Banana Bread - The Loaf That Went Viral
Once we realised that baking a cake was actually quite easy...
In our house, we have been baking banana loaves for over 20 years. It was a staple treat for the kids when they were little. We found a recipe in Bill Granger’s book Bill’s Food and gave it a try - quickly realising that it was an absolute doddle. Choc Banana Bread is the third recipe in his opening section entitled “breakfast”.
Bill basically invented what we now consider to be breakfast, and I was reminded of Banana Bread recently when I saw it on the menu in a cafe, served toasted with Espresso Butter. I had spied the glossy, dark, moist-looking loaf on my way in and prayed I would find Banana Bread on the menu. There is a God.
Now, I usually prefer cake in the afternoon with a cup of tea (and sorry guys, banana bread is cake), but, on this occasion, after a productive morning, I reasoned a slice of this seductive loaf was nothing more than I deserved. It was everything I had dreamed of.
A Sydney restaurateur, Bill became known for his creamy scrambled eggs and is famously credited with owning the first Australian restaurant to serve avocado on toast. After seeing Banana Bread on the menu of this very trendy London cafe, I thought I’d take another look at what else Bill was bashing out for breakfast 20 years ago. Take a look:
Buttermilk Pancakes
Omlettes
Smoked Salmon Latkes
Mushrooms on Toast
French Toast with Fresh Berries
Bircher Muesli
Baked Oats
Porridge
Hash Browns
Eggs Benedict
Muffins
Kedgeree
Shakshouka
The man was a goddamn visionary.
My wife actually modified Bill’s recipe by swapping the choc chips for sultanas and tossing in some chopped walnuts - delicious and more nutritious for the kids, we reasoned. But during lockdown, with time on my hands, healthiness on my mind and banana bread splashed all over Instagram, I took a closer look at some of the recipes. I was astounded at how different they all were.
Banana bread recipes compared
For completeness I should add that there are some details omitted from this chart - types of oil, types of butter, types of flour etc. But you get the jist. I think you can find the exact recipes online if you need them.
My Minimalist Loaf
My recipe highlights how minimal your ingredients can be and still produce a great result. The Waitrose recipe uses rye flour, which, combined with treacle, creates a delicious bake. I am not a fan of banana and chocolate as a combo, but I love banana and nuts, so I played around with the Waitrose recipe and tried to make it a little less rich in the process. Well, if you want to eat it at breakfast for Chrissake.…
Waitrose v’s Hybrid
You can really customise these recipes and nearly always get amazing results. Here I’ve reduced the amount of oil, sugar and treacle quite drastically and substituted vegetables for bananas. It still tastes delicious. Just keep your egg and flour quantities the same and use the rest of your ingredients to create the texture and taste you want.
The riper the banana the greater the sweetness it delivers so you can use less sugar. This is great as you can use more natural sugar from the banana and you never have to throw another banana away. That manky brown thing in the fruit bowl? Perfect - just toss it into the freezer until your next bake. Great for smoothies too.
Method:
Preheat oven to 180℃. Grease or line a 750g loaf tin - approx (9’ x 4.5”)
Mash the banana, chop the nuts, beat the eggs and finely grate the veg. If you are using something watery, such as courgette, then it’s best to squeeze some of the moisture out of it first. Then mix everything together, making sure not to leave any pockets of flour.
Pour the mixture into the tin and bake for 45 minutes. If you have a temperature probe, it should read about 95℃. If not, probe with a skewer, which should come out clean.
Don’t stop at Banana Bread. There’s a ton of simple cakes to bake out there.
