Hi Everyone, it’s been a while. I’ve been busy (in no particular order) with parenting, life stuff, work, and now that’s all amplified during the this COVID-19 Pandemic. I may share more about how we’re coping with that, and what I’m doing at work to prepare for that as a hospital based emergency and consult-liaison psychiatrist, but today I’m keeping it light, and sharing our family’s favorite Banana Bread recipe.
I have a long history with banana bread. When I was in high school, my friend Ellen and I would get together to study, bake and exercise. When we finished our homework, we’d mix up a loaf of banana bread, pop it into the oven, go rollerblading for about an hour and come back to eat it. I subsequently made her mom’s recipe (which I may share another day) for several decades, until I came across this recipe by Flour Bakery.
I’m not the only one who loves this banana bread. The Kitchn recently did a bake off of 4 popular banana bread recipes, and this one came out on top.
Flour Bakery’s Banana Bread (*with slight modifications)
Ingredients
- 1 2/3 cups (210 grams) sifted all-purpose flour
- 1 teaspoon baking soda
- 1/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon
- 1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
- 1 cup sugar (*original recipe calls for 1 cup + 2 Tbsp)
- 2 eggs
- 1/2 cup canola or other flavorless oil
- 4 very ripe bananas, peeled and mashed.
- 2 tablespoons sour cream
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- *optional : chocolate chips
Directions:
- Preheat oven to 325 degrees F, with rack in the center of the oven. Line the bottom of a loaf pan with parchment paper, spray with nonstick spray.
- Sift together the flour, baking soda, cinnamon and salt.
- Beat sugar and eggs with a stand mixer using whisk attachment until light and fluffy, about 5 minutes.
- Switch the mixer to low sleep, and slowly drizzle in oil.
- Add mashed bananas, sour cream, and vanilla, and mix on low speed until just combined
- Using a rubber spatula, fold in the flour mixture until combined, but do not overmix! *If you wish, you can add a handful of chocolate chips here.
- Pour the batter into a lined loaf pan. Fill about 3/4 full. If you have extra batter, make a couple of additional muffins (I use individual ramekins)
- Bake for about 45 minutes to 1 hour (less for the muffin sized ones). The bread should be golden brown and the cake will spring back when you press on it.
- Let it cool in pan on a wire rack for 30 minutes, then remove from the pan and let it cool.
Enjoy! If you make this, I’d love to hear what you think!