Whole Wheat Banana Bread

This morning I woke up and came downstairs to find five bananas that needed to be used immediately or thrown away. Since everyone else was still asleep, I decided to wake them all with the smell of banana bread baking in the oven. Sure enough, thirty minutes later my wife and both kids came down the stairs, sniffing out the wonderful smells coming from the oven. The hardest part was making them wait for the bread to cool off enough to cut it without burning myself.

Banana bread is a quick bread, meaning no yeast and no rising time. This makes it perfect for throwing together in as little as five minutes. One key to remember is not to overmix the batter. When adding the dry ingredients to the wet, the idea is to just moisten the flour. Overmixing can cause a coarser texture and even tunnels to form in the bread. While this does not affect the flavor, I prefer a softer textured bread. The banana flavor really shines through in this bread, complemented nicely by the tropical flavors of cinnamon, vanilla, and rum.

Whole Wheat Banana Bread

4 very ripe bananas

3/4 cup sugar

1/3 cup melted butter

1 egg, lightly beaten

1 Tbsp rum (optional)

1 tsp vanilla

3/4 cup all purpose flour

3/4 cup whole wheat flour

1 tsp baking soda

3/4 tsp cinnamon

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Butter or grease a 5x9 inch loaf pan. In medium mixing bowl, mash bananas with potato masher or fork until most lumps are gone.

Using mixing spoon, stir in sugar, butter, egg, rum, and vanilla until well mixed.

Add all purpose flour, whole wheat flour, baking soda, and cinnamon. Mix just until flour is incorporated. Transfer batter to loaf pan.

Bake in 350 degree F for 50-55 minutes, or until toothpick inserted into middle comes out clean. Remove from oven and let cool 10 minutes. Remove from pan and cool on wire rack until ready to serve.