Simple Spelt Banana Bread (with Video)

This Spelt Banana Bread is everything you have imagined – soft, moist, flavorful, and satisfying. Perfect as a coffee cake or a snack, this simple healthy banana loaf won’t disappoint.

This spelt banana bread recipe captures everything you love about traditional banana bread, but it’s made with healthy fats, natural sugar, and the starring ingredient: spelt flour.

Considered an ancient cereal grain, spelt flour is nutrient-dense wheat flour with high amounts of protein and fiber.

In addition, it has a unique nutty flavor and is perfect for banana bread!

As for the remaining ingredients, you’ll need a short list of wholesome baking essentials, maple syrup, and coconut oil.

Ultimately, this banana bread practically melts in your mouth and is just plain delicious!

Why You’ll Love This Recipe

Here are five reasons why this banana bread recipe is a keeper:

• This is a simple, quick bread and a great recipe for baking beginners. There is no kneading or waiting around for the dough to rise.
• It’s made with a handful of clean, real food ingredients and no refined sugar.
• A slice of this spelt flour banana bread is an excellent grab-and-go breakfast, quick afternoon snack, or healthy after-dinner dessert.
• The simplicity of this banana bread leaves plenty of room to customize it with nuts, warming spices, dried fruit, chocolate, and more.
• Whether you’re looking for a banana bread recipe for bake sales, holiday gifting, or simply because you’re craving really good banana bread, this is it!

Ingredient Notes

Here are the ingredients you will need to make spelt flour banana bread:

Here is a brief overview of the ingredients:

• Whole spelt flour – Also known as wholemeal spelt flour or whole grain spelt flour. You can use whole spelt flour in most recipes that call for whole wheat flour. That said, I encourage you to add whole spelt flour to your standard stock of baking essentials. Just be sure to use whole spelt flour and not white spelt flour.
• Baking powder – I recommend using a baking powder that doesn’t contain aluminum.
• Salt – The right amount of salt in baked goods heightens your sense of taste and makes sweet flavors taste sweeter.
• Overripe bananas – Save firm, yellow bananas for snacking and to slice and serve over top of your breakfast oats, quinoa, and so on. The best bananas for banana bread are soft and spotted with dark blemishes.
• Eggs – Eggs play a role in the structure and stability while keeping the banana bread moist as it bakes.
• Milk – Milk adds flavor and helps achieve a soft crumb with a creamy color in the middle and a lightly golden crust on the surface.
• Maple syrup – I used maple syrup for sweetness and moisture because it’s natural, more nutrient-dense, and lower on the glycemic index. Though the taste will differ, you could also use honey, coconut sugar, or agave nectar here.
• Coconut oil – You’ll need coconut oil to grease the loaf pan and for the batter. It adds flavor and richness while keeping the bread light and delicious.
• Vanilla extract – As a rule of thumb, use good, quality pure vanilla extract in your sweet baked goods for the best-tasting results.

How to Make Banana Bread with Spelt Flour

Here are the step-by-step instructions on how to make this recipe:

1. Prepare for baking: Preheat the oven to 375℉, and grease a loaf pan with ½ tablespoon coconut oil.
2. Mix the dry ingredients: Add the spelt flour, baking powder, and salt to a medium bowl, and stir to combine.
3. Mash the banana: Place the banana chunks in a large bowl, and mash them with a fork.
4. Mix the wet ingredients: Add the eggs, milk, maple syrup, the remaining ¼ cup of melted coconut oil, and vanilla extract to the bowl of mashed bananas, and mix well to combine.
5. Combine the dry and wet batters: Add the dry mixture to the bowl of wet ingredients and stir just until everything is moistened, being careful not to overmix.
6. Bake the banana bread: Pour the batter into the prepared loaf pan, transfer it to the oven, and bake for 45-50 minutes or until the banana bread is golden brown and a cake tester (like a toothpick or wooden skewer) comes out clean.
7. Cool and serve: Place the loaf pan on a cooling rack, and let it cool until the banana bread is cool enough to handle. Then gently shake the pan, so the bread loosens, and invert the loaf onto the cooling rack. Turn right-side up, slice, and enjoy slightly warm for the best taste.

