Image by L. Kelly LylesI love to bake banana bread. I love the smell, the batter's texture, the endless rotation of possible ingredients, the way it slowly chips away at the mountain of brown frozen bananas in my freezer door. This afternoon it was so chilly that I decided it was the perfect day for the first baking session of the season. It's been so hot this summer that our bananas haven't been keeping worth anything, so there were about 25 frozen fruits calling my name, and baby their time had come.
I wanted to hang on to the few eggs we had kicking around the fridge for breakfast tomorrow, so I made a few substitutions to my traditional recipe. Usually, I go the yogurt route, but having only fat free yogurt on hand means giving up on any kind of rising so guess what I did :) M couldn't, but it turned out great! This bread is just chewy enough but not wet like some healthy banana breads, certainly not too dry, and just sweet enough to make it feel like a treat!
Preheat your oven to 350.
Lightly grease a standard loaf pan (I always cheat and use cooking spray to keep this step really easy. If you do this though, reduce the salt in your recipe: I find cooking spray flavors the loaf more than other options, though it's still a much healthier way to do it).
- Mash 3 large overripe or frozen-and-then-defrosted bananas in a medium bowl.
- Stir in 1 tbsp warm water
- Stir in 1-2 heaping tbsp of Miracle Whip
- If you have it on hand, mix in 1 tbsp of your favorite low-fat-low-sugar yogurt for a little extra sweetness
In a larger bowl mix
- 1 cup of all purpose flour
- 1 cup whole wheat flour
- .5 tsp salt
- 1.5 tsp baking soda
- .5 cup sugar
Make a well in the bowl of dry ingredients and pour the wet mix into it. Mix only until dry ingredients are absorbed. Fold in a small handful of chocolate chips, nuts, or whatever your creative little heart desires. Pour that beauty into your loaf pan and bake on the middle rack for about 35-45 minutes depending on your over. Take the opportunity here to check on it every once in awhile and let the deliciousness waft into your kitchen. Mmmm. WHIP IT GOOD!
2 Response to Mayonnaise and bananas you say? NEVER?! Welcome to Miracle Bread
Wow, you are adventurous. I love banana bread and usually stick to my original recipe. I sometimes substitute with applesauce, but have never tried a dressing. Glad it worked out for you. Did M like it?
He just about demolished it all while I wasn't looking!! I really like the way the salad dressing helped the bread rise, whereas I find many other substitutes weigh breads down so that they turn out much more like muffins. Because Miracle Whip has SOME oil in it (but nowhere near as much as mayonnaise), it helps the bread rise. This also means that if you choose to use it instead of eggs, and the recipe also calls for oil, you need to reduce the amount of oil you use.
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