Whenever two overripe bananas appear on my counter, I feel a little giddy, pull out the Joy of Cooking, preheat the oven, and stop because no matter how many times I do this I always forget that the Joy of Cooking's version of banana bread has shortening in it.
There are few things that I just won't allow in my kitchen, and shortening is one of them. It's not because I'm afraid of trans fats, though it certainly doesn't didn't help. I just don't understand why, why you would use shortening when there are so many other fats that ACTUALLY TASTE GOOD?
The obvious (and laziest) solution was to find another recipe. The Smitten Kitchen recipe for Crackly Banana Bread is incredible, but I can count on one finger the number of times in the past ten years I've had millet in my pantry, and the bread just isn't the same without it. The recipe for Lemony Olive Oil Banana Bread on 101 Cookbooks looked good, but having to make a glaze screams CAKE to me, and I didn't want banana cake, even if it has tasty fats and whole grains.
Eventually, I had to surrender and roll my own recipe. This recipe is what would happen if the Joy of Cooking's recipe ran away from home with an acoustic guitar and ended up living in a yurt. It is unapologetically hippie chow. If you're like me and like a toothy, not too sweet quick bread, this is your recipe. The all purpose flour is replaced with rye, and the white sugar is replaced with brown sugar, and the shortening is replaced with my favorite shortening substitute, coconut oil.
Hippie Chow Banana Bread
1 3/4 c. rye flour
2 1/4 tsp. baking powder
1/2 tsp. salt
1/3 c. coconut oil
2/3 c. brown sugar
2 eggs
2 bananas
a handful of walnuts
Preheat the oven to 350.
Mix the flour, baking powder, and salt in a medium sized bowl.
Beat the coconut oil, brown sugar, and eggs until creamy in a large bowl. Then beat in the bananas.
Add the dry ingredients to the wet ingredients slowly and beat until smooth.
Pour the batter into a greased 9x5" loaf pan.
Sprinkle the walnuts on top.
Bake 45 minutes or until a cake tester comes out clean.
Allow to cool for ten minutes before removing from the pan to a wire rack.
