Ingredients:

  • 1 ½ cups Whole Wheat Pastry Flour
  • ½ cup All-Purpose Flour (Plain Flour)
  • 1 teaspoon Baking Soda (Bicarbonate of Soda)
  • ½ teaspoon Baking Powder
  • 1 teaspoon Ground Cinnamon
  • ½ teaspoon Fine Sea Salt
  • ½ cup Chopped Walnuts/Pecans (Optional)
  • 3 large or 4 medium Overripe Bananas (mashed, approx. 350g)
  • 2 Large Eggs (room temperature)
  • ½ cup Plain Greek Yogurt (2% or 5%)
  • ½ cup Maple Syrup (Grade A or B)
  • ¼ cup Coconut Oil (Melted and cooled)
  • 1 teaspoon Vanilla Extract

Instructions:

  1. Preparation: Preheat the oven to 350°F (175°C). Lightly grease a 9x5 inch loaf pan and line it with parchment paper, leaving an overhang for easy removal. In a medium bowl, whisk together the whole wheat pastry flour, all-purpose flour, baking soda, baking powder, cinnamon, and salt. Set aside.
  2. Mixing the Wet Ingredients: In a large mixing bowl, mash the overripe bananas until mostly smooth. Whisk in the eggs one at a time until just combined. Stir in the Greek yogurt, maple syrup, melted and cooled coconut oil, and vanilla extract until the mixture is uniform.
  3. Combining the Batter (Do Not Overmix!): Pour the dry mixture into the wet mixture. Use a rubber spatula to gently fold the ingredients together until just combined. Stop folding immediately when there are only a few streaks of flour remaining. If using, gently fold in the optional nuts or chocolate chips.
  4. Baking: Scrape the batter into the prepared loaf pan and smooth the top. Bake for 55 to 60 minutes. The bread is done when a skewer inserted into the center comes out clean or with a few moist crumbs attached. If the top browns too quickly, loosely tent the loaf with aluminum foil.
  5. Cool and Serve: Remove the loaf from the oven and let it cool in the pan for 10 minutes. Use the parchment overhang to lift the loaf out and transfer it to a wire rack to cool completely before slicing for the cleanest cuts.