Hannah's Banana bread

Remember I said I bought spelt flour specifically for a recipe but ended up making honey and spelt cake and then spelt and buttermilk pancakes instead? Well this is the recipe that I had in mind when I first bought the spelt flour - Hannah's Banana Bread. I'm really pleased to be sharing it with you now as this is the best banana bread I've made and I've made quite a few banana breads in my time!

I am entering this to January's Tea Time Treats, hosted this month by Karen from Lavender and Lovage and co-hosted by Kate from What Kate Baked. The theme this month is Sweet Pastries and Breads so I thought it would be a great addition to the table.

Back in October, I won a copy of Leon Baking & Puddings Book 3 from a giveaway hosted by Ren from Fabulicious Food - thank you again! She recommended this recipe and it's taken me a few months to get to it but trust me the wait is worth it. You can read her review of the book here.

Karen from Lavender and Lovage who is the lovely host of Tea Time Treats has also baked this bread and written a review of the same book which you can read here. Coincidentally, her daughter's name is Hannah. According to Henry Dimbleby, "Some time ago people started leaving wishes on pieces of paper in a drawer in the Ludgate Circus branch of Leon. We celebrated this by granting the wishes of people who came to one of our parties.  Hannah's wish was to have a cake named after her hence the name" I think I will be leaving wishes at branches of Leon that I visit from now :)

Back to the banana bread. It's the first recipe I tried from the book and it's a huge success.  This is my 3rd time baking with spelt flour and I'm loving it.  It has a grainy, nutty texture which complements the bananas and pecans.  The yoghurt and oil makes it wonderfully moist and I really like the sliced banana on top sprinkled with sugar (it's supposed to sink but mine didn't!) This actually tasted much better the next day - an accidental finding as I was rushing to work and left it behind so it had to be eaten the next day. 

 

 egg mixture at the back, banana mixture in the front

 sprinkle sugar on top for a lovely caramelised top (you can leave out the sugar if you wish)

 I thought it was going to spill over when it first came out of the oven but it sunk a little on cooling. 

 moist and delicious!

Recipe from Leon Baking & Pudding Book 3 by Claire Ptak and Henry Dimbleby which is published by Conran Octopus - reproduced with permission from Octopus Publishing Group

50g pecan nuts
150ml vegetable oil
200g dark brown sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
2 free range eggs
350g ripe skinned bananas (about 3-4 depending on size of banana)
75g natural yoghurt
1 teaspoon bicarbonate of soda
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon salt
225g wholemeal spelt flour
1 banana, peeled and 3 tablespoons caster sugar for the top

• Preheat the oven to 170C.
• Butter a 900g/2lb loaf tin and line with baking paper. Line a baking sheet with baking paper as well. 
• Spread the pecans out over the lined baking sheet and toast them in the oven for about 5-7 minutes, or until lightly golden and fragrant. Set aside to cool.
• In a large bowl, whisk together the oil, dark brown sugar, vanilla and eggs. 
• In a separate bowl, roughly mash up the bananas. Add the yoghurt and mix well.
• Sift the bicarbonate of soda, baking powder and cinnamon over the yoghurt mixture, add the salt and stir well to combine. 
• Now add the banana mixture to the egg mixture and stir to combine. 
• Chop the pecans into small pieces and add them with the flour, stirring until just incorporated. (NOTE : do not over mix the batter) 
• Spoon the mixture into the prepared loaf tin.
• Carefully slice the remaining banana in half lengthwise.  Place one half, cut side up, on top of the bread and sprinkle with the caster sugar (I put both slices as I was too full to eat the other half as suggested and didn't want to waste it!)
• Bake in the oven for 45-50 minutes, or until the bread is springy to the touch and a skewer inserted comes out clean.
• Cool in the tin for at least 10 minutes before turning it out on to a wire rack to cool.