When a wonderful baking resource like King Arthur Flour bestows the title of “Recipe of the Year” on one of its creations, I sit up and take notice. That is particularly true for me because I was so in love with their lemon bliss bundt cake winner for last year. (See recipe here.) If King Arthur Flour says a recipe is stellar, I believe it.
Recently, I wrote about Jessamyn Waldman Rodriguez’ Hot Bread Kitchen and her recipe for hot cross buns. I hope you have tried them by now. They are pretty wonderful. (You can find the recipe here.) I remember reading in one of the sections of Rodriguez’ book that one of the questions HBK routinely asks trainee applicants (who are mostly immigrants) is what breads they already know how to bake. Invariably, she wrote, applicants list banana bread. Apparently, that bunch of overripe bananas that sits on our counters is one of those six degrees (or less) of separation that link bakers the world over.
Certainly, if you look online for banana bread recipes you will find unlimited takes on the traditional recipe. For example, I found a recipe for “I Be Jammin’ Jamaican Banana Bread.” That one made me laugh. There are lots of other variations, too– avocado banana bread, Nutella banana bread, chocolate chip banana bread and banana bread with a wide ribbon of cream cheese baked into the bread (I’m thinking I’ll try that one!).
Before you give all those exotic banana breads a try, bake this one. It is moist and full of banana flavor and will remind you how good traditional banana bread can be.
Here is the recipe.
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Here is the link to the original recipe from which this recipe was adapted King Arthur Flour Banana Bread
AND i can use ALL white flour or is the whole grain flour necessary?
(325 degrees F. if you are using a glass or stoneware pan)
I will be using a glass loaf pan, so I understand to set the temperature to 325F, but how long do I bake it for?
Hi, Monika. Thank you for reading Blue Cayenne. Here is what King Arthur Flour says about baking times and the various types of baking pans: “The standard advice for baking in glass is to lower the oven temperature by 25°F from what the recipe calls for, and bake up to 10 minutes longer. The hard edges we see here are more pronounced in high-sugar, high-fat recipes; your casserole or bread pudding are less likely to be adversely affected.” I haven’t baked the bread in glass but I trust King Arthur Flour and their baking advice. When I’ve baked this recipe, I’ve usually found that I need to watch the bread carefully and take it out when I know it is done rather than simply relying on the oven’s timer. You can use a toothpick inserted in the middle of the cake for this purpose. You can also use a baking thermometer. The bread is done when the internal temperature is 205 degrees F.
https://www.kingarthurflour.com/recipes/whole-grain-banana-bread-recipe
Regarding your other question about using all-purpose flour, I don’t think you would have any problem doing that.