banana bread

[main recipe page]

category: [bread]

cooking spray 8 Tbsp unsalted butter (1 stick) 1 cup sugar 2 eggs 1/4 cup milk 1 tsp vanilla extract 3 bananas, very ripe 2 cups flour 1 tsp baking soda 1/4 tsp salt 1/2 cup chopped nuts or chocolate chips (optional)
  1. Heat oven to 350F. Use rack in bottom third of oven. Line 8x5 inch loaf pan with parchment paper, letting excess hang over long sides. Spray inside with cooking spray. If using nuts, toast them in oven for 10 minutes as oven pre-heats.
  2. Melt butter. (Or for a more cake-like result, just soften the butter, see next step.)
  3. Whisk sugar and melted butter in large bowl until combined. (Or use mixer to cream softened butter and sugar until fluffy, for cake-like result.)
  4. Crack eggs into bowl, whisk with butter-sugar mix until smooth.
  5. Whisk milk and vanilla into batter.
  6. Peel bananas and mash them into the batter.
  7. Add flour, baking soda, and salt. Stir until ingredients are just barely combined and no more dry flour is visible.
  8. Fold in nuts or chocolate (optional).
  9. Pour batter into prepared loaf pan.
  10. Bake 50-65 minutes, until top of cake is caramelized dark brown and an inserted toothpick comes out clean. Check every 5 minutes starting at 50 minutes.
  11. Cool in pan for 10 minutes, over a wire cooling rack. This helps loaf solidify and facilitates removing it from pan.
  12. Remove from pan (using the parchment paper edges) and place on cooling rack for another 10 minutes before slicing.

Note: same recipe can make muffins!

source: kitchn