Lemon-Ginger Banana Bread

The Inspiration

It's easy to understand why banana bread is one of the more popular quick breads. It can take a beating, in the sense that it's really hard to mess up. You can add a lot of sugar, or just a tad, and many other add-ins that make it such a versatile and scrumptious breakfast, snack, or even gift. 

So for one of my versions of banana bread I used the flavors of lemon and ginger; in the form of Chobani's lemon blended Greek yogurt and ground ginger. Usually for me banana bread feels like a fall/winter baking item, I think due to the standard addition of cinnamon. I was craving some banana bread, and recently I've been on a tropical or citrus kick. So I decided to bring my banana bread up to spring with these fresh flavors.

The Know-How

I've found the best way to be able to experiment with banana bread (or any quick bread for that matter) is start with a basic recipe that you know works for you then substitute and add away. For instance, maybe you want to use honey instead of sugar, or yogurt instead of oil or butter.

I didn't have any add-ins in this recipe because I wanted to see how the flavors came out, next time I'll add in some dried tropical fruit or coconut just to give it that extra oomph.
This bread came out very moist, the flavor that came out the most to me was the almond extract. So next time I would add 2-3 tsp of ginger possibly fresh ginger, and maybe some lemon zest as well. You cannot tell this is a very low-fat bread. It was so moist. The crust on the outside was a bit chewy, but the next day it moistened.

The How-To

Lemon-Ginger Banana Bread

Prep time: 10 min

Cook time: 50 min

Ingredients:

1 1/4 - 1 1/2 c very ripe banana, mashed (I used 3 med bananas)

3/8 c egg whites (I used egg beaters)

1 (5.3 oz) container of lemon blended Chobani greek yogurt

1/2 c sugar

1/2 c brown sugar

1 Tbsp almond milk

1 tsp almond extract

2 c unbleached all-purpose flour

1 tsp baking soda

1 tsp baking powder

1 tsp ground ginger

This will make 1 loaf in a 9 x 5 inch pan. Feel free to make mini loaves  or muffins; adjust cook time accordingly.

-Preheat oven to 350° F

- In a mixer combine the banana, yogurt, egg whites, sugars, milk, and extract.

-In a separate bowl whisk together dry ingredients: flour, b. soda, b. powder, and ginger.

-Slowly add the dry mixture to the mixer of wet ingredients. Use the stir setting until fully combined. (You don't have to use a mixer, but I did.)

-Pour mixture into a lined or greased (I used parchment paper) loaf pan (or pan of your choice).
-Bake for approximately 50-55 minutes, until a toothpick inserted comes out clean.
-Cool in pan for 20-30 minutes, remove from pan and completely cool on rack.
-Enjoy your fresh banana bread.