Banana Olive Oil Bread

There are so many things I love about this banana olive oil bread. I love that this recipe only has five ingredients. I love that the recipe is so straightforward to make. No need to crank out your mixer to fluff up butter or eggs. In fact, there is even no need to add butter or eggs! The recipe happens to be vegan, and this fact does not take anything away from it.

Instead of butter, we are using olive oil, and that lovely herbaceous flavor of the oil brings up the banana notes of this bread even more. It may not look moist and soft but take a bite and you will find- it is not doughy or bready. It is refreshingly very banana–y.

Another way to make this even easier is that I bake it in the air-fryer. An air-fryer after all is just a compact little convection oven with extra strong air circulation. It is perfect for small bakes like this for a quick afternoon snack. It keeps well in the fridge too!

The recipe below is adapted and whittled down from the book A New Way to Bake by Chef Philip Khoury. In the book, Chef Philip does not specifically use olive oil, however he says that any oil you would like can be used. It is a wonderful recipe, and I am eager to try out his other recipes.

Banana Olive Oil Bread

115 g all-purpose (plain) flour
6 g baking powder
200 g overripe banana (about 2) (, peeled & mashed with a fork)
60 g sugar
40 g extra virgin olive oil (, plus extra for drizzling)

Line a small, 3 x 7-inch loaf pan with baking paper.
Whisk flour and baking powder in a bowl to remove lumps.
On a separate bowl, whisk mashed banana, sugar and olive oil until well incorporated.
Add in the flour mixture and fold into the banana mixture.
Pour onto prepared loaf pan.
(Optional Step) Draw a line along the top of the batter using the back of a spoon and drizzle a line of oil in it. This will help the loaf have a neat "crack" at the top. Alternatively, you can oil a small knife and run it down the middle.
Bake in a 180℃ oven for 25-30 minutes or until toothpick inserted comes out clean.