhaps do both, especially if this bottom-scorching seems to be making a habit of itself. It wouldn’t hurt to test and adjust your oven temperature, if it seems to be consistently too hot or not hot enough.
If your loaf isn’t quite done all the way through, it won’t hurt you to eat it. The uncooked starch in the flour will be harder to digest though, and it may also impart that “uncooked starch” flavor, too. I don’t know if uncooked starch can lead to flatulence, but it certainly might.
Quick breads commonly share the attribute of keeping a long time, especially if they contain fruit. But it’s best to refrigerate them; otherwise the fruit may grow bacteria, especially if bits of it are visible. Most people don’t, though, and I don’t think they get sick often, so take your pick. There is one type of quick bread that is NOT a “keeper,” and that’s bisquits. Eat ‘em hot from the oven, and they’re ambrosia. Wait a couple of hours and…bleh.
Yeah, fiber is indeed good for what ails you on the “porcelain pony”! Whether you make adobe or the “wetter” variety, fiber helps. It absorbs liquids during its travels from mouth to pony. That keeps the end result from being too – juicy. But it also avoids the adobe, because it holds the moisture, and that acts to lubricate and soften the adobe. So either way, fiber does help!
How to get it? Lots of fresh fruits and veggies, to start with. Their type of fiber is different from the kind cereals have. Whole grains, of course, help a lot. But does everybody eat cereal in the morning? (Cornflakes, BTW, don’t contain much fiber.) Many busy people don’t bother with breakfast. I’ve also bought a jar of natural laxative – all it is is the husks from cereals, mainly wheat. It has no nutrition or calories at all, and gives you only fiber. It’s no fun to take it, but if you know how dearly you’ll pay tomorrow if you don’t, you WILL take it. It’s just mixed with some water and slugged down. It’s better – and cheaper – than Metamusil. See if you can find it – a healthfood store probably carries it, but some large grocery/drug stores might, also.
Wheat germ can be the answer. It’s rich in vitamin Bs, and people who don’t get enough fiber are often low on those, too. Its nutty taste is compatible with many foods. I even sprinkle some on pizza. Experiment with ways to add some to foods you already enjoy and eat often. If whole wheat bread appeals to you, buy it, but some people find it too dry. If you’re making homemade bread that uses bread flour or plain flour, just throw in a few Tbs (2-4) of wheat germ. It won’t affect how the bread turns out, and will add its lovely flavor, too. If you’re making a streusel-type coffee cake, mix some in with the streusel topping. Sprinkle some on a sundae. Mix it in with breadcrumbs that you’ll use for topping recipes, like casseroles.
Oh, you might try this – I love it. Mix 2 tbs of wheat germ with some yoghurt, then add a good dollop of honey (to sweeten to taste) and mix. I sometimes add chopped nuts and/or sesame seeds. This is very delicious, kind of like a dessert; I enjoy it sometimes at bedtime.
The only problem with wheat germ is that you have to remember to use it, that’s all.
Actually, Holly B., I was quite satisfied with the rise I got with the original recipe of all WW flour. It probably would rise more with some white in it, I guess, but it actually rose to the top of the loaf pan as it was baking. I will definitely make this recipe again, but with part white, part WW.
I used to use wheat germ years ago, can’t remember what for, but I like the taste. Thanks for reminding me of it, I’m going to get some more and start trying it in some different foods.
Holly,
I think whole wheat gets a bad rap. It is certainly possible to make good, light, bread with 100% whole wheat, and it’s a lot better for you than breads with lots of refined flours.
I have been making a loaf of 100% whole wheat bread in my bread machine every week for several years. I particularly like it for my breakfast toast, but the grandchildren just like to eat it plain. I admit, it took me some time to develop a recipe without white flour that would work, but I did finally figure it out. By the way, I add wheat germ to my bread, even though it is already 100% whole wheat. I just like the taste.
Right now, I’m on a sourdough kick, so I am trying to convert my favorite recipe to sourdough. I’m not there, yet, but I will get there.