Recipe Video

Here is the recipe video to help you make this banana bread:

Recipe Tips

Making homemade spelt banana bread is very easy. Even if you have never baked anything, you will most likely end up with a pretty decent loaf.

But there are still a few tips that will help you to take your banana bread from good to great:

• Use very ripe bananas. Making banana bread is the perfect way to use overripe bananas past their prime. Ripe bananas add flavor, sweeten the bread and add moisture. When using previously frozen bananas, make sure they have thawed completely.
• Use room temperature ingredients. The coconut oil will solidify if the eggs or milk are too cold. If this happens, you can slightly warm it up by filling a large bowl with warm water and placing the bowl of wet ingredients into it, making sure that water doesn’t spill into the bowl. Keep the bowl in the water until the coconut oil melts again.
• Don’t overmix the batter. Mixing the batter helps to develop gluten, but the bread will become unpleasantly dense and less moist if overworked. Even though spelt flour has less gluten than regular flour, overmixing the batter can still result in a dry loaf.

Variations

You can customize the recipe by adding dried fruits, berries, nuts, or spices.

Make sure to chop the nuts and large dried fruits such as apricots into smaller pieces.

When adding dried fruits, remember that they will increase the sugar content of the banana loaf.

Here is what you can add to your spelt banana loaf:

Dried Fruits and Berries

• raisins
• dried currants
• dried cranberries
• dried or fresh blueberries
• dried apricots
• prunes
• dates
• shredded coconut

Nuts and Seeds

• walnuts
• pecans
• almonds
• pistachios
• cashews
• sunflower Seeds
• pumpkin Seeds (or pepitas)
• hemp hearts

Spices

• cinnamon
• nutmeg
• pumpkin pie spice
• allspice
• cardamom
• ginger
• cloves

Storing & Reheating

Storing – To keep the loaf as moist as possible, let it cool completely and store it in a zip-top plastic bag in the refrigerator for up to 3 days.

Likewise, this spelt banana bread can also be frozen for up to 3 months and thawed in the fridge before eating.

Reheating – The bread tastes better warm, so reheat it before serving. If you haven’t already, slice the loaf, making it easier to reheat. You can reheat individual slices in a toaster, microwave, or warm oven.

Be careful not to overheat it, or the bread may dry out.

Frequently Asked Questions

How do I know when banana bread is done?

You don’t want to under or overbake your banana bread, of course, so here are a few ways to check for perfect doneness:

• It should be dark golden. Spelt flour banana bread will be slightly darker than the one made with white flour simply because the flour is darker. The edges of the bread should be slightly darker than the top.
• There will be one large crack or a few smaller cracks running along the top of the bread. The cracks can appear in the center or closer to the sides. There should be no wet batter inside the cracks.
• Use a toothpick or a cake tester to check the bread for doneness. Just insert it into the bread and then pull it out. It should come out clean, or just a few crumbs clinging to it. If there are a lot of wet crumbs or wet batter on the cake tester, the bread isn’t done.

Can you use frozen bananas in banana bread?

You can, but if you are using frozen bananas, set them on the counter to thaw completely and take the chill off before using them.

Can this recipe be made into muffins?

Yes. You can make 12 spelt banana muffins with this batter. Just line a muffin pan with paper cups, fill them 3/4s full with batter, and bake at 375℉ for 20-25 minutes or until a toothpick comes out clean.

More Spelt Flour Recipes

If you have some spelt flour left after baking banana bread, check out these recipes:

• Spelt Pancakes
• Healthy Apple Cake
• Savory Carrot Muffins
• Oatmeal Spelt Cookies
• Healthy Raspberry Muffins