“How to Make Banana Nut Bread, For Someone Who is Allergic to Nuts” - Skye P

 

I use baking as a coping mechanism for when I'm bored, need something to bring to a potluck, feel stressed, or when I feel like nothing is in my control. I’ve learned to bake anything and everything between cookies, cake, brownies, etc. My mom mentioned to me one day that we had overripe bananas, so she suggested that I should make banana nut bread. The first time I made it, it came out terrible. However the second time it was even up to my aunt’s harsh standards, she sells pastries and such as a side hustle. The loaf was just sweet enough, very moist and the nuts were a perfect contrast to the soft texture of the bread. It was around finals week when I made the first good batch of banana bread and I wanted to bring some to my friends to try to make all the stress feel less extreme. So, I whipped up a good loaf of banana nut bread and brought pieces of it to school the next day. I was handing them out and I gave it to one of my friends that I had completely forgotten was allergic to walnuts, peanuts, pistachios, and practically all other nuts in existence. I snatched it back and gave it to someone else who didn’t have to tiptoe around peanuts. To make up for the aggressive grabbing and apologizing I modified the recipe to be nut-free. So here is how to make banana nut bread, for someone who is allergic to nuts.

Warnings:

-          The oven is hot so be careful and wear oven mitts while putting and taking the banana bread out of the oven.

-          Do not make this recipe if you are allergic to any of the ingredients (Just what we needed, more allergies to watch out for.)

 

Tools:

-          Oven / Toaster Oven

 

-          Oven mitts

 

-          Big bowl to fit all ingredients

 

-          Small microwave-safe bowl

 

-          Whisk (I guess you could say this is a whisky matter.)

 

-          Measuring spoons

 

-          Spatula

 

-          9x5 loaf pan (You can also make muffins using a cupcake pan!) Ingredients for Banana Bread:

-          5 tablespoons of butter

 

-          ½ cup of honey or maple syrup (Using honey is a more natural and healthy alternative to regular white sugar!)

-          1 ¾ cup mashed bananas (It’s better and easier to mash if the bananas are over-ripened.)

 

-          2 eggs

 

-          1 teaspoon baking soda (Yes, there is a difference between baking soda and powder. So, make sure it’s baking soda.)

-          ½ teaspoon salt

-          ½ teaspoon cinnamon

 

-          1 teaspoon vanilla extract2 cups of all-purpose flour

 

-          No nuts

 

-          Go back and read the previous thing on this list.

 

-          Make sure NOT to add nuts.

 

-          (optional) Add chocolate chips, dried fruit, etc as long as it doesn’t make your peanut-sensitive friend break out in hives!

Steps:

 

1.      Preheat the oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit. Spray a 9x5-inch loaf pan with cooking spray or grease it with some kind of oil, but most definitely not peanut oil.

2.      Melt the 5 tablespoons of butter in a large microwave-safe bowl in the microwave to make it easier to mix with the rest of the ingredients, if you don’t have a microwave you can put the butter into a pan and melt that way.

3.      Put the ½ cup of honey or maple syrup and 1 ¾ cup mashed banana into the bowl and whisk together. Whisk in the eggs.

4.      Add the 1 teaspoon of baking soda, ½ teaspoon salt, ½ teaspoon cinnamon, and 1 teaspoon vanilla extract to the bowl (a little extra vanilla extract won’t hurt). Whisk together very well.

 

5.      Add the 2 cups of flour and mix with a spatula until mixed. Make sure not to over mix!

 

6.      Now you can add optional ingredients such as chocolate chips, dried fruit, or perhaps nuts, but for the safety and wellbeing of your friend keep nuts as far away from the kitchen as possible right now.

7.      Pour the batter into the greased pan. And for decoration, sprinkle a bit of cinnamon on top and swirl it around with a toothpick.

8.      Bake for 55-65 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted into the center of the loaf comes out clean.

9.      Let the bread cool in the pan for 10 minutes and then transfer it to a wire rack to finish cooling.

Now everyone, scratch that, almost everyone can enjoy some banana bread without having to worry about going into anaphylactic shock! This demographic does not include those who are allergic to bananas, cinnamon, dairy, eggs, maple, gluten… and the more I write, the more I realize how many allergens are actually in banana nut bread other than nuts.