Banana Bread

When you start cycling, one of the first things you’re going to need to solve is what eat on long rides. I primarily eat bars and other high-quality snacks, combined with a focus on quality hydration, blah blah…. But it’s nice to have a treat to share with friends on long slogs (well, we USED to be able to share food, I’d love to return to those times soon) and something to snack on AFTER those long rides.

So without further ado, the famous Sarah Bear Cookies Banana Bread Recipe! We eat primarily gluten-free in this household, but it’s written for either wheat or GF. Enjoy with chocolate chips and nuts( I KNOW, HERESY!) or without. But eat all those bananas you ordered on Instacart last week!

Banana Bread

½ cup of butter melted (Or: ¼ cup of butter melted & ¼ cup of applesauce)

¾ cup white sugar

2 eggs lightly beaten

2 large or 3 medium smashed over-ripe bananas (approx 2 cups worth)

1 cup white & 1 cup whole wheat flour (OR 2 cups gluten-free flour OR 2 cups white flour)

½ tsp salt

1 tsp baking soda

Variations:

• Walnut Chocolate Chip: ½ cup of chopped walnuts, ¾ cup semi-sweet chocolate chips

• Apple Cinnamon: 2 tsp of cinnamon to the dry ingredients, 1 peeled apple diced into the finished/mixed batter

• Cinnamon Topping: Mix 1 TBL brown sugar and 2 tsp cinnamon for the topping 

Preheat oven to 350 degrees (put the rack in the middle of the oven) & grease a loaf pan

1. Melt butter in a large mixing bowl

2. Add sugar and eggs, mix well ( I use a whisk)

3. Add bananas and mix well (I smash with the whisk as I mix them in)

4. In a small mixing bowl, add all the dry ingredients (if you decide to make the apple cinnamon version, add the cinnamon here)

5. Add dry ingredients to the wet and mix with a spatula, stir until just moistened

6. Add walnuts/chocolate chips (or apples if making that version) and stir until just mixed

7. Pour batter into prepared loaf pan

Bake in a preheated oven at 350 degrees for 60-70 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted into the middle comes out clean.   Let cool in the pan on a wire rack for 10 min, then turn out onto the wire rack to cool completely before enjoying. 

Notes

• I like to use less butter, rather than a half cup which is what the original recipe calls for, I put in ¼ cup of melted butter and add a ¼ cup or so of applesauce (one of the kids lunch applesauce cups is perfect!).  It comes out really moist with the applesauce and not as rich. 

• For the flour, you need to use 2 cups total (I use Gluten Free flour – Bob’s Red Mill cup for cup) but you can use 2 cups of regular white or 1 cup of white/1 cup of whole wheat