Ingredients
- 6 tablespoons unsweetened applesauce*
- 1/4 cup honey
- 1/4 cup light or dark brown sugar
- 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
- 1/4 cup milk
- 2 large eggs
- 3 medium ripe bananas, mashed (about a heaping 1 and 1/4 cups)
- 1 3/4 cups whole wheat flour
- 1 teaspoon baking soda
- 1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 2/3 cup Diamond of California® chopped walnuts
The Steps
Adjust the oven rack to the lower third position and preheat the oven to 350F degrees. Lowering the oven rack prevents the top of your bread from browning too much too soon. Spray a 9×5 inch loaf pan with non-stick spray. Set aside.
In a medium bowl, whisk the applesauce, honey, brown sugar, vanilla, and milk together until combined. Then, whisk in the eggs and bananas until combined. The mixture should be smooth. Set aside. In a large bowl, whisk the flour, baking soda, cinnamon, salt, and walnuts together. Pour the wet ingredients into the dry ingredients and slowly whisk until *just* combined. Absolutely do not overmix this batter. I like to add the walnuts to the dry ingredients rather than mixing them in last because it helps avoid overmixing. Overmixing = too heavy tasting.
Pour the batter into the prepared loaf pan. Bake for 60-65 minutes, making sure to loosely cover the bread with aluminum foil halfway through to prevent the top from getting too brown. The bread is done when a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean with only a few small moist crumbs. This may be before or after 60-65 minutes depending on your oven, so begin checking every 5 minutes at the 55 minute mark or so. I strongly suggest using an oven thermometer to test your oven’s temperature.
Allow the bread to cool completely in the pan on a wire rack before slicing. The bread will stay fresh in an airtight container (it tastes better on day 2!) at room temperature or in the refrigerator for up to 10 days. But it won’t last that long.
FREEZING: Baked bread may be frozen up to 3 months. Thaw overnight in the refrigerator.
*Melted coconut oil (or canola or vegetable oils) may be used instead of applesauce.
*Pure maple syrup or agave may be used instead of honey.
*I use skim milk, but any milk fat is OK. Soy, rice, coconut, and almond are also fine.
*For muffins, bake at 350F for around 18-20 minutes, give or take. Use a toothpick to test doneness.
