Happy Thanksgiving everyone! I did a whole bunch of baking last night for today, and while I was at it, my mom requested that I bake some banana bread for her. My family’s very traditional and simple– it’s always the same things that they request for me to bake. My little sister always wants cupcakes, my dad always wants everything cookies, and my mom always wants banana bread.
I used the Cooks Illustrated recipe and adapted it a teeny bit (you can see my additions in green). My mom and aunt loved it, but they rarely ever hate a banana bread. To me, it was just okay. Very moist and dense, but perhaps not cinnamon-y enough for me. I actually had the best banana bread while I was in Utah and one of the girls I stayed with baked it. I’ll have to make a mental note to ask her for the recipe because seriously, it was the BEST. I inhaled it.
Side note, since it was such a success last year, I’m doing my 12 days of cookies again this year. Starting.. on my next post! 🙂
Ingredients
- 2 cups all purpose flour (unbreached) and some for dusting
- 1 1/4 cups walnuts coarse chop (optional)
- 3/4 cup sugar
- 3/4 teaspoon baking soda
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 3 very ripe bananas mashed well
- 1/4 cup plain yogurt
- 2 large eggs lightly beaten
- 6 tablespoons unsalted butter melted and cool
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 1 teaspoon cinnamon
For the topping:
- Mix together 1 tablespoon brown sugar, 1 tablespoon white sugar, and 1 tsp cinnamon.
Preparation
1. Adjust an oven rack to the lower-middle position and heat the oven to 350°F (175°C) degrees. Grease the bottom and sides of a 9 by 5-inch loaf pan; dust with flour, tapping out the excess.
2. Spread the walnuts on a baking sheet and toast until fragrant, 5 to 10 minutes. Set aside to cool.
3. Whisk the flour, sugar, baking soda, salt, and walnuts together in a large bowl; set aside.
4. Mix the mashed bananas, yogurt, eggs, butter, and vanilla with a wooden spoon in a medium bowl. Lightly fold the banana mixture into the dry ingredients with a rubber spatula until just combined and the batter looks thick and chunky. Scrape the batter into the prepared loaf pan. Sprinkle top with the cinnamon-sugar mixture.
5. Bake until the loaf is golden brown and a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean, about 55 minutes. Cool in the pan for 5 minutes, then transfer to a wire rack. Serve warm or at room temperature. (The bread can be wrapped with plastic wrap and stored at room temperature for up to 3 days.)
Too bad this didn’t wow you, but at least now you know it’s not your “best recipe.” Can’t wait for the cookies!
I kind of played around with it, didn’t really measure the yogurt, just scooped a 1/2 cup instead of 1/4, also put 6oz bag of walnut + halves in there. It came out really well. I’m going to try it again without nuts next time.
I have a blog at mmmarilynn.blogspot.com
Also graduated and now want to open my own bakery 🙂
Glad to find a fellow friend.
Finally, I work at susiecakes and it’s the best cupcake place in town (in my foodie opinion). have you been to the one in Brentwood? san vicente and barrington. Awesome red velvet, similar decor to the Trophy place in Seattle!
Hi! Thank you for sharing this recipe (and all the others – wow, they look fantastic. I can’t wait to try the everything cookies). Have you ever tried the Banana Bread Recipe from the Laurel’s Kitchen Bread Book? It’s really good, and uses lots of bananas. You can also substitute a couple of eggs for some of the banana, which in my opinion makes the bread nice and light. If you’d like to try this recipe let me know and I’ll share it with you.