I don't think that oil is going to make it more moist but increasing the amount of butter will. One time I doubled the butter in my banana bread by mistake, it was definitely rich and moist. Butter adds flavor that canola oil can't.

Nancy

Canola oil is basically tasteless and whether butter will make it more moist or not I do not know but it will definitely add more flavor.

Butter also has water volume in it which oil does not, this might change the final product. Butter also browns more I believe so maybe cook on a lower temp?

TY for your replies. I have another recipe for banana bread that uses oil and it is definitely more moist than the butter one. I looked up "substitutions" on the net and found that 7/8 cup of oil plus 1/4 tsp salt can be substituted for butter in a recipe. I really don't need the extra salt, though.

I liked this recipe because I thought it was healthier with corn meal and part whole wheat flour instead of all white flour. I will have to try adding more butter.

I guess the term "healthier" is relative but anything with a cup of butter/oil (fat) is hard to call healthy, IMO.

The cornmeal & WW flour will absorb more moisture than AP flour. Rather than increase the fat, I'd add some milk (preferably low-fat!).

If you're not worried about the fat content you could also add another egg.

Banana bread has to be moist to be good, IMO, so I don't worry about healthy...just limit how much & how often.

/tricia (who's now hungry for banana bread!)

This recipe is moist AND a little healthier than the usual Banana Bread recipe:

1/4 cup light margarine
1/2 cup sugar
1-1/2 cups mashed very ripe bananas (about 3 medium)
2 eggs, lightly beaten (I used Egg Beaters; fine!)
1 egg white, lightly beaten
1/2 cup buttermilk (I used reconstituted from powder)
1 tsp vanilla extract
1-3/4 cups unbl or all-p flour
1-1/2 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp salt
1/4 cup chopped walnuts, toasted (optional; I opted for NONE)

1. Preheat oven to 350F. Coat a 9"x5" pan with non-stick spray.

2. In a large bowl, combine margarine and sugar. Add the bananas, eggs and egg white. Mix until well blended. Add the buttermilk and vanilla. Stir until well blended. In a small bowl, combine the flour, baking soda and salt. Add to the banana mixture. Stir just until the flour mixture is moistened. That's where you add the nuts, if using.

3. Spread the batter in the prepared pan. Bake for 50 to 55 min, or till a toothpick in the center of the bread comes out clean. Cool in the pan on a rack for 10 minutes. Set the bread on the rack and allow to cool completely before cutting.

Makes 16 servings.
Nutritionals, per serving: 132 calories, 4 g fat, 34 mg cholesterol, 233 mg sodium, 22 g carbs, 3 g protein.

(Nothing on the fiber, but with bananas, I'd think there would be at least a gram of fiber in each serving.)

From Jeanne Jones' Homestyle Cooking Made Healthy (Love this cookbook - found it at the library and liked it, then found it at the Friends of the Library bookstore for $3 almost brand new. I haven't found a recipe yet that we haven't liked!)

DonnaR/CA

Thanks for the recipe. I thought that margarine was a no-no because it is unhealthy. One doesn't know what is good anymore! I also use the reconstituted buttermilk. It's an excellent ingredient to have on hand, because you have to buy a whole quart of buttermilk and always have some left over from a recipe.

By the way, Triciae, my recipe doesn't call for a cup of butter, it calls for 1/4 cup of butter. Just wanted to clarify that. The recipe makes 4 small loaves and we eat one and I freeze 3 for later. DH just loves the baking soda breads.

blueheron, there are margarines with no trans-fats, which is what you want to look for. Personally, I'd stick with butter or poly/mono-unsaturated oils.

There's no reason you couldn't subsitute an equal amount of low-fat milk thickened with some lemon juice, or even unsweetened yoghurt, for the buttermilk.

To increase the fiber & nutritional quality of donnar57's recipe, substitute 1/2 cup toasted wheat germ for an equal amount of flour.

The recipe that I posted said "butter or margarine". I put what *I* used, which was light margarine - no trans fats.

DonnaR/CA