OK. OK. It’s another damn Banana Bread recipe.
In my defense, this is a Banana Bread recipe with a new twist: tahini.
No. Really.
Tahini? In Banana Bread? Wow! Who’d a thunk it?
Tahini is a paste made from toasted ground hulled sesame seeds. You’ve had it if you’ve eaten hummus, baba ganoush or halva, but you’ve probably never enjoyed it in your banana bread.
Until now.
Tahini Banana Bread
April 25, 2021
Ingredients
- For the Banana Bread
- 2 large eggs
- 1 C. granulated sugar
- 2/3 C. tahini paste (I used Soom brand)
- 4 very ripe bananas (peeled and mashed)
- 1 slightly-less ripe banana (peeled and sliced)
- 7 T. mild vegetable oil (I used grapeseed)
- 1 T. toasted sesame oil
- 1 t. vanilla extract
- 1 t. ground cinnamon
- 1/2 t. fine sea salt
- 2 C. unbleached all-purpose flour
- 1 t. baking powder
- 1 t. baking soda
- 1 t. black sesame seeds
- 1 t. white sesame seeds
- For the glaze:
- 3 T. powdered sugar
- 2 T. tahini paste
- 1 T. hot water
Directions
- Step 1 Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Prepare a 9 by 5 inch loaf pan by spraying it thoroughly with cooking spray, lining the pan with parchment paper, and then spraying the parchment paper with cooking spray.When you line the pan with the parchment paper, cut the parchment paper long enough to hang over the long sides of the pan. Use the parchment paper overhang as handles to lift the bread out of the pan after it has baked and cooled.
- Step 2 Prepare the batter in a stand mixer using the paddle attachment. Put eggs and granulated sugar into the bowl of the stand mixer and beat until you have a pale and fluffy mixture. This will take about 3 minutes. Add the tahini, mashed bananas, vegetable oil, sesame oil, vanilla, cinnamon and salt to the batter. Mix just until the ingredients are combined. Set aside.
- Step 3 Using a medium-sized bowl, whisk flour, baking powder and baking soda together. Add this flour mixture to the egg mixture in two additions. Each time you add flour, mix the batter until it is just smooth. Do not over mix. Pour the batter into your prepared pan and sprinkle the top of the batter with the black and white sesame seeds. Arrange a line of sliced bananas down the middle of the dough.
- Step 4 Bake. The bread is done when a skewer inserted into the middle of the cake comes out without too many crumbs clinging to it. This bread needs to bake for approximately one hour depending upon your oven.
- Step 5 Once your bread is baked, remove it from the oven and let it cool in the pan for about 15 minutes. Then remove the bread from the pan and cool on a wire rack. Do not try to glaze your bread until it is totally cooled.
- Step 6 While your bread is cooling, make the glaze. Mix the powdered sugar, tahini and water together in a small bowl until you have a smooth mixture. Drizzle the glaze over the top of the bread and let the bread sit for a few minutes to allow the glaze to set.
This recipe is adapted from one that appears in Amy Zitelman’s book The Tahini Table. The book is available at local bookstores and on Amazon here.
The author of this book is one of three sisters who manufacture premium tahini under the brand name Soom. Their tahini is wonderful. Here is a link: Soom.
