Spiced Banana Bread

Everyone should have a go-to banana bread recipe. Much like the ubiquitous chocolate chip cookie, the kid-friendly marinara sauce, or a family favorite grilled cheese, banana bread is a home cooking standby. (Unless of course you are one of those odd people who doesn’t like bananas. Then hang on a week or two as zucchini bread is bound to make an appearance soon!)

Making Spiced Banana Bread

It took me a while to find “my” banana bread. I dallied with orange juice filled loaves. I played with chocolate chip studded slices. I even flirted with pineapple bits in the batter but at the end of the day each version ended up slightly off. Too tropical, too sweet, too much like a muffin. The bananas took a backseat as the other ingredients stepped up front and center on the palate.

Spiced Banana Bread

Then a recipe for a vegan banana bread crossed my path. Curious as to how anyone could make banana bread without eggs I decided to give it a try. The resulting loaf caught my attention with a dense yet tender crumb and a beautiful banana flavor throughout. Of course it still wasn’t “my” loaf quite yet. It required a bit of tweaking to dial in the banana bread of my taste bud day dreams. A drizzle of walnut oil, a dash of ginger, a pinch of cloves, and touch of nutmeg spiced up the second loaf turning it into my ideal version of banana bread. Spelt flour adds a toasted flavor to each slice and big crunchy pecans provide contrasting texture to the soft crumb. When sliced, lightly toasted, and then paired with a little vanilla yogurt- this is my kind of banana bread!

Spiced Banana Bread (Printable Recipe)

Significantly Adapted from: Recipe Zaar

Makes 1 Loaf

Ingredients:

4 ripe bananas

1/2 cup maple syrup

3 tablespoons walnut oil

1 teaspoon vanilla

Grated rind of 1 orange

1 1/2 cups spelt flour

1 1/2 teaspoons baking soda

1/4 teaspoon salt

1/2 teaspoon ginger

1/4 teaspoon cloves

1/4 teaspoon nutmeg

3/4 cup pecans

Spray Oil

1 9×5 Loaf Pan

Directions:

Pre-heat the oven to 350°F with a rack in the middle. Spray a loaf pan with oil, evenly coating the inside.

In a small bowl, mash up the bananas then mix in maple syrup, walnut oil, vanilla, and grated orange rind.

In a medium bowl, sift together the flour, baking soda, salt, ginger, cloves, and nutmeg. Stir the pecans into the dry ingredients. Pour the wet ingredients into the dry ingredients and stir gently until they are just combined. Do not over mix the batter.

Pour the batter into the oiled loaf pan and place the pan in the oven. Bake for 40-45 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted into the middle of the loaf comes out clean. Let the bread cool before slicing.

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