Banana Bread Recipe
Step 1: Tools and Ingredients
Ingredients:
3 overripe/black bananas, fresh or freeze-thawed1
1 cup sugar
1/2 cup butter (1 stick) - save wrapper to grease pans
2 eggs
3 Tablespoons milk
2 cups flour
1 teaspoon baking soda
2 Tablespoons each add-in
Tools:
KitchenAid mixer (or a bowl, and electric beaters or a
spoon and strong arm)
rubber spatula
1 or 2 loaf pans
Freezing your ridiculously ripe bananas, preferably in
1
groups of 3, means you're always ready for banana
bread. You can thaw the bananas in your bowl on the
counter, or microwave them. Don't worry about the
pool of liquid they drop - the freeze-thawed bananas will
actually taste better than the same bananas that
haven't gone through the process. Just remember to
peel your bananas before freezing them.
Step 2: Cream Butter, Sugar, and Bananas
Cream the stick of room-temperature butter and 1 cup
sugar together with the 3 overripe bananas.
I typically dump all three into my KitchenAid mixer, hit
go, and wander off for a bit. Be sure to scrape the sides
at least once, then mix a bit more.
Step 3: Add Eggs and Milk
Add in the 2 eggs and 3 Tablespoons milk, and mix until
they're thoroughly incorporated. Again, scrape sides as
needed between bouts of stirring.
Step 4: Add Flour and Baking Soda
Add 2 cups flour and 1 teaspoon baking soda, and stir in
gently until mixed. Scrape sides and mix again. The
resulting batter will be a thin pudding consistency.
Step 5: Prep Extras
If you're going to add nuts, coconut, chocolate
chunks/chips, or any other extra bits, now is the time. I
generally figure about 2-3 Tablespoons is the right
amount to add in. If you're using big chunks of nuts or
chocolate chips instead of more finely chopped, make
them heaping tablespoons. There's really no way to
go wrong - just add things you think taste good with
bananas.
Some things that go well in banana bread:
- dark chocolate
- milk chocolate
- macadamia nuts
- hazelnuts
- pecans
- walnuts
- maraschino cherries (yes, I grew up in the midwest -
why do you ask?)
- coconut shavings
Step 6: Grease and Fill Pans
- Grease two loaf pans with the left-over butter wrapper.
- Scoop half of batter into each loaf pan, and remove any
drips from the edge.
You may add any extras before or after filling the pans.
Since I tend to leave one plain, I just dump the bits on
top of the second pan and mix them in with a fork. It's
a bit tidier to add them in earlier, but I'm lazy.
You can also make this in muffin pans, or an 8x8 square
pan if you prefer. Just adjust the timing a bit, and pay
close attention because you'll be using the "cook it till
it's done" method.
Step 7: Bake
Bake in 350F oven for 50-55 minutes until golden brown
on top and a test poke from a toothpick or skewer
comes out clean.
Let the pans cool slightly, then while still warm (but no
longer dangerously hot) use a silicone spatula or other
flexible implement to separate the bread from the edge
of the pan, and gently turn the loaf out onto a wire rack
to cool.
Step 8: Serve & Store
Slice the bread and serve warm or room-temperature.
To store, let the loaf come to room temperature then
wrap in aluminum foil.
I'm particularly fond of toasting the leftover banana
bread and smearing it with high-quality butter, honey
cream cheese, or Nutella.
