Whole Grain, Ancient Grain Banana Bread

One of my most-used ancient grains, I use einkorn flour in everything from pancakes to cookies. This makes a very light, soft einkorn banana bread, maybe surprisingly so for a whole grain flour that is low in gluten, but I find whole grain einkorn to be quite soft in general.

The loaf has a wonderfully nutty, toasted flavour from the einkorn, it’s sweetened partly with maple syrup for an extra flavour boost, and added cinnamon and nutmeg give a real sense of warmth. Homemade buttermilk adds more lift to the batter along with the eggs. Note that this recipe uses only baking soda, no baking powder, so you do need to add vinegar to the batter.

I tested a series of ancient grain banana bread recipes for a book proposal I wrote a while back, and this was one of the recipes I wrote a couple of years ago when starting that process. I now rotate it along with the other grains I usually have on hand (spelt, khorasan, and emmer) to always have some variation in our banana bread.

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Ingredients You’ll Need and Why

This can be made with einkorn flour milled at home or purchased in the shop, without any changes to the recipe, as long as you weigh the ingredients. These are my notes from recipe testing, and you can find the full recipe card below with complete measurements and instructions.

• Einkorn flour: I’ve tested this with home-milled (in my komo), store-bought milled flour, and flour purchased from a local mill. All are great as long as you weigh the ingredients. I haven’t tested with sifted or light einkorn flour.
• Bananas: use the ripest bananas you can manage for the sweetest, most flavourful banana bread. I personally don’t like the taste of thawed from frozen bananas but if you don’t mind that, feel free to use bananas that have been frozen.
• Milk: I always use soya or oat milk for this recipe. Use any type of milk you like, but make sure it’s unsweetened and in a bottle or carton, not from a can (which is usually too thick).
• Vinegar: a splash of vinegar mixed into the milk makes a type of homemade buttermilk. This can be apple cider vinegar or plain white vinegar.
• Eggs: room temperature eggs add structure, fat, and flavour to the banana bread. I have tested this as a vegan version and wasn’t happy with the texture – if you want a banana bread recipe without eggs, there are several on the site, including this buckwheat banana bread.
• Maple syrup: substitute honey if needed but note that the banana bread will be slightly sweeter. I tried to push this amount up as far as possible, but a fully maple-sweetened banana bread always turned out claggy and dense. I’ll keep working on it, but for now a little sugar is best. Make sure this is real maple syrup, not maple flavoured syrup.
• Sugar: use just about any type of granulated sugar with good results. I’ve tested with cane, beet, muscovado, and coconut sugar.
• Oil: any oil that’s liquid at room temperature can be used. I like olive oil. Melted butter or coconut oil can be subbed at your own risk, and note that they will make the loaf more dense once cooled.
• Spices: the recipe calls for nutmeg and cinnamon. If you prefer one over the other, simply omit one. Cardamom is a good alternative. The added spices can also be omitted altogether if you prefer a simpler flavour.
• Add-ins: try walnuts or another nut like hazelnuts, seeds, chopped dark chocolate or chocolate chips, cocoa nibs, or whatever else you like in banana bread. See my tahini banana bread, topped with sunflower seeds, which add a good textural contrast.

How to Make Einkorn Banana Bread

This is a one-bowl recipe, largely because the dry ingredients are sifted into the bowl to remove lumps beforehand. If you don’t have an appropriate sieve for the job, whisk the flour and other dry ingredients in a separate bowl before adding to the mix.

Step 1: mix the milk and vinegar in a large mixing bowl and set aside for a couple of minutes, to allow the milk to curdle. You can do this step in a separate bowl or jar if preferred. Add the bananas and other wet ingredients to the bowl.

Step 2: mix with an immersion blender until very smooth, and the bananas have completely broken down. This can also be done in a standing mixer if you don’t have an immersion blender, then transferred to a mixing bowl, but be careful to get all of the mixture out of the blender in that case.

Related: Spelt Banana Bread

Step 3: sift the flour and other dry ingredients into the bowl. This will remove any lumps in the flour and also in the baking soda, which does tend to be lumpy. It’s very unpleasant to bite down on a clump of baking soda in your banana bread. If you’re milling your flour at home, it can be milled directly into the bowl (weigh the grains first) but still sift the baking soda.

Step 4: mix until just combined, incorporating any add-ins like nuts when the batter is about halfway mixed. Avoid over-mixing, which leads to tough quick breads.

Step 5: transfer the batter to a greased baking dish and gently tap against the worktop to level out the batter and pop any large air bubbles. Any oil can be used to grease the dish.

Step 6: bake until golden and a skewer or toothpick inserted into the centre of the loaf come out clean. Borosilicate glass dishes like this one (vintage pyrex) need a little more time to cool before bread and quick bread will easily release. Be patient and it will come out cleanly once it’s cooled enough.

Expert Tips for the Best Banana Bread

• Blend the bananas: this is optional, and you can mash the bananas before mixing with the other wet ingredients if you prefer. Blending gives a more even texture for a lighter banana bread with no lumps. Only blend the wet ingredients, not the batter with the flour added!
• Sift the flour: the flour pictured in step 3 of the step-by-step photos was milled directly into the bowl, so I didn’t sift it – but if it’s coming from a bag of flour, it’s a good idea to sift any lumps out.
• Metal versus glass: generally speaking with any baking, glass and ceramic dishes will increase the baking time slightly compared to metal. Keep this in mind depending on the type of baking dish you use.
• Don’t skip the vinegar: the extra acidity is needed to activate the baking soda. Without it you’ll have a flat banana bread that tastes metallic. This is baking science!

More Einkorn Flour Recipes

I’m adding to this all the time, and have dozens of whole grain ancient grain recipes coming soon on the site to add to the hundreds already on Occasionally Eggs. All of my einkorn recipes are made with whole grain flour.

• Einkorn Pancakes
• Einkorn Sourdough Bread
• Einkorn Bread