Top banana bread: really ripe bananas and maple syrup are essential to a moist, light loaf - without eggs

Banana bread has a reputation as a healthy indulgence. Naturally sweet and nutritionally rich, ripe bananas stand in for some of the fat and sugar found in other quick breads. And so banana bread appeals to people like me, who want satisfying sweets that are packed with flavor but still fit into a sensible diet.

Unfortunately, most conventional banana breads fail to live up to their healthy image. Many are way too sugary for my taste. I like to toast slices of banana bread for breakfast and don't want to feel like I just ate dessert at 7 a.m. Many conventional banana breads also contain more fat than necessary. I wanted to create a dairy-free loaf of banana bread using natural sweeteners and some whole-grain flour. The finished product would be filled with toasted nuts and have a bold banana flavor. It would be moist but not heavy or sticky, the downfall of many a banana bread.

It seemed easy enough. All I had to do was replace the refined and nonvegan ingredients in my favorite banana bread recipe with a few natural ones. To my surprise, this "little" project involved a lot more than some simple substitutions. It required persistence, patience, plenty of trial and error and, ultimately, a proper balance of wet and dry ingredients. Dozens of loaves later, here's what I reamed.

The Butter Replacement

Rich, creamy butter adds flavor and tenderness to baked goods. It also adds an unhealthy dose of saturated fat. For a more wholesome substitute, I tried canola oil, which contains very little saturated fat. Like butter, canola oil made a tender loaf of bread and helped create a moist crumb. However, it lacked butter's appealing nutty taste. In an attempt to bring that back, I turned to Spectrum Spread--a semi-solid, nonhydrogenated spread. Although it's made from canola oil, this spread has a buttery smell and flavor. The Spectrum Spread gave the loaf the moist, tender crumb I was looking for, along with a delicate buttery flavor.

The Sugar Replacement

In the first several loaves, I used unbleached granulated cane sugar as a substitute for refined white sugar. This product has a fine, sandy texture, which presumed would keep the banana bread light. Combined with the other ingredients in the recipe, however, it yielded a somewhat dry, cakey loaf. For more moisture, I switched to a liquid sweetener.

I ruled out barley malt right away because it produced a heavy, sticky loaf with an unappealing cooked grain flavor. Rice syrup tasted fine, but, like the barley malt, was also too heavy. The banana bread lost its tender crumb and became slightly gummy. I finally tried maple syrup, which proved to be the winner. It gave the loaf a feathery crumb. Best of all, its mild taste blended right into the bread, allowing the natural sweetness and flavor of the bananas to shine through.

The Flour

I tinkered with different ratios of unbleached all-purpose flour and whole-wheat pastry flour. To reap the health benefits of whole wheat without sacrificing lightness, I decided on a ratio of 2 cups white flour to 1 cup whole wheat pastry flour. I found that a full three cups of flour was essential in this recipe. When I tried using less flour, the loaves rose beautifully in the oven only to collapse as they cooled on the counter.

The Egg Replacement

In the past, I have successfully replaced eggs with whipped silken tofu in a variety of vegan recipes. Therefore, I figured I could do the same in the banana bread recipe. I was wrong. Loaf after loaf came out looking and tasting underdone. Loaves that I left in the oven for an hour and 30 minutes still had a gummy band of under-cooked dough near the bottom crust. Frustrated after so many failures, I decided to leave the tofu out. This was a smart move. I quickly found out that I did not need an egg substitute to create a moist banana bread that rose nicely in the pan and held its shape.

The Leaveners

My favorite banana bread recipe called for baking powder and baking soda and I continued to use both leaveners throughout my testing. I discovered that without eggs to give them structure, the loaves needed slightly more baking powder and baking soda than traditional recipes to achieve a light crumb and proper height. I also needed to add an acid so the baking soda would have something with which to react. Lemon juice turned out to be a good choice. In addition to helping the baking soda kick into action, the tart juice balanced the sweetness of the maple syrup and bananas.

The Bananas and Other Ingredients

After several trial loaves, I settled on three mashed bananas in my recipe. This amount gave the bread a strong banana flavor and added moistness without weighing the loaf down. To round out the taste of the batter, I added a teaspoon of vanilla and a bit of salt. Cinnamon and nutmeg tempered the assertive flavor of the whole-wheat pastry flour and perfumed the bread with a warm spiciness. Toasted walnuts added a pleasing earthiness and some nub to the bread's texture.

Putting It All Together

The mixing method for banana bread is especially easy, which is no doubt part of its appeal. There's no need to break out an electric mixer. Simply mash the bananas into a puree. (A fork is fine for this job, but you can use a potato masher for more leverage.) Then work in the spectrum spread and liquid ingredients.

The dry ingredients should be whisked together in another bowl to make sure they are evenly combined. To finish the batter, simply dump the dry ingredients into the bowl with the wet ingredients and stir with a rubber spatula. Do not overmix the batter or the finished loaf will be tough. When just a few streaks of flour remain, stop mixing and scrape the batter into a greased loaf pan.

Throughout my testing, I baked the banana bread at 350 degrees; this proved to be the ideal temperature. One hour of baking produced a beautiful golden loaf that was completely baked through, yet still moist.

