Basic Banana Bread {recipe}

Banana Bread {recipe}

Recipe adapted from a lot of different recipes. It's even easier if you remember it as "3-2-1" for 3 bananas, 2 cups flour, 2 eggs, 1 cup sugar. Of course, there are all those other stupid ingredients but AT LEAST THIS GETS YOU STARTED.

makes 1 loaf

INGREDIENTS

2 cups all-purpose flour (substitute with other whole grain flour if you'd like)
1 cup sugar
1 teaspoon baking soda
½ teaspoon salt
3 very ripe bananas, mashed (about 1½ cups), with a few slices reserved for the top
¼ cup water (if you actually do have milk, yogurt, or sour cream, use it, in the same amount)
2 large eggs, lightly beaten
½ cup (1 stick) unsalted butter, melted and cooled
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
optional: 1 cup toasted nuts, chocolate chips, whatever

DIRECTIONS

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Cut out a piece of parchment paper the length of the loaf pan and about 3x the width. Place in pan with edges hanging over the side of the loaf pan, and grease the paper and the pan. (This all helps to shimmy the bread out of the pan after it's baked.) Set aside.

Whisk together the flour, sugar, baking soda and salt together in a large bowl; set aside.

Mix the mashed bananas, water, eggs, butter, and vanilla together in a medium bowl. Fold the banana mixture into the dry ingredients with a spatula until just combined. Fold in optional walnuts, chocolate chips or whatever.

Scrape the batter into the prepared loaf pan and smooth the surface with the spatula. Add ¼-inch thick banana slices on top.

Bake until the loaf is golden brown and a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean, about 60 minutes (but start checking at 55 minutes).

Cool in the pan for 5 minutes, then lift the banana bread out of the pan with the parchment paper. Allow to cool fully on a wire rack. Serve warm or at room temperature. The banana bread taste great the next day and even the day after that.

** note ** You can also bake this recipe into muffins. Just scrape the batter into a muffin tin, filling each cup a little more than half full. You will get anywhere between 12 and 16 muffins.