Classic Banana Bread

I count at least ten different banana breads on this blog. You’d think that in over 30 years of baking, there wouldn’t be that many surprises in this department. But the baker known as BraveTart surprised me with her “classic” banana bread.

Stella’s writeup accompanying her recipe has a detailed explanation of her ingredient choices. Among them:

• Ripe, but not overripe bananas → provides flavour and structure
• Oat flour → absorbs more moisture than wheat, helps keep it moist
• Coconut oil → solid fat with no water makes loaf rich and moist, not greasy
• Nutmeg and cloves → contain the same chemical compound that makes bananas, banana-y
• Greek yogurt → keeps batter thick, leading to higher dome

I’ve made this two or three times now, both in muffin form and in loaf form, following her directions pretty closely. One time I used whole wheat flour, instead of oat. I still haven’t employed her now-famous toasted sugar, but these baked banana goods tasted delicious nonetheless. One thing I would do differently when making loaves next time, is to use pans smaller than 9⨉5” as my loaf was pretty flat. And work on my mixing technique (!), so these bake up a little higher and more tender.