Banana Bread
When the bananas in the fruit bowl get too ripe, I either peel them, place them in a Ziploc bag and freeze them for future smoothies, or I make banana bread for breakfast, as I did this morning. This recipe is based on the Martha Stewart one my kids begged me to get from their Aunt Gwen after she brought a delicious loaf to one of our family gatherings. Martha's recipe calls for sour cream, which I never have on hand, so I substitute plain yogurt. I'm also not a big butter fan and have used a light olive, coconut or avocado oil in its place. And I sometimes skip the walnuts as my girls prefer it without. Chocolate or cacao chips are always a nice addition, although I usually don't include them when I'm serving this for breakfast. I'm told banana bread freezes well; but I wouldn't know, as there's never any left to freeze!
Note: If you want to make a vegan version, substitute the butter with oil and the yogurt with canned coconut milk. It’s becoming our favorite version at Kitchen 511.
Makes one 9x5 inch loaf
Ingredients
1 cup very ripe bananas, mashed well (I don't actually measure the bananas--I just always use 3)
1/4 lb. unsalted butter, room temperature (or app. 1/2 cup of olive or coconut oil)
2 eggs, room temperature
1/2 cup sour cream (or plain yogurt or coconut milk)
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
3/4 cup granulated sugar (Martha recommends 1 cup, but I use less; and I sometimes use light or dark brown sugar)
1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour (I mix in some whole wheat flour, too)
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup chopped walnuts (optional)
Preparation
Heat oven to 350°F and grease a 9X5-inch loaf pan.
With an electric mixer, cream the sugar and butter until light and fluffy. Add the eggs, beating well.
Sift the dry ingredients together and combine with the butter mixture. Blend well.
Add the bananas, yogurt and vanilla to the mixer. Stir well.
If using nuts, stir into batter and then pour into loaf pan.
Bake in the oven until a tester inserted into the loaf comes out clean, about one hour. (I usually check at the 50-minute point.)
Remove from the oven, allow to cool in the loaf pan for 10 to 15 minutes, then gently run a knife around the edge of the bread and turn it out of the pan. Finish cooling the bread on a cooling rack.
