Classic Banana Bread

Servings 1 loaf

Ingredients

2 cups whole wheat pastry flour or all purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon salt
3/4 cup brown sugar
2 large eggs
1/4 cup plain Greek yogurt I used 2%
1 teaspoon vanilla
1/4 cup mild olive oil or your preferred oil
2 cups mashed over ripe banana

Instructions

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Spray or lightly grease a 9" x 5" loaf pan.
In a medium bowl, whisk together flour, baking soda, baking powder, cinnamon and salt.
In a large bowl, whisk together the brown sugar, eggs, yogurt and vanilla until well combined. Stir in the olive oil and mashed banana.
Add the flour mixture to the banana mixture and stir just until combined.
Pour into prepared loaf pan and bake for 60-65 minutes or until toothpick inserted into center comes out clean. Allow to cool in pan for 10-15 minutes, then remove from pan and transfer to a rack to finish cooling. Store at room temperature, wrapped in foil.

Recipe Notes

*If you're worried that the top of your loaf is getting too browned during baking, you can place a piece of tented foil over the bread during the last 20 minutes of baking.

*If you don't want any olive oil flavor to interfere with the taste, make sure you use a light and mild olive oil, the kind you would use for sauteing instead of the more assertive oils that you use for dressing, dipping and drizzling. You can also substitute in your favorite oil.

*The bread should be completely cool before wrapping in foil to store. Otherwise, steam could build up while it's wrapped creating a perfect environment for mold to grow.

*I keep the bread up to 3 days at room temperature. If I think I will be storing it longer, I'll either refrigerate it or freeze it. Generally, it doesn't last more than 2 days in our house.

*I use the spoon and sweep method for measuring flour. Fluff the flour, spoon it into your measuring cup and then level it by scraping across the top with a straight edge. Too much flour will ruin a recipe, so take time to insure that you're measuring correctly.