Friday, December 9, 2011

Banana Bread

I secretly enjoy when the bananas start to turn brown – as if I need an extra excuse to make Uncle Willy’s banana bread.  You may not know Uncle Willy but meet him once and you’ll start calling him Uncle Willy too.  This recipe is so easy.  You throw all the ingredients into a mixing bowl and then just turn it on.  The kids like to make it with me, especially chopping the nuts.  I’ve baked it in a loaf pan, as mini-loafs and as muffins.  My favorite is mini-loafs – you get a lot of great crust, you have extras if you want to share with a friend or neighbor (perfect during the holidays to share with a party host – one for them, 3 for you!), and they cook faster than a standard loaf.  Muffins are even faster but it’s more work to fill all those muffin cups.  I typically make it with pecans but try it with walnuts – you may never choose to buy a slice from Starbucks again!
Banana Bread

Ingredients
  1. 2 ripe medium bananas
  2. 2 eggs
  3. 1 ¾ c unsifted all purpose flour
  4. 1 ½ c sugar
  5. 1 cup chopped* pecans or walnuts
  6. ½ c vegetable oil
  7. ¼ c + 1 T buttermilk (to make buttermilk – mix ¼ c of milk with 1 T white vinegar, mix and let sit for a few minutes)
  8. 1 t baking soda
  9. 1 t vanilla
  10. ½ t salt

* to chop pecans or walnuts, you can either buy the nuts in small pieces or use this chopping tool (a great task for your kid!) – go to Williams-Sonoma and search on “nut chopper”

Combine all ingredients in large bowl and mix well (I use a standing mixer and the wire attachment).  Transfer to pan(s) - various options below. 

For a traditional loaf (9x5), preheat oven to 325.  Grease and flour loaf pan (spray with Pam then coat with flour; shake off excess – or spray with Pam Baking.  Bake until top is golden brown and splits slightly (about 1 hour and 20 minutes).  Test with a toothpick or skewer or something to ensure that the middle is completely cooked and not gummy.

For mini-loafs (set of 4), grease and flour pans (see above).  Preheat the oven to 325 and bake for 45 minutes. 

For muffins, preheat the oven to 400, line cups with paper liner or grease and flour (see above) and bake for 16 minutes.

1 comment:

Anonymous said...

the best banana nut bread ever. you can also mix the ingredients with a spoon instead of a fancy mixer. super easy and very moist!