Outrageously Good Banana Bread

I try to avoid making overstatements about my food. Instead I am guilty of self-deprecation when it comes to cooking. I can’t hand over a plate without first overly fretting the minutiae. And sometimes the food ends up in a hostage situation. "Yes, I'll bring out the cupcakes, in a minute. I'm trying to determine if they have an odd bounce to them." Sometimes my friends are the victims. "Come tell me, do you think the stew is too spicy or too bland. Should it be neither? Is that your first bite? What are you thinking right now??"

But back to the important claim at hand. This is outrageously good banana bread. No need for debate. Delicious, moist, and naturally sweet tasting, I almost half the sugar called for in the original recipe and throw in an extra banana. The health factor is an added bonus, my main goal was a recipe which never made a dry banana bread loaf. And since high school when I started making this bread, I’ve never had to look back.

Banana Bread

Adapted from The Ann Arbor Cook Book

Yields: One Loaf

1/3 cup softened unsalted butter 

¾ cup sugar

2 beaten eggs 

1 ½ cup flour 

½ tsp. baking powder

¾ tsp. baking soda

½ tsp salt

3 large bananas, about 1 ½ cup mashed bananas 

1 tsp vanilla

½ cup buttermilk (You can easily and cheaply make buttermilk rather than buy it. To make: add ½ tsp white vinegar to every ½ cup milk)

1. Preheat oven to 350. Grease bread pan.

2. Cream butter and sugar together in a bowl. Add eggs then vanilla. 

3. Mix together flour, baking powder, baking soda and salt in a separate bowl.

4. Mash bananas together in separate bowl

5. Alternating between the dry ingredients, the mashed bananas and buttermilk, add to creamed mixture. I generally add in two rounds: half the dry ingredients, half the  mashed bananas and half the buttermilk. Mix together. Repeat.

6. Pour into greased loaf pan. Bake for 30 minutes or until a toothpick/knife comes out clean from the center.

Enjoy!