B&G Classic: Banana Bread

A classic...

It boggles the mind that I have yet to write about Banana Bread, as it is currently one of the most frequent products of time spent in my kitchen. It is so mind-boggling, in fact, that I had to go back through all my old posts to confirm I hadn’t written a post already and forgotten about it.

For some reason, this banana bread is a huge hit. I don’t know why, since it seems pretty basic, but people LOVE it. It is oft requested by my work peeps and since we get groceries and produce delivered to the office, over-ripe bananas are pretty easy come by. I have everything else on hand most of the time, and it takes maybe 20 minutes of active time to get this recipe together. Regular banana bread making is a no-brainer.

This recipe is mostly Martha’s, with a few B&G adjustments. I like to sub in some brown sugar for some of the white sugar in her recipe because, why not? Brown sugar is delicious and it adds some nice depth.  I also leave out nuts, but sometimes add in chocolate instead because chocolate is delicious.

This is just great, I am not sure if there is more to say about it, because I am pretty sure most of us have had banana bread. If you haven’t had banana bread because you don’t like bananas, I urge you to try it, or get someone else to make it and then try it, because while it is totally banana-y, it is also one of those things that people who hate bananas manage to love anyway, because it’s a different kind of banana-ness. Or if you don’t like it because you’ve only had bad ones, I recommend you try it because this is a good one, and I suspect it will change your mind. It’s very sweet, which I like, but could easily be adjusted if you preferred otherwise. The addtion of sour cream or greek yogurt makes it very moist, and it has great banana flavor. It is a delight when it is still warm, it is a delight when it is cooled the next day, it is a delight when it is toasted, it is a delight as a bed for an ice cream sundae, and I am pretty sure it would be a delight as the basis for a bread pudding, which, now that you mention it, I am TOTALLY going to try pretty much immediately. I am going to leave some of this out to get stale.

Next time you have bananas that got a little too ripe, don’t despair, make banana bread! You will be very popular.

breakfast of champions.

Classic Banana Bread (makes 2 standard loaves or one large tube cake – recipe can easily be halved)

Adapted from The Martha Stewart Cookbook

2 sticks unsalted butter, at room temperature

1 cup sugar

1 cup dark brown sugar (not packed)

4 eggs

3 cups all purpose flour

2 tsp baking soda

2 tsp salt

2 cups mashed very-ripe bananas (about 6)

1 cup sour cream or greek yogurt

2 tsp vanilla extract

1 cup chocolate chunks (optional)

Preheat the oven to 350. Prep two loaf pans or a tube pan with butter or cooking spray, set aside.

Cream the butter and both sugars in the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment until light and fluffy. (A handheld mixer or by hand would work too!) Add the eggs in one at a time, beating well between each addition. Sift together dry ingredients in a medium bowl and add to the butter mixture, mixing until just combined. Add the banana, the sour cream and the vanilla and mix until combined. Fold in chocolate (or nuts if they float your boat) and pour into prepared pans.

Bake the banana bread in the center of the oven for at least an hour until golden and a cake tester insterted in the middle of the loaf comes out clean. Loaf pans will likely take an hour or an hour and five minutes, tube pan will take about an hour and fifteen minutes.

Enjoy!!