Crunchy Hippy Banana Bread

a new-ish riff on an oft-riffed classic

Hello!

This newsletter contains a companion recipe for my banana bread magnum opus, published today on Nicola Lamb’s Kitchen Projects. If you’d like to read the full recipe headnote (including a long passage on why I have a whole separate step to make the banana mash), head on over there!

Once I’d completed my base recipe, I couldn’t stop riffing. Below is a whole wheat-heavy version of the banana bread I developed for Nicola (aka why I call it my crunchy hippy version, though it’s also got a bit of crunch from a heavy sprinkling of sunflower seeds). If you sub a plant-based sour cream, it would also be entirely dairy-free.

On Kitchen Projects, you can find my “classic”, buttery-rich base recipe, as well as a caramelized white chocolate and cocoa nib banana bread that leans into tea cake territory. If you’re a KP+ subscriber (the excellent paid tier of Kitchen Projects), you can also find my Banana’s Foster babka!

Crunchy Hippy Banana Bread

I omitted the rum and swapped out the butter for coconut oil in this version, as well as upping the sour cream a bit to balance the whole wheat flour and ground flax (both of which are thirsty). The combo of the unrefined coconut oil, tahini, and sunflower seeds produces a deeply nutty loaf (without any large pieces of nut to get soggy and mealy). I added a healthy sprinkle of kosher salt to the sugar on top on one bake, which was incredibly delish.

For the banana mash:

360 grams very ripe banana, weighed while frozen and then defrosted (keep all the liquid that is emitted when defrosted)

1 tablespoon vanilla bean paste

⅛ teaspoon ground clove

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For the banana mash, combine the defrosted banana, vanilla bean paste, and clove in a medium non-reactive pot. With a wooden spoon or potato masher, break up any larger pieces of banana until it all looks relatively cohesive, with some small banana lumps remaining. Place over high heat and cook, stirring occasionally, until the mix comes up to a hard simmer. Continue to cook for about five minutes, stirring frequently. After five minutes, remove the banana mash from the heat and scrape it into a bowl set upon a tared scale. You should have about 280 grams of mashed banana. If it’s over, return it to the heat and cook for another 3-4 minutes, weighing it every now and then until its the correct weight (this took me only five minutes total when I tested it, though the recipe tester found it took her ten minutes total- your mileage may vary depending on the power of your stove). When the mixture is finished reducing, let cool to room temperature (you can speed this up by placing it over an ice bath).

For the banana bread:

80 grams all purpose flour

80 grams whole wheat flour (I used stone-milled graham flour)

12 grams ground flax seed

6 grams wheat germ (optional)

1 ½ teaspoon baking powder

½ teaspoon baking soda

½ teaspoon kosher salt

140 grams brown sugar, light or dark

85 grams unrefined coconut oil, warm room temperature (should be mostly fluid)

20 grams runny tahini

100 grams eggs, room temperature (about two large eggs)

280 grams banana mash (from above), room temperature

80 grams sour cream

80 grams toasted sunflower seeds (plus a few extra for sprinkling)

25 grams turbinado sugar

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Prepare a 8.5-inch by 4.5-inch (approx 22 cm by 12 cm) loaf pan by spraying it with pan spray and lining it with a sling of parchment paper, folding the longer edges of the paper over the edge of the pan so you can use it later to lift the loaf out of the pan.

Stir together the all purpose flour, whole wheat flour, ground flax seed, wheat germ, baking powder, baking soda, and salt.

Stir together the brown sugar, coconut oil, and tahini until just combined. Add the eggs one at a time and beat until just combined. Add the banana mash and sour cream and mix until just combined. Mix in the flour mixture and stir until just combined, then fold in the sunflower seeds.

Scrape the batter into the prepared pan and sprinkle it with the turbinado sugar (and a handful of additional sunflower seeds and a generous pinch of salt, if you like). Bake for 50-55 minutes, or until the top of the loaf is a deep, caramelized brown and a thermometer stuck into the center of the loaf reads at least 195°F / 90.5°C. Try not to hit the bottom of the pan when temping the loaf - you really want a reading in the exact center to ensure the interior of the banana bread is fully cooked. This may take a bit faster in a convection oven.

Let cool ten minutes before lifting the banana bread from the pan with its sling and placing on a rack to cool completely. The banana bread will last for up to four days at room temp, well wrapped.