World’s Best Banana Bread with Einkorn Flour

Hands down, the World’s BEST banana bread – I’ve eaten a lot of banana bread in my life, and none has ever been able to top this favorite family recipe! Sweet, cakey, and with plenty of ripe banana flavor, it’s a classic comfort food that can served for breakfast or dessert. Made with ancient grain Einkorn flour (but all purpose works fine too).

I realize it’s a little bold to label something the World’s Best Banana Bread. And I’m sure your mom and your great aunt and that sweet lady from your church all make a wonderful banana bread. I’ve had plenty of good banana bread over the years too but, none has ever topped this super moist and sweet recipe.

That said, this is really more like banana CAKE…and I happen to love cake. 🙂 

I adapted it from an old family recipe from one of my childhood friends. Everyone always agreed her mom’s banana bread was the best and, with a couple of additional tweeks, I think this version is even better! 

World’s Best Banana Bread Recipe Variations

The ingredients in this recipe are also easily adaptable. Here are some variations I’ve tried and enjoyed over the years:

Banana Nut Bread

Add 1 cup chopped walnuts or pecans to the batter before pouring into the pan.

Whole Wheat Banana Bread

Replace the all purpose flour with whole wheat ( I recommend ancient grain Einkorn whole wheat flour; reduce amount by 2 Tbsp to maintain moisture). 

Higher Fiber Banana Bread

Use whole wheat flour, replacing about 1/4 cup of flour with ground flax or chia  seeds.

Lower Sugar Banana Bread

This recipe is more like a banana cake, so you can easily cut the sugar in half and still have a great banana bread! 

Banana Bread Muffins

Any of the above varieties baked in muffin tins.

…But today’s version is about comfort food – the classic original. 🙂 

If your bananas are still yellow, here’s a tip!

Kitchen Tip for Making Banana Bread with Yellow Bananas

If you have only unripe yellow bananas on hand, peel them, cut into chunks, and give them a quick heat in the microwave or in a small saucepan on the stove. This will convert some of their starches into sugars (mimicking the natural ripening process), making them softer and sweeter, just how you want them for banana bread! This method can be used for green bananas, but their strong flavor will still affect the taste of the bread, so I don’t recommend using them. 

How to Make the World’s Best Banana Bread

This is a classic quick bread recipe. Cream the butter and sugar, then add the eggs and vanilla. Mash the bananas and add those too. 

Mix the dry ingredients in a separate bowl, then combine dry and wet. Pour the batter into a loaf pan and sprinkle a layer of sugar on top to give it that light crispy layer as it bakes. 

Then slice, serve, eat, and repeat. 🙂 

World's Best Banana Bread with Einkorn Flour

Hands down, the World's BEST banana bread - I've eaten a lot of banana bread in my life, and none has ever been able to top this favorite family recipe! Sweet, moist, and with plenty of ripe banana flavor, it's a classic comfort food that can served for breakfast or dessert. Made with ancient grain Einkorn flour. 

4.60 from 35 votes

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Course: Breakfast

Cuisine: American

Prep Time: 10 minutes minutes

Cook Time: 50 minutes minutes

Total Time: 1 hour hour

Servings: 12

Author: Dena Norton

Ingredients

• ▢ 1/2 cup pastured salted butter, softened
• ▢ 1 1/4 cups organic sugar (plus more for sprinkling on top - Note this is a pretty sweet recipe so you can cut the sugar down to 3/4-1 cup if you prefer)
• ▢ 2 pastured eggs
• ▢ 1 1/2 cups mashed ripe bananas (about 3 medium bananas)
• ▢ 1 tsp pure vanilla extract
• ▢ 1 1/4 cups Einkorn ancient grain flour
• ▢ 1 Tbsp baking powder
• ▢ 1 tsp ground cinnamon
• ▢ 1/4 tsp salt

Instructions

• Preheat oven to 350 degrees, then line a large loaf pan or 9x9" square baking dish with parchment paper so you can easily lift the loaf out of the pan once baked.
• In a large bowl, cream butter and sugar. Add eggs and mix until well combined.
• Add mashed bananas and vanilla, stirring well.
• In a separate bowl, mix together dry ingredients, then gradually stir into the wet ingredients until just mixed. 
• Pour batter into prepared pan and sprinkle generously with additional sugar.  
• Bake for 50-60 minutes or until a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean. I always place a large rimmed baking sheet on the lower rack just in case it cooks over the edge of the loaf pan (mine never does, but it always comes close so I add the baking sheet every time just to be safe!).  If needed, cover with foil toward the end of baking to prevent the surface from overbrowning. 
• Cool completely before slicing.

Notes

• You can substitute any all purpose flour for the Einkorn flour. 
• If you prefer a less sweet banana bread to this cake-like version, but the sugar in half.
• Feel free to add stir ins like pecans, walnuts, or chocolate chips.
• The same batter can be poured into muffin tins to make banana muffins. 
• Sprinkling the extra sugar on the surface before baking is optional, but I love the sweet crisp it adds to the surface!

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