Meanwhile, others more expert than I are making many different versions of 100% whole wheat bread. Here’s a link to one of them:
http://www.thefreshloaf.com/node/4737/finally-100-whole-grain-hearth-bread-i039m-proud
That site has a wealth of information on everything about bread.
I just made this banana bread recipe. I didn’t have nutmeg, nuts, or vanilla, and I used cane sugar instead of honey. This banana bread was AWSOME! It won’t last long in this house. I have a new banana bread recipe! Thank you very much.
I just made this recipe, slightly modified since we have made a pact to avoid refined sugar as much as possible. I used whole wheat graham flour (I bought it on accident, but have discovered that I really like it), 1/2 cup of honey, no brown sugar or white sugar, but I added a skosh of molasses. I also threw in a little bit of wheat germ just ‘cuz I like it. OMG, so very very nummy!
My brother and I made this with the alteration of using half cup of olive oil instead of butter. it was delicious and disappeared very fast. Thank you for the recipe. I will be using it again. Happy New Year. we also used almonds instead of walnuts – so I guess any similar nuts would be OK too.
Just tried the whole wheat banana bread…yummmmmmmmmmm…if you haven’t tried it, you should. Didn’t expect it to be that good with 100% whole wheat, pleasantly surprised.
Bren
I tried the bread as said. I cooked it at 375 and it turned out ok.
It toook about an hour to cook it.
Thanks for making it available to try
I also added extra vanilla and cinnamon.
Just made this bread, but I didnt have walnuts so instead I added 3/4 cup of Hershey cinnamon chips, and it is AMAZING!!
The loaf I made when it was finished and ready to eat was it lacked flavour.
Maybe, I will try Hershey cinnamon chips next time.
This is excellent! I will be making this bread for the rest of my life. It’s a simple recipe that’s difficult to ruin. Thanks a lot. Keep up the great work!
This recipes holds up to being moist and super delicious. Admittedly I exchange 1/2 cup white flour out of concern since I was making it for a bunch of pre-schoolers for their valentine party today. But after eating some I bet that white flour had nothing to do with its good taste. Also instead of baking a loaf bread I put it in one ounce muffin pans (made 4 dozen), and it took about 18minutes to bake. So if you have the patience and you want to decrease the cooking time those small muffins are so good to eat, one right after another!
Since 4 doezen wasn’t enough for the pre-schoolers and my appetite for them I made a second batch. Since I only had 1.5 bananas left I used 1 cup of grated carots and 1/3 cup grated apple…yummy!! with no other changes. Again I filled the 1 ounce muffin pan and they cooked up perfectly in 18minutes.
My last thought is, if I thined out the batter, do you think it would make a good pancake batter?
Great idea on the pancake batter. Although if you expected anyone to add syrup or other sweet toppings, it seems like cutting way back on the sugar in the recipe would be a good idea too.
Hello Eric,
Im loving your new video
What are your thoughts on tiger bread?
I love it.
But, and here’s a challenge, can you make it?
Hi Thomas.
I hadn’t heard of tiger bread until now. I do love tigers. Do you have a recipe?
Hi Eric, thank you for your reply, sorry it doesnt have tigers init.
but this is how to make it…
The nutty flavour comes from sesame oil and the mottled crust is due to a rice paste glaze, but I can’t find a proper recipe.
The bread mix is standard but the clever bit is the topping, I found one recipe for it, however it is commercial sized so you will need to proportion it down to size, this is to go with 5Kg of flour!
Rice Flour 1 1/2 Kg
Water 1 1/2 Kg
Sugar 90 grm
Vegetable Oil 75 grm
Salt 30grm
Fresh Yeast 30grm (or 1 sachet Instant)
Mix all ingredients for the Tiger Skin together till smooth – set aside
Make your usual white bread, mould or tin it, spread tiger mix evenly on top of dough, prove for about 55 minutes, bake at 200 deg for about 55 minutes or until cooked.
Hope this helps.
