crackly banana bread

I think I'm physically incapable of making a normal loaf of banana bread. On the blog I've posted recipes for coconut pineapple banana bread, peanut butter banana bread, banana espresso chocolate chip muffins, and nutella-filled banana muffins…and I have two more banana bread recipes lurking in drafts just waiting for their big moment. But amongst all these recipes, not a single one for basic banana bread. I suppose I just can't leave well enough alone.

Anyway, why should I? Honestly, who wants normal banana bread when you can have banana bread with peanut butter or coconut or…bacon??? Not this girl.

This loaf is the closest I've come to traditional banana bread. But, alas, as soon as I saw Smitten Kitchen's addition of millet to her banana bread, I had to make it happen. The millet provides a crunchy texture to the bread, spicing up what would otherwise be a very traditional loaf of banana bread. Omit the millet and there you have it…basic banana bread. But the crunch is soooo good.

I had a tough time finding millet at first. My regular grocery store only carries ground millet. I eventually found whole millet at a fancy pants grocery store, in the bulk section amongst the nuts and grains. It can also be ordered online here or here. Either way you go, this is what banana bread should be. In all it's semi-healthy deliciousness.

crackly banana bread

ingredients:
3 large ripe-to-over-ripe bananas
1 large egg
1/3 cup vegetable oil
1/3 cup light brown sugar
1/4 cup maple syrup
1 tsp vanilla extract
1 tsp baking soda
1/4 tsp salt
1 tsp ground cinnamon
1/4 tsp freshly grated nutmeg
Pinch of ground cloves
1 cup whole wheat flour

1/2 cup all-purpose flour
1/4 cup uncooked whole millet

directions:
Preheat your oven to 350°F and grease a 9×5-inch loaf pan with butter or cooking spray.

In the bottom of a large bowl, mash bananas with a fork or the back of a wooden spoon until mostly smooth, with only a few lumps remaining. Whisk in egg, then oil, brown sugar, maple syrup and vanilla extract. Sprinkle baking soda, salt, cinnamon, nutmeg and cloves over mixture and stir until combined. Stir in flours until just combined, then millet.

Pour mixture into prepared pan and bake until a tester comes out clean, approximately 40 to 50 minutes. Cool loaf in pan on rack.

Yield: one 9x5 loaf

Source: slightly adapted from Smitten Kitchen