Bianca in Florida asked for good banana bread recipes; this is my very
favourite. Comes out moist and yummy.
1 cup all purpose flour
1 cup whole wheat flour
(I have used other combinations with good results: all whole wheat; 1 3/4
c. whole wheat plus 1/4 c. something else -- wheat bran, soy protein, oat
flour, rolled oats... All come out differently, and all have been good.
Anyway, moving along...)
1 tbsp baking powder (Yes, that is a TABLEspoon)
1/4 tsp baking soda
1 tsp cinnamon
(or combination of choice. A bit of nutmeg, for instance, is very nice.)
1 cup fruit of choice, dried or fresh
(Dried...raisins, currants, dates, apricots, cranberries... or combination.
Frozen cranberries -- don't bother to thaw. Frozen blueberries likewise --
delicious, though they give the bread a greenish tinge. Fresh chopped
apples... Go crazy!)
1/2 cup fat-free buttermilk or yogourt
(A single-serving container of yogourt is just the right size. Try using a
fruit-flavoured one and dropping the sugar a bit.)
1 cup brown sugar
(Recipe amount. I usually use a half-cup, but I don't like things terribly
sweet.)
1 cup mashed banana (or so -- about 2 medium)
1/3 cup unsweetened applesauce
(one single serving of one of those applesauce treat things -- saves those
jars of applesauce rotting in the fridge!)
4 egg whites
1 tsp vanilla
Preheat the oven to 350F. Prepare a 9x5 loaf pan. I usually use cooking
spray, except for my one really good nonstick pan that releases no problem
without it.
In a large bowl, combine the first 5 dry ingredients. Stir the fruit into
the dry ingredients (keeps it from clumping).
In another bowl or large measuring cup, mix the next 6 ingredients until
fairly well blended. Don't worry about lumps of banana.
Make a well in the dry ingredients, pour in the wet ingredients, and mix
just until combined. Pour into the pan and bake 45-55 minutes, till golden
brown and tester comes out clean. (Slightly moist is fine; sticky hunks of
batter clinging to tester means back in for another 5-10 minutes.)
regards,
Katharine in Canada