Banana Bread

Ah, poor banana bread - such a bad reputation. And it's a shame because few things toast better for breakfast. The problem is usually too much sugar, underripe bananas, and too much mixing! The bananas that go into this can be way gone - as in black - on the outside, that is. As long as there isn't fur growing on anything and nothing is oozing (the only food that's allowed to ooze is cheese), you're good to go.

Ingredients

Instructions

Yield:

One 9-inch loaf

Prep time:

 

Cook time:

1 hour

Ready in:

2 hours

Recipe Type:

Dessert

Muffin/QuickBread

1. Place an oven rack in the middle position and preheat the oven to 350°F.
2. Prep a loaf pan (see tips below) and set aside.
3. Place the bananas and sugar in a large mixing bowl and mash them together with a potato masher until smooth (obviously this is impossible with all but the most overripe of bananas).
4. Proceed with the Muffin Method. Combine the Wet Works 1 and then the Wet Works 2 in separate bowls, then combine together before adding the Wet Works to the Dry Goods.
5. Fold in the nuts, if using, then pour the batter into the prepared loaf pan and bake for 50 minutes to 1 hour, until temperature measures 210°F, or a toothpick inserted in the center comes out more or less clean, but banana bread should come out of the oven a little moister than most.
6. Allow the bread to cool in the pan for 15 minutes, then remove it from the pan and place on a rack to cool completely before slicing.

Tips for Success

Cooking Tips

Loaf pan prep: Grease and flour the pan to make removal easy. Use Crisco, not butter - there's too much water in butter. You can also use Baker's Joy spray - it's grease and flour combined.

Tightly wrapped, this bread will keep at room temperature for 5 days.

Alton says you can keep it at room temp, but since there's sugar and moisture in this bread, and Houston is where EVERYTHING grows moldy, it's really better in the fridge. It also freezes well if you want to freeze half of it for a week or two.

Muffin Variation:
If you'd like to make banana muffins, prep a standard 12-hole muffin tin and use a disher to fill the holes. Bake for 30 minutes, until their temp reaches 210°F, or a toothpick inserted into the bottom of a muffin comes out more or less clean. Remove the muffins immediately to a coolng rack. You'll get 12 standard muffins.

Ingredient Tips

 

Reviews

Source Information

Classic Sourdoughs, A Home Baker's Handbook, Alton Brown,