Made banana bread again last week — bananas aren’t anything that we eat regularly here, but I love to get them occasionally and let them sit out to get nice and dark so they’re perfect for either ‘nana puddin or this banana bread.
Ingredients
1 stick butter (8 tbsp) softened
2 c. all-purpose flour
1 tsp salt
2 tsp baking powder
1 c sugar
2 eggs
3 nice-size bananas, with a nice dark, spotty peel
1 tsp vanilla extract
1/2 c chopped pecans but you can really add more if you like
— ps: those pecans could be walnuts if you like. Also, some people add coconut or chocolate chips to their banana bread. Do what’s yummy to you —
Steps
Preheat the oven to 350*
In a Kitchenaid, put the peeled bananas in with the softened butter and eggs. Let this get nice and light and incorporated while stirring together the flour/salt/b-powder/sugar in another bowl
Slowly add the dry ingredients to the wet in the bowl of the Kitchenaid, with the beater on the lowest speed. Get that incorporated, but don’t overbeat
Now, add the pecans and vanilla. Give it a little whirl just to evenly distribute the pecans
Total aside: I have three loaf pans — a clear glass Pyrex, a fab red LeCreuset (here’s their Heritage pan), and this one, from Williams-Sonoma. I don’t see any really interesting ones at W-S right now, but at the holidays, they will often offer something with a good design
Here, I sprayed the pan with baking release, and the batter fits in nicely
Check with a toothpick or butter knife for doneness. Oftentimes, I find that it will look gorgeous on the outside, but need extra time right in the middle. If it starts getting too dark, you can gently place a length of foil over so the heat can get the middle done. Begin peeking at :45 but usually I think it’s perfect between one hour and 1:10.
So good. Some people like it room temp, but it’s also great hot with a pat of butter, and others will even shmear the top with some chocolate icing, and I’m betting that Nutella or Biscoff would be fab too
Of course, rather than make a loaf of banana bread, you can generously fill muffin tins and make those instead — and I’ve found that you can hold some batter back, and they make amazinggggg pancakes. Just pour in a nice warm skillet with butter and cook like usual. Just so, so good.
While I’m thinking about it, Galatoire’s serves a banana bread pudding that’s terrific. Here, from a visit several years ago
That recipe, from Chef Brian Landry when he was at Galatoire’s, here.