My New Favorite Banana Bread
Banana bread is the official comfort food of Covid-19 quarantine. I can’t not see it everywhere on social media. It’s delicious. It’s easy. And it is the only explanation I have for why bananas were no where to be found in the early quarantine hoarding hysteria.
I’ve made lots of banana breads in my day and have already even written about one. But this. This is my favorite. This is the banana bread to rule them all.
It has a crunchy lid that doesn’t require a spattering of turbinado sugar. It uses an extra banana for flavor and moisture. It stays moist for days. And it can handle as much or as few bells and whistles as you please. Need some extra texture? Add a handful of chopped nuts. Want a little flavor punch? Sprinkle in some spices. Like to party? Chocolate chips can help you with that. But it also doesn’t need any of those things – there is plenty of that delicious banana flavor on its own.
Here is the recipe as I’ve adapted it from Food.com. I omitted the vanilla, because it’s really unecessary. And I added an extra banana for flavor and moisture. I also threw in a bit of cinnamon and nutmeg, as well as half a cup of chopped pecans. Bellissimo!
INGREDIENTS:
- 1/2 cup butter, softened
- 1 cup granulated sugar
- 2 eggs, beaten
- 4 overripe bananas*, finely crushed
- 1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
- 1 teaspoon baking soda
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 1 teaspoon cinnamon (optional)
- pinch nutmeg (optional)
- 1/2 cup chopped nuts (I love this with pecans, but walnuts are fine too)
DIRECTIONS:
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.
- Cream together butter and sugar. Add eggs and crushed bananas, and combine well.
- Sift together flour, soda salt, and (if using) nuts and spices. Add to creamed mixture, and mix just until combined. Do not overmix.
- Pour into greased and floured 9″x5″ loaf pan.
- Bake at 350º for 55-60 minutes. Test for doneness with a toothpick.
*NOTES: If you did not hoard bananas and thus don’t have overripe bananas, you can ripen yellow bananas to your liking in the oven. Put them in the oven at 250 degrees for 20-30 minutes (depending on how unripe they were to begin with). The low heat accelerates the ripening, turning them sweet and almost pudding-like. However, beware the peel will turn an unappetizing black color, and the bananas may leak a little!
Keeps well covered at room temperature for up to three days.
