Classic Banana Bread

Banana bread are part of the quick bread family. These are pretty hearty and easy things to make that can stand up to some experimentation.

Why?

Because quick breads don't use yeast, and yeast is the prima donna of the baking world. You've got to give it a lot of time, the right temperature, and whisper sweet nothings into its non-existent ears.

Things like pumpkin bread, banana bread, zucchini bread, and corn bread are much friendlier and more user friendly. Even poorly made quick bread is still pretty good. . . usually. 

Here is solid recipe for Banana Bread.

1. Take two eggs out of the fridge and let them warm to room temp. (Just do this in advance. Don't be stupid and microwave them. If you are stupid and do that thing, video it and put in on YouTube for me.)

2. Turn on the oven to 350.

3. Grease up a loaf pan. (If you don't have one, they sell the disposable foil ones at most grocery stores. Sizes vary, and you'll have to adjust the cooking times accordingly. Ideally, for this recipe you want a pan that is 8 1/2 inches by 4 1/2 inches.)

4. Whisk together 1 3/4 cups of all purpose flour, 1/2 teaspoon of salt, and a touch more than 2 teaspoons of baking powder. (Always remember, baking powder and soda are different things.)

5. Set that bowl aside.

6. Mix until creamy 1/3 cup shortening, 2/3 cup sugar, and a touch of grated lemon rind. (A. In a perfect world you do this in a stand mixer, but not all of us have those things. B. Shortening is a good thing to have for baking. You don't have to refrigerate it, and I really like the Crisco logo. The only downside is that it is really hard to clean off of the measuring cups.  C. The lemon rind makes everything better, but isn't essential.)

7. Take your eggs, beat them a little bit and throw them in the shortening mixture.

8. Add a little over 1 cup of mashed, ripe banana pulp to the shortening mixture. (This is about 3 good sized bananas. I like to use bananas that are ready to fall off the bunch if you pick them up, spotted, but not too dark. If they get too black, you might have a fermented flavor to the bread. Though, the