Here’s another recipe from an English baker:
Tiger Loaf
Makes 1 loaf
Bread
500g strong white bread flour
2 tsp salt
2 tsp of yeast (or 1 sachet of fast-action yeast)
2 tbsp sesame oil
1 tsp sugar
300ml warm water ( 1/3 freshly boiled, 2/3 cold water)
If you are NOT using fast-action yeast prepare yeast with the warm water & sugar and leave for 15 min to froth.
Tiger topping
1 1/2 tsp yeast
65ml warm water (you may need more)
1 tsp sugar
1 1/2 tsp sesame oil
60g rice flour
1) Mix together flour, salt and fast-action yeast (if using).
2) Stir sesame oil into the warm water/sugar (and yeast is not using fast-action) mix. Pour the liquid slowly into the flour, stirring constantly until well combined.
3) Knead dough on a floured surface for 10 min. If using a mixer, use dough hook and knead for 2 min. Shape dough into a bowl, place in a lightly oiled bowl and leave to prove in a warm, draft-less place for 2 hours (or until dough has doubled in size).
4) Mix together tiger paste ingredients and leave for 15 min. You may need to add a bit more warm water to loosen the paste.
5) Preheat oven to 240oc. Flatten the risen dough with your hand then knead for a further 30 seconds on a floured surface. Roll out into a fat sausage shape and place onto a greased baking sheet. Coat the surface of the bread with the tiger paste and leave to prove for a further 30 min.
5) Cook bread for 10 min at 240oc then turn the oven down to 200oc. Cook bread for a further 10 min. If you tap the base of the bread and it sounds hollow the bread is cooked. Leave to cool on a wire rack.
Note that this makes a whole lot less amount of the topping than does the other recipe.
Bob
Hello i am a Profesional Footballer,
i am German of Jamacian herratage.
my English speekig is alittle poor. (so im sorry for errors)
ive just commented your website to say your very popular here in Germany.
hope to have a reply from you to speek to your admires and many fans here in Schalke and the rest of Germany.
Vielen Dank
Guten Tag, Jermain.
I can assure you that your English is better than my German.
Thanks for writing. Maybe next time we visit Germany we can watch one of your football games. I hope your career is going well.
I am getting close to adding a spelt (dinkle) recipe and video to the site. Isn’t this a common bread in Germany? I’d love to get your feedback.
All the best,
Eric
I really enjoyed this recipe, I even blogged about it here: Bring Chametz Back With A Bang with Breadtopia.com!
Very pleased with this recipe for banana nut bread. I stayed with the recipe formula with the exception of using 1 cup each of whole wheat flour and all purpose flour.
I baked as recommended, however, I required 60 minutes at 350 degrees with the foil lightly on and 10 minutes w/o the foil. I did reduce tempurature to 325 degrees on the last 10 minutes.
I am truly not a bread maker, but my husband and I enjoyed it!
Sincerely,
Gloria
I live at 7000 feet, and added ten minutes to the bake time to compensate, which worked out perfectly. This bread is very good, although the banana flavor is not as prominent as I would have liked. I will probably add one more banana next time to achieve a stronger banana flavor.
I followed the directions to a ‘t’ and although the banana bread tastes good it is definitely not moist. I used 4 super ripe (black) bananas and did not over-mix when adding the flour.. I’m thinking that next time I won’t bake it so long. Maybe 4 or 5 min. with the foil and less than 50 min. in the initial baking.
I followed the directions to a T and although the banana bread tastes good it is definitely not moist. I used 4 super ripe (black) bananas and did not over-mix when adding the flour.. I’m thinking that next time I won’t bake it so long. Maybe 4 or 5 min. with the foil and less than 50 min. in the initial baking.
Dear Eric,
I have been looking for this recipe since last Christhmas that i visited Australia and used to have one piece of banana bread toasted with butter every morning. I tried to make banana bread with several recipes, but none of them was like the one i used to eat in Australia.
I followed your recipe instructions and made the banana bread yesterday… it was even better than expected! Thank you so so much for the recipe, and the video!!!!
Georgia from Cyprus
I love whole wheat quick breads but I always find them to turn out dry. I made this and my whole family enjoyed it. It was nice and moist. The only thing that I didn’t different was to replace 1/2 of the butter with applesauce and use half honey and half molasses. It was so very good. Thank you for this recipe!
