The ancient Greeks were we think the ones who came up with the first banana bread recipe. Although the yellow fruit was not native in Greece, they have been many references to the bananas. One most notable example is in the book Historia Plantarum, loosely translated as ?The History of Plants?, by a Theophrastus, a Greek naturalist philosopher. The Greeks already had a reputation for mixing bread with honey and other fruits. Why not bananas?

Modern banana bread recipe was invented in the 1930's. It grew popular with the invention of baking powder and quick bread. Sodium bicarbonate was used instead of yeast as a leavening agent because quick bread rises much faster compared to bread that is baked using yeast, which can take hours.

Banana bread gained popularity in the 1960's when home baking was fast becoming the fad. Aside from that, several different variations of banana bread recipe were also invented. Cooks added nuts, chocolate chips and other fruits into the plain banana bread to produce more variations of this simple recipe. There's also a vegan version, where the eggs are replaced with tofu.

Now, an article about bread should have delicious banana bread recipe included so here we go.

To make banana bread, you'll need:
- one (1) cup white flour,
- half (1/2) cup wheat flour,
- one and a half (1 1) tsp. baking powder,
- quarter (1/4) tsp. baking soda,
- quarter (1/4) tsp. cinnamon,
- one-eighth (1/8) tsp. salt,
- one (1) egg,
- one (1) cup mashed banana (3 medium),
- two-thirds (2/3) cup sugar,
- quarter (1/4) cup canola oil,
- one (1) tsp. lemon zest (optional),
- half (1/2) cup chopped pecans (optional)

First, grease the baking pan and set aside. In a mixing bowl, mix the flours, baking soda, cinnamon and salt and make a well in the center. Combine the eggs, bananas, sugar, oil and lemon zest in a separate bowl. Mix the two together and stir till the mixture is moist. Add nuts if necessary. Spoon batter into the pan and bake at 350 for around 50 minutes.

To check if it's cooked, poke it with a knife and if it comes out clean, it's done. Now just sprinkle brown sugar on top and your banana bread recipe is finished.