The Tuesday Treat: Olive Oil Banana Bread, Revisited

A few updates to the recipe I posted a few weeks ago, namely the swapping in of maple syrup for brown sugar and 1 egg white instead of 2 regular eggs. I have been playing around a bit with reducing the cholesterol/fat in some recipes, and made this one recently for my dad, who typically avoids egg yolks. The maple syrup is a lovely substitution here both for the flavor it imparts as well as helping to reduce the overall amount of sugar (I find that bananas are quite sweet, so you can use less sugar) – for taste and health benefits.

To make gluten-free, substitute 1 1/2 cups gluten-free oat flour plus 1 teaspoon flax seeds for the whole wheat pastry and spelt flours. To make vegan, omit the egg and use non-dairy milk of choice in place of the yogurt. You might also try baking mini muffins for easy access for little hands; you’ll need to bake the batter for less time.

Makes two mini loaves or one large loaf.

1 cup whole wheat pastry flour
1/2 cup spelt flour
1/2 cup almond meal
3/4 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon or ginger
1/2 teaspoon fine grain sea salt
3 very ripe, mashed bananas
1/4 cup extra-virgin olive oil
1/4 cup maple syrup
1 large egg
1/4 cup plus 1 tablespoon plain yogurt
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
optional: 1/2 cup sliced almonds or sunflower or pumpkin seeds

Turn oven to 350° F, and place a rack in the center. Grease a 9- by 5- inch (23 x 13 cm) loaf pan, bundt pan, or two small loaf pans.

In a large bowl, whisk together the flours, baking soda, ground cinnamon or ginger, and salt.

In a separate bowl, mix together the mashed bananas, olive oil, maple syrup, egg, yogurt, and vanilla. Pour the banana mixture into the flour mixture and fold with a spatula until just combined. Scrape the batter into the prepared pans, top with nuts and/or seeds if using, place in the oven and bake until golden brown, about 50 minutes. Watch so it doesn’t overbake.

Remove breads from oven and transfer the pans to a wire rack. Cool in the pan for 10 minutes, then turn the loaf out of the pan to cool completely. Keeps tightly wrapped on the counter for 5 days or up to 3 months (well wrapped) in the freezer).