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Banana bread, I love thee

I've made plain banana breads, banana bread with chocolate bits, or with peanut butter, vegan banana breads, I've even developed my own low-fat recipe for the book, I have tried many variations, from soft and moist crumbed to rich and dense, and now I think I've finally found the best recipe for it, not low-fat but with a rich buttery taste -without being greasy or too rich. It's Mark Bittman's recipe, the man who introduced the world to the no-knead bread.

I think banana bread is what I bake most often, after brownies. It's the perfect treat for any occasion and any time of the day and it's not usually too heavy on butter or oil. Sometimes I just wish some of our bananas (always fair-trade and organic) were left to go very brown and unedible, even by me -and I like my bananas with brown spots- just so I can justify baking it. There's something very comforting about it, its smell, its taste, its homely look.

I may have overbaked this one a little but after over an hour it still wasn't done. Now the crust is a bit crunchy but inside it's still tight-crumbed and tender, a pefect combination. I used pecans instead of walnuts -must make a mental note to avoid using nuts altogether as Maya hates them -roll eyes. Use chocolate chips next time to make it even more kid-friendly.

Mark Bittman's ultimate banana bread
(adapted from here, where you'll find the recipe in cups)
Note to self : although this recipe is excellent, I'll omit the 50g white sugar next time as, upon maturing, the bread is quite sweet, not a problem in itself but spread Nutella on top...

110g butter
180g plain flour
60g wholewheat flour
fat pinch of salt
1 1/2 tsp baking powder
100g golden caster sugar
1 sachet vanilla sugar (or 1 tsp vanilla extract)
50g white sugar
2 eggs
3 mashed bananas
1/2 cup chopped nuts
1/2 cup grated coconut
Preheat the oven on 160°C. Mix dry ingredients in a large bowl. In another bowl, cream butter, add eggs and bananas. Stir that into dry ingredients. Add nuts and coconut and fold gently. Pour into loaf pan and bake for about an hour. A toothpick willl not come out entirely dry. Let cool on a rack and turn out pan after 15 minutes.
 

Comments

I'm not a huge cooked banana fan - but I'm glad you found your ultimate recipe!
:-))
xxx
julie said…
Thanks, Anna! I like to use the blog as a recipe archive :)

xxx
Kelly-Jane said…
I've tried a fair few as well, we like our quite sweet :)
julie said…
Do you have a favourite recipe, KJ?
I love Banana Bread Coming from the Caribbean Bananas are a staple in our meals. We cook it in lots of way's and I never get tired of it. Will love trying your recipe. Thanks for sharing

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