Banana Bread: from Homemade Baking Mix

Banana Bread with Fruit for Breakfast

Banana bread is the perfect answer to those overripe bananas that have a way of accumulating. It seems like bananas can go from yellow and firm to spotted and soft overnight. Unfortunately, most banana bread recipes call for 3 - 5 bananas. I never have that many overripe bananas at a time. What to do? Freeze them! Whenever I spot an browning banana, I toss it into the freezer. I don’t bother peeling or mashing. Just the whole banana. Eventually, I’ll accumulate a few, and then it’s time to make banana bread.

Several months ago, I started using my Homemade Low Sodium Baking Mix in Bisquick’s Banana Nut Bread recipe. It was so easy and tasty, that I’ve been using it ever since.

Cooled and Ready to Cut

I’ve made a few changes to the Bisquick banana bread recipe. First of all, I used my homemade low sodium whole grain baking mix. I also increased the vanilla and added a bit of lemon juice to keep the bananas from darkening. Because bananas are so moist and can make baked goods heavy and dense, I also added a bit of both NSA baking powder and baking soda. And I don’t use the nuts. Finally, I bake the banana bread in either a square or round cake pan.

I wrote about the homemade baking mix a while ago. It was a recipe from King Arthur Flour. Unfortunately, the baking mix recipe I’d been using is no longer on their website. Another recipe, called Quick Mix, is posted instead. The biggest difference between the two mix recipes is that Quick Mix includes dried milk and/or dried buttermilk. I’m going to stick with the original recipe because I think it’s closest to Bisquick which does not contain any dry milk or buttermilk powder. I’ve had really good luck using Bisquick recipes but subbing my homemade mix and also omitting salt and using loso ingredients.

Want a piece?

Banana Bread (Homemade Baking Mix)

Adapted from Bisquick Banana Nut Bread

(Printable Recipe)

1⅓ cups mashed very ripe bananas* (approximately 3 large)

⅔ cup sugar

¼ cup milk

3 tablespoons vegetable oil

½ - 1 teaspoon vanilla

1 teaspoon lemon juice

3 eggs

¼ teaspoon Featherweight baking powder

⅛ teaspoon baking soda

2⅔ cups Homemade Low Sodium Baking Mix

½ cup chopped nuts (Optional)

Heat oven to 350ºF. Grease bottom of 9x5x3-inch loaf pan.

Stir bananas, sugar, milk, oil, vanilla and eggs in large bowl. Stir in baking mix and nuts, if using. Pour into pan.

Bake 50 to 60 minutes or until toothpick inserted in center comes out clean; cool 10 minutes. Loosen sides of loaf from pan; remove from pan and place top side up on wire rack. Cool completely, about 2 hours, before slicing. Wrap tightly and store at room temperature up to 4 days, or refrigerate up to 10 days.

*I use frozen bananas. I thaw the bananas in a bowl before peeling. The flesh slips out easily once thawed. Sometimes there are dark sections at the tips; I discard those. The frozen bananas are watery, but I do not drain off the liquid.