Can I make muffins using this recipe? If so, what would you suggest the time difference would be?
Hi Veronica,
Seems to me this recipe would make great muffins. Your guess is at least as good as mine on the time adjustment. I would probably give ‘em the toothpick test at 5 minute intervals after 30 mins or so.
Wow so random, I went into Google to look for a good whole wheat recipe and look who pops up, Eric!!!!! What a crazy small world! I am about to try your recipe, I’m sure it will be delicious!
Say hi to Denise for me! Love to you both
xoxo Shara
Hi Eric;
Just stumbled across your site looking for a moist wholewheat recipe for banana bread and MY GOD did I luck out!! Tried this recipe and used raw cashew nuts instead of walnuts and talk about delicious! This recipe is a keeper! I have been baking bread for a number of years now but have chickened out about making sourdough bread, but now thanks to this site I’m FINALLY going to try & make my own starter and try your Spelt Sourdough Recipe. Keep up the good work & I look forward to seeing some more delicious recipes from you!
Oops! I read the recipe as 1 stick PLUS 4 oz of butter. I couldn’t figure out why you didn’t just say 2 sticks, but since I actually weighed it on my kitchen scale and my scale must be a little inaccurate, I had a couple tablespoons left to grease the pan. So I thought that’s why you had us weigh those 4 oz.
Oh well, I’ve already sent the bread to my son in San Francisco. I’m sure double the butter can only make it taste better, right?
Hi Janis,
Thanks for catching that. I’ve changed the wording to read “1 stick or 4 ounces”. It wasn’t clear but hopefully this is better.
Wow this really looks like a fantastic recipe, I can’t wait to try it or even have a bit of my own home made banana bread.
GREAT recipe!
Though I did make some changes.
Like many suggested/mentioned, I turned the heat down to 325. It took a while longer but prevented any burning or excessive browning (not sure how long it took…just kept checking every 10 min or so after the 40 min. mark).
Also I really wanted to make this recipe more healthy. So instead of butter I used apple sauce (about 3/4 of a cup). This worked great…but when you cut the fat out like that you just need to be careful to not over stir and sometimes cook for a slightly shorter period of time.
I also substituted Splenda for the sugar; something else that I have never done before but it turned out amazing.
The bread is great…a little on the moist side, which I love, and can probably be attributed to the apple sauce.
To Dave the Novice: If WW has a bad rap, I’m no part of it, m’dear. But only certain kinds of breads should be heavy and dense, by my tastes, and the rest should be light and airy with a soft, finely textured crumb. BTW, thanks for the interesting link. That bread shown looks a lot like good rye bread. You could probably substitute rye for the WW (but rye has virtually no gluten, so you’d have to add some for sure), add the caraway seeds, and off you go! It looks like a scrumptious rustic bread.
I don’t want people to think I’m dissing whole wheat! Not at all! It’s wonderful stuff. I’m trying to concoct a world-class bread that uses half whole wheat, and a whole big BUNCH of different seeds, grains, nuts, etc. It will NEED to be dense to hold all that good stuff! Many dense breads make fantastic toast. If anything gets a bad rap, it’s plain flours.
Whole wheat WILL rise, because it has some gluten in it. But it is always a denser loaf than one made with white flour, which has much more gluten, unless you add some gluten to it. I’m not enamored with refined flours, but they do have their points, and one of them is making many superb breads. I am not into dissing refined flour either.
But you can always add some gluten to a 100% whole wheat bread to get the result of half white and half WW. That’s what those “Better for Bread” flours have in them. But you could just as easily add your own gluten to your own white flour (cheaper) and also to a total WW dough, approximately 1 Tb per cup of WW flour. Experiment to find the optimal ratio for you. Keep in mind, too, that (aside from bananas or other added ingredients), all basic bread doughs get ALL of their protein content from gluten. That’s what gluten IS – a protein. I feel sorry for those who are intolerant of it. SO sad!
