Whole Grain Banana Coconut Bread

An Improved Method for the Preparation of Banana Bread Mediated by Whole Grains and Coconut

Banana bread is a classic comfort food, a beloved childhood treat. Whenever we had bananas that were past their prime, this was the perfect way to avoid letting them go to waste. Every Christmas time especially, my mom would whip up a huge batch of banana bread as a special homemade gift for friends and family. Needless to say, I've developed quite a fondness for the stuff, and made sure to copy the precious recipe from my mom's aged and stained 1970s marching band cookbook before moving away from home. 

Nonetheless, part of growing up is making your own mark on things, and so over time I've played around with the recipe. One necessity was adding more nutritious ingredients to make the bread more substantive and healthy, to give a bread that tastes like a treat without the guilt. After significant experimentation, I think I've finally hit the jackpot here. A mixture of whole grains amps up the fiber, and honey replaces the refined sugar to give a more complex flavor (plus antioxidants and minerals!), and equal sweetness while lowering the sugar content. The banana chips also give an extra banana-y taste, adding more sweetness without refined sugars. Coconut flakes give some extra moisture and a nice texture. Biting into a warm slice, you'll forget that the bread's nutritious!

The great thing about quick breads like this, too, is that you can make either a loaf or muffins with equally fantastic results, depending on how hungry you are and how many people you're willing to share it with. I've made it both ways. You can make the muffins and throw half in the freezer (in a sealed bag, of course, it'll keep for 1-2 months), so you can enjoy them later on without additional effort. A whole loaf can go in the freezer, too, but I wouldn't freeze individual slices. As a test to my hypothesis as to the deceptive deliciousness of this bread, I baked a loaf to share with my labmates recently. The loaf was gone within 12 hours of its arrival in the group room (and I did not announce its presence, either). Experimental results support the hypothesis. 

Unoptimized Conditions (a.k.a. original recipe):

1/2 cup butter, softened

1 cup white sugar

1 3/4 cup all-purpose flour

1 tsp baking soda

1/4 tsp salt

3-4 large bananas, mashed

1/2 cup walnuts, chopped

Optimized Reaction Conditions (a.k.a. my recipe):

1/2 cup butter, softened (or coconut oil, for vegan bread)

2/3 cup REAL honey (wildflower is the best!)

2 eggs (or 2 Tbsp chia seeds + 9 Tbsp water)

1 1/4 cup whole wheat flour

1/2 cup golden flaxseed meal (I used Bob's Red Mill brand)

2 Tbsp wheat germ

1 tsp baking soda

1/4 tsp salt

3-4 large bananas, mashed

1/2 cup unsweetened shredded coconut

1/2 cup dried unsweetened banana chips

1/2 cup walnuts (or almonds or macademia nuts), chopped

Experimental Procedure:
1. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.
2. If using chia seeds in place of eggs, mix chia seeds and water in a small bowl and set aside (after ~15 min, it should form a gel of “gloppy” consistency, at which point it will be ready to add to wet ingredients).
3. In a medium mixing bowl, cream together the butter and honey, then add eggs (or chia gel) and beat mixture. 
4. In a separate bowl, sift together flour, flaxseed meal, wheat germ, baking soda, and salt.
5. Gradually add flour mixture to the wet mixture, mixing until just combined.
6. Mix in mashed bananas.
7. By hand, stir in coconut, banana chips, and walnuts (let banana chips soak in water for a couple of minutes before adding, just to give a little extra moisture - they were a bit chewy without a pre-soak).
8. Pour batter into a greased and lightly floured 9x5” loaf pan or paper-lined muffin cups.
9. Bake for 50-60 minutes (loaf) or 30 minutes (muffins), or until toothpick inserted in center comes out fairly clean.
10. Allow to cool in pan for  about 10 minutes, then remove from pan and cool completely on a wire rack.


Makes 1 loaf or ~1 1/2 dozen muffins