THE Banana Bread

I heart anything made with bananas.  Banana pudding, Banana Chocolate Chip Muffins, bananas sautéed with honey (more on that later), bananas dipped in the best hot fudge that ever happened — with or without ice cream, and of course, banana bread.  I have made and enjoyed many varieties of banana bread over the years.  It’s the perfect way to use up those last few spotted, sad guys that no one ate.

But, I’m gonna tell you that this recipe, THE Banana Bread, is the one.  The classic banana bread recipe that requires no more searching.  For another version that I love as much if not more, there’s always Hawaiian Bread, but if you want good, ol’ classic banana bread done right, look no more.  Here it is. Beautiful in its simplicity.

Butter one loaf pan and sprinkle it with cinnamon sugar.  I use cinnamon sugar to coat all of my sweet breads and muffins.  It is the perfect addition.  Trust me.  It’s also a great time to preheat your oven to 350 degrees.

Into a mixer bowl, add 1/2 c. room temperature butter to 1 c. sugar.  Mix well for at least two minutes until creamed beautifully.  The time you allow it to cream is important to incorporate air into the mixture.  Later, you will want to be very gentle with the batter, but now, cream it well.

Add 2 eggs and beat them in well.

In a separate bowl, mix the following dry ingredients:

1 1/2 c. flour,

1 tsp. baking soda,

and 1 tsp. salt.

Add these gently to the wet mixture just until incorporated.

Add in 1 c. of mashed, ripe bananas (if you enjoy bigger chunks of banana in your bread like I do, pop the bananas in and let your mixer do the work of creating chunks rather than mashed bananas),

1/2 c. sour cream (or plain yogurt),

and 1 tsp. vanilla.

Stir gently.

You can also add in 1/2 c. chopped walnuts or pecans if you’d like at this point.

Scoop the dough into the prepared pan, sprinkle again with cinnamon sugar and bake for 70 minutes (check it at 65) or until a toothpick comes out clean.

Let the bread cool in the pan for about 10 minutes and then put it on a cooling rack to finish the job.

That’s it! THE Banana Bread!

THE Banana Bread

 

Print

Prep time

15 mins

Cook time

70 mins

Total time

1 hour 25 mins

 

One perfect loaf of banana bread just the way you want it. Moist and full of bananas, this from-scratch bread will be one you come back to time and again.

Alison: That Which Nourishes

Serves: 1 loaf

Grocery List

• ½ c. butter
• 1 c. sugar
• 2 large eggs
• 1½ c. flour (I use unbleached)
• 1 tsp. baking soda
• 1 tsp. salt (I use Kosher)
• 1 c. ripe banana
• ½ c. sour cream
• 1 tsp. vanilla
• ½ c. walnuts or pecans (optional)

Here's how...

1. Butter one loaf pan and sprinkle with cinnamon sugar.
2. Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
3. Into a mixer bowl, add butter and sugar. Mix well for at least two minutes.
4. Add 2 eggs and beat them in well.
5. In a separate bowl, mix the flour, baking soda, and salt. Add these gently to the wet mixture just until incorporated.
6. Add in 1 c. of mashed, ripe bananas (if you enjoy bigger chunks of banana in your bread like I do, pop the bananas in and let your mixer do the work of creating chunks rather than mashed bananas),
7. Add sour cream (or yogurt) and vanilla. Stir gently.
8. Add in chopped walnuts or pecans if you'd like at this point.
9. Scoop the dough into the prepared pan, sprinkle again with cinnamon sugar and bake for 70 minutes (check it at 65) or until a toothpick comes out clean.
10. Let the bread cool in the pan for about 10 minutes and then put it on a cooling rack to finish the job.

3.5.3251

And Martha Stewart approves.  Thanks, Martha.