I have two problems of my own. One is an oven that I can’t adjust for precise temperatures – it’s old, and I’m poor, but hope one day to get around to getting a new thermostat for it. So sometimes, even with all the knowledge needed to make fantastic banana and other breads, I end up with something scorched on the bottom or that falls because part of the middle is somewhat uncooked. But that may not always be the cause.
The other problem I have is altitude. I’m in Mexico, at an altitude identical to Denver’s – one mile high. What I am NOT adept in at ALL is how to get my wonderful recipes for baked goods to turn out properly here. It seems every kind of bread or cake has its own “changes” that must be made to a specific recipe, not to any grouping of them. There don’t seem to be any standard principles to learn which we can then apply to the recipe we want; instead we have to use recipes that have proven out already at high altitude. That’s kind of extremely limiting, and it’s frustrating.
The hard part is figuring out how to adapt – which of these situations causes what problem? I’m still working on it.
I’ve often had some trouble getting a lovely browned crispy crust on breads like French. Sometimes they’ll bake up perfectly, but are still white! I’ve found that painting the dough, halfway through baking, with a mixture of 1 beaten egg and 1 tsp of salt solves that nicely.
This altitude is a glorious place for making bread doughs rise – I used to have problems with that back in Chicago. Here, they puff up like the marshmallow man. It’s the BAKING that gets sticky.
I’m still working on how to match the local bakeries with the “bolillo,” (bol-ee’-yo) Mexico’s answer to French Bread. And they are a noble answer indeed! Somewhat more substantial, but every bit as tender inside as French Bread, and a crust just as crispy and browned. For some reason, people think you can only make French Bread in those long rods. Not so. The bolillo is almost identical to French Bread, made into a shorter rod, but the dough is given a “twist,” to make it into two easily separated hard rolls, and each gets a good slash on top. Each rod is called a “tira.” YUM. I won’t say it’s better than French Bread, but it IS every bit as good. And hot from the oven….how do you spell “bliss”? I use them to make homemade pizza – saves the bother of making the dough, so I can enjoy my pizza more often! Sauce on oiled half roll, add toppings and gobs of cheese, and bake. You can do the same with any crusty hard roll. Bakes up much faster, too. Less drooling.
If you’re interested, it shouldn’t be hard to find bolillo recipes online. My problems are still the same for these, though.
One thing that galled me about baking breads is that almost ALL recipes yield two loaves. I don’t need even one full loaf. So I experimented.
I proofed a yeast envelope in water with a smidge of sugar and flour. When it foamed nicely, I added about 1/2 c of water and mixed it in. Then I mixed a small amount of flour with a tsp. of salt, wisked that in well, then continued adding flour till it made a decent dough. (I don’t ever add the salt to the yeast; I dilute it with flour, because salt retards rising.) The kneading went fast, too. It was about half a loaf’s worth, and I baked it in “mini-loaf” pyrex dishes, well buttered. I got about three of them. I smeared some soft butter on them after rising, then baked them, and they were lovely. And just enough. I once tried freezing white bread dough – it kept rising in the freezer and gooed it up. So now I chill it first, punching it down several times until it is thoroughly chilled. MUCH better.
Basic bread is nothing more than yeast and flour, with a bit of salt, and enough water to make a dough. You can add other stuff, too, if you like, like an egg, maybe some melted butter, substituting some milk for some of the water, etc. Egg gives a more substantial and “springy” crumb, milk and butter tenderize.
But the first bread ever made was just a liquid made from a little flour and some water, usually allowed to rise from organisms in the air, then adding enough flour to make a dough. Except for the addition of salt, and modern yeasts, basic breads, like French Bread, are still the same thing. Flour, water, yeast and salt.
Because I knew these things, I tried to make the classic Ethiopian bread called “Injera.” The “starter” I mixed for the air to seed and make the dough rise failed – abominably. It overflowed the jar, gooed up my countertop – and it stank! Only later did I learn it’s supposed to stink, and doesn’t stink at all in the final bread. But I lacked a vital ingredient, too, millet flour. You also need to bake it over a hot flame in a large circular, flat griddle with a lid. The pictures I’ve seen of it are like a sponge with large holes. Food is piled on top. You break off pieces of the Injera and use them to pick up the food. The sponge-like holes soak up a lot of gravy and other liquids. Sometimes the Injera in an Ethiopian restaurant covers the whole TABLE! But it looks so good…(sob). And, before anyone dines, the waiter comes around with soap, a towel, a jug of water, and a bowl, so they can wash their hands, because this is a meal eaten with the hands. I’m drooling to try it, but probably never will. Haven’t found millet flour here yet.
I hope some others who are novices may gain a bit from some of these experiences, especially the failures!
One thing I’ve been looking for is a “copycat” type recipe for Rosen’s Rye Bread. It’s that round loaf that has the crispy crust of French Bread and also a crumb every bit as luscious and tender – and, of course, with caraway seeds. I’ve come close, and made some truly good rye bread, but it’s still a far cry from Rosen’s.
Does anyone have such a recipe?
I’m 31 weeks pregnant and recently diagnosed with Gestational Diabetes. I found your recipe when looking for a wheat banana bread, so I decided to try it out this evening.
Here are my modifications:
- Baked at 325 degrees, since the Splenda suggests a lower temp or baking time and my oven tends to run a little hot.
- Used equal measurement of Splenda for brown sugar and agave nectar for honey.
I also used a second loaf pan under the filled one as someone had suggested, since my breads usually end up darker on the bottom.
Overall, the bread seems to be very good so far. I’ll be curious to see how it is later tomorrow after it has some time to mellow. Thanks for the recipe!
Delicious! I split the batter into 12 muffins and baked at 350 for 30 min and they came out perfect. Also subbed pecans for the walnuts. I’m at high altitude (Denver area) and didn’t make any modifications – in fact I weighed the white-whole-wheat flour to make sure I used 8 ounces by weight. Moist and nice texture, with none of the bitterness/dryness I usually encounter when trying to sub WW flour for AP. Thanks!
I’m clueless at baking (more science based), only good at wok cooking (creative and flexible.) I love this “recipe”, seemed easy enough. I found Holly B’s explanation very helpful re: goopy inside etc. and how to fix it. I’ve experienced that. I didn’t have loaf tin, only cake tin. Covering with foil made the top soft, so I took off and let it crust up for another 10 mins. Looks quite perfect for my first attempt. Very proud. O.K. just tasted first slice, it’s dense but nice and moist. I mixed too much as Holly said, now I know for next round. Thnx very much for giving me good baking experience.
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Wow! This is a great recipe! My entire family loves it, even my daughter who doesn’t like bananas! I read what others said about it being a little overdone so when I put the foil on, I lowered the temp to 300… came out perfect! I will be trying more recipes from your site! Thanks!
Oh, and I added in craisins… yum!
I tried this recipe and made 12 large cupcakes in a non-stick pan with no paper cups. My girlies absolutely loved them.
We baked them for 30 minutes on 350, and it was great timing!
Thanks
I am desperately trying to eliminate white flour and sugar from our diet. I found your recipe today and made it. My first child ate a muffin and exclaimed, “these are SO good!” (I didn’t tell them about the wheat/honey thing until they ate them.) Thank you!
Ok, since you created this drug, do you also offer a detox facility? How about a 12 step program to get off this HIGHLY addictive substance? My God man, this can’t be healthy!!! No way, it’s WAY to GOOD!!!!!!!
I’m thinking about making petite fours out of the bread and icing them with a nice cream cheese icing for Thanksgiving. OOOOO maybe I’ll add a cup or two of oatmeal to the batter and make em’ into cookies!!! Oh what joy! You have inspired me and I thank you.
Hi Denise. This is one addiction I think I’ll just keep feeding. Just so happens we’re minutes away from slicing into a fresh loaf of banana bread. The picture is appropriately blurry since that’s how the world will look to me shortly.
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Just tried this recipe.
I love love love it! Soft, tasty and moist. However, the middle part didn’t cook all the way due to a crack. So I had to cover the whole pan with foil and slit the middle part to expose the crack. Worked well actually.