Banana bread is the cliché of every kitchen with over-ripe bananas. However, despite the bananas, most recipes fall short of delivering in terms of health. As my husband will keep reminding me, my recipes are first about health, and secondly about making them for all palates. The subtext being he likes the taste of sugar and other less-than-healthy ingredients. I admit my priorities lie in a different place to the large percentage of the population, hence the blog! However, despite his reticence to try new things (regardless of their health factor) this banana bread has been the most successful dessert to date as far as he is concerned.
So, I’m not going to bore you to death about what makes this banana bread healthier than 99.9% of others found on the web, I’m going to just let you skim through the list of ingredients which is self-explanatory. (To read about the benefits of beetroot especially in the summer months click here). The result was a moist, delicious banana bread like none I have ever tasted before. Luckily, I took a photograph before it reached my husband’s lips, otherwise you would be left looking at a page of pure text with no image!
Banana bread with dark rye and pecans
Ingredients
160g dark rye flour
60g spelt flour (white)
75g extra virgin olive oil
2 eggs
2 large ripe bananas (approx. 225g)
55g soy milk (unsweetened)
1tsp baking soda (not to be confused with baking powder!)
2 tsp pure vanilla extract
½ tsp salt
½ tsp cinnamon powder
½ tsp nutmeg powder
½ cup (a handful) of chopped pecan nuts (save 3 whole ones for the top)
1tbsp honey (optional – I didn’t add any!)
Method
1. Pre-heat the oven to 180°C and grease a small to medium loaf tin.
2. Beat the olive oil, vanilla, and honey (if you are using some) with a hand whisk in a large bowl. Then add the eggs and continue beating well until all the ingredients are well amalgamated.
3. In a separate bowl, mash the peeled bananas with a potato masher and add them along with the spices and soy milk to the bowl with the other ingredients.
4. Next, weigh and measure the dry ingredients: flour, salt and baking soda and mix them well.
5. Add the dry ingredients into the bowl with the banana mixture in three stages. Don’t worry if there are some small lumps, as long as the ingredients are blended together thoroughly all will be well.
6. Fold in any additional ingredients such as the chopped pecan nuts. (You could also add chocolate chips or a mixture of other nuts such as walnuts or hazelnuts).
7. Pour the batter into a greased loaf tin and place in the oven for approximately 25 to 30 minutes, until a toothpick inserted in the middle comes out clean.
8. Let it cool for about 10 minutes before turning out onto a cooling rack. Slice the banana bread once it has cooled down and serve at room temperature.
This banana bread freezes well. I cut mine in slices and froze them in an airtight container keeping the slices separate by using a piece of wax paper in between slices. This allows you to separate them easily without having to defrost the entire thing, and without breaking the slices.
Et voila! In just a few minutes anyone can prepare this, even your little ones can help (mashing bananas and mixing!). Enjoy a delicious dessert without the guilt.