After testing countless loaves, I've found a healthy substitute for my favorite banana bread recipe. Without sacrificing taste or texture, I was able to produce a moist loaf of vegan banana bread with a rich fruit flavor. And although this project took weeks of experimentation in my kitchen, the recipe below can truly be considered a "quick bread," ready to go into the oven after less than 15 minutes of work.

MASTER BANANA BREAD RECIPE

Makes 10 servings

It is essential to use very ripe bananas (the skins should be mottled brown) in this recipe. Firmer bananas do not add enough moisture to the batter and the result is a drier, cakier loaf. Toast the nuts in a 350-degree oven until fragrant, about 5 minutes, to bring out their full flavor. Banana bread tastes best the day it is made. Leftovers can be wrapped tightly in foil, but even when wrapped, the bread will dry out after a day or two. Toast dry slices and serve them for breakfast.

2 cups unbleached all-purpose flour
1 cup whole-wheat pastry flour
2 teaspoons aluminum-free baking
  powder teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg
3 very ripe medium bananas, peeled
1/3 cup Spectrum Spread
3/4 cup maple syrup
1 tablespoon fresh lemon juice
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 cup walnuts, toasted and coarsely
  chopped

1. Set oven rack to center position and heat oven to 350 degrees. Lightly oil a standard 9- by 5-inch loaf pan.

2. Whisk together flours, baking powder, baking soda, cinnamon, salt, and nutmeg in medium bowl. Set aside.

3. Using fork, mash bananas in large bowl until creamy. Work Spectrum Spread into bananas with fork until well blended. Stir in maple syrup, lemon juice, vanilla, and nuts.

4. Using rubber spatula, fold dry ingredients into wet mixture until just combined. Do not overmix. It's fine if a few streaks of flour remain in batter. Scrape batter into prepared loaf pan and gently smooth top with spatula.

5. Bake bread for 1 hour, or until toothpick inserted in middle of loaf comes out clean. Cool in pan 30 minutes; then invert onto wire rack to cool completely.

PER SERVING 336 calories, 6g protein, 13g fat, 52g carbohydrates, 4g fiber, 339mg sodium, 1% vitamin C, 10% calcium

BANANA BREAD WITH CHOCOLATE CHIPS AND CINNAMON

The extra cinnamon in this recipe works especially well with the chocolate chips.

Follow Master Recipe, adding 1 cup vegan chocolate chips to wet ingredients. Increase ground cinnamon to 2 teaspoons.

BANANA BREAD WITH FIGS AND HAZELNUTS

The brown skin that covers each hazelnut can be bitter and should be removed. Toast nuts in a 350-degree oven until skins start to split, about 10 minutes. Wrap nuts in a clean kitchen towel and rub off as much of the skins as possible. It's fine if some skins remain. The skinned nuts are now ready for chopping. Figs are so sticky that a knife is not the best tool for chopping them. Snip the figs into bit-sized pieces with scissors instead.

Follow Master Recipe, substituting toasted, skinned, and coarsely chopped skinned hazelnuts for walnuts. Add 2/3 cup snipped dried figs (about 10 whole) to wet ingredients and 3/4 teaspoon ground cardamom to dry ingredients.

BANANA BREAD WITH COCONUT AND MACADAMIA NUTS

Use unsweetened grated coconut (not sweetened flaked coconut) in this recipe. Toast the coconut in a 350-degree oven just until fragrant, about 4 minutes. Do not let the coconut brown. The nuts can be toasted in the same oven until fragrant, 5 or 6 minutes.

Follow Master Recipe, substituting toasted and coarsely chopped macadamia nuts for walnuts. Add 1/2 cup toasted unsweetened grated coconut and 2 teaspoons ground ginger to dry ingredients.

BANANA BREAD WITH CRANBERRIES AND ORANGE ZEST

Use the fine teeth on a grater to remove the colored rind, but not the bitter white pith, from 2 oranges.

Follow Master Recipe, adding 2 tablespoons grated orange zest and 2/3 cup unsweetened dried cranberries to wet ingredients.

BANANA BREAD WITH LEMON ZEST AND POPPY SEEDS

Grate the zest from one lemon for this recipe. Lemon extract, which is sold in the baking aisle near the vanilla extract, boosts the lemon flavor without adding too much liquid to the recipe.

Follow Master Recipe, substituting 3/4 teaspoon lemon extract for vanilla and 1/4 cup poppy seeds for walnuts. Add 1 teaspoon grated lemon zest to wet ingredients.

BANANA BREAD WITH MOLASSES AND CHINESE FIVE-SPICE POWDER

Five-spice powder, a blend of ground cinnamon, Szechuan peppercorns, star anise, fennel seeds, and cloves, adds a warm, fragrant flavor to this loaf.

Follow Master Recipe, substituting 1/4 cup blackstrap or unsulphured molasses for 1/4 cup of maple syrup. Omit nuts and add 2/3 cup golden raisins to wet ingredients. Add 2 teaspoons Chinese five-spice powder and 1 teaspoon ground ginger to dry ingredients. Put foil over loaf for last 30 minutes of baking to prevent top crust from overbrowning.

Victoria Abbott Riccardi studied French cooking at Le Cordon Bleu in Paris and kaiseki cooking in Kyoto, Japan. She is a food writer based in Boston.

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