Banana Bread
I absolutely love to take your requests.
I think this makes me a people pleaser?
When someone is coming over for dinner, I slide a bottle of my everyday (read: affordable and delicious) sparkling wine in the freezer, rush out to the garden to gather the latest and greatest, scour the cabinets for ideas, and head to town for ingredients to make it all come together.
On the contrary, when I’m alone, I subsist on soup (usually lentil or chicken noodle), smoothies (the green monster kind, more on those later), and brown rice. I know I should treat myself better, I really do. Fear not, my broth for soup is always homemade even though I use the broken bits of pasta in the bottom of the box for noodles. At least I don’t feel bad for opening a nice bottle of wine to enjoy alone. Nor do I pause before drinking the last beer in the six-pack. You gotta be good to yourself; life is too short, man. Life is too short.
While it might take me a while to get around to all of your requests, I will never forget about them. I have a message board in my office with a list of everything anyone has ever requested on facebook, on twitter, by email, or by telepathy. I received a request for a small loaf of banana bread a while back (so long ago I can’t recall who requested it and if she even still reads my site). I was living large in the green monster phase of my life and all of my bananas were going into the freezer for those smoothies. But last week, I finally remembered to hold out one lonely banana and let it ripen on the counter. The population of fruit flies that came into creation in my kitchen was worth it because this banana bread is killer. It’s based on the one my Mom always makes with honey and wheat germ.
Keep those requests coming!
- 1 small (6-7”) over-ripe banana
- 3 tablespoons unsalted butter at room temperature (plus extra for pan)
- 3 tablespoons sugar
- 2 tablespoons honey
- 1 large egg yolk
- ½ cup flour
- 1 tablespoon wheat germ
- ¼ + ⅛ teaspoon baking soda
- pinch of salt
- 2 tablespoons finely chopped pecans (optional)
- Preheat the oven to 350. Grease a 5 ¾” x 3” x 2” mini loaf pan with butter. Set aside.
- In a medium bowl, mash the banana into a puree using a fork. Next, add the butter, sugar, and honey to it and stir well. Stir in the egg yolk well before sprinkling in the flour, wheat germ, baking soda and salt. Stir in the pecans, if using. Bake for 35-40 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted comes out clean. Let cool in the pan slightly before moving it to a wire rack.
is it bad i started looking on amazon for a mini loaf pan the moment i saw the title for this?
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I love your little paper wrapped around the bread and the twine holding it together!
Please tell me it means you’re about to knock on my front door with this in hand.
Please.
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DessertForTwo Reply:
November 1st, 2011 at 8:17 am
It’s a Trader Joe’s bag. I’m so dang FANCY!
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Love this little loaf. I always keep disposable mini pans around which are perfect for this.
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love the wrapping idea – and there is never anything wrong with opening a bottle of wine for yourself
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oh yayyy this is exciting! i had bought some mini loaf pans at michaels (for $1 each!) & was wondering what i could use them for. now i have the perfect recipe- thanks christina! however, can i ask what the purpose of the wheat germ is? i’ve never used it before…
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DessertForTwo Reply:
November 1st, 2011 at 8:13 am
Hi Nicole! Thanks for writing! The wheat germ is purely nutritional. I’m a bit of a health fanatic, and I frequently sprinkle it over oatmeal and even blend it into berry smoothies. Enjoy
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nicole {sweet peony} Reply:
November 1st, 2011 at 8:25 am
thanks so much christina! i’m all about adding extra nutrition into my food, i’ll definitely give wheat germ a try. i love sprinkling some flaxseed into my green monsters
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Banana bread is the bomb diggity. So good warm with butter!
Didn’t know you were taking requests! Now I need to think of some….
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I love banana bread and your adorable little loaf makes me want to start baking
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Awesome idea to add the wheat germ, this sounds incredible! Everyone needs a good banana bread recipe!
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I want a little loaf pan like that! Looks wonderful. if I was by myself, I’d live on oatmeal with peanut butter, soup and ice cream:-)
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I heart you so much. That is almost exactly how I eat when alone. Lentils are my favorite. You make my heart smile, girl. Keep on rockin’ the good life, girl.
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Reading your posts always makes me smile! I love the sound of your banana bread and all of my bananas are frozen for smoothies for my boys. Just not the green kind, they like peanut butter-banana.
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This mini loaf is so cute! I often find a whole one is a bit much to get through and end up freezing loads, so this is perfect. And a great excuse to buy a cute mini pan
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Love this recipe! Banana bread is one of our favorites and my standard recipe is really good but it makes two large loaves. Way too much for just the two of us. It’s great to have this scaled back version. Thanks!
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I cant get enough of banana bread recipes! I always have ripe bananas laying around.
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I’m a huge fan of banana bread especially when chocolate chips are added. I like your packaging. What a cute idea.
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So true, so true. Life is short. Thanks for the big reminder with the little loaf!
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Love the presentation of your bread – it looks so pretty with the paper tied around it.
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I love anything banana and this sounds fabulous!
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This is perfect for me because I always want to make banana bread but I almost always only have one ripened banana because I forget and a. eat them all or b. freeze them. Question: what does the wheat germ do?
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I love your recipes because I seriously struggle w/ portion control!! I am dying to try the pumpkin chai cupcakes (haven’t had a minute to bake recently…). can you try scaling down an orange ricotta cookie recipe??? I love ricotta cookies and I think orange or lemon go so great w/ it! Thanks!
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christina, it’s almost our anniversary!!! remember when we met at foodbuzz a year ago
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I’m the same way – a total people pleaser! I’m always looking for a great banana bread recipe…definitely saving this one to try
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looks delicious, wish I had some right now
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Yum! I made one this morning. My “pinch” of salt probably wasn’t quite enough and I’ll make it bigger next time. I was surprised at only baking soda, no baking powder. But that’s not a typo, is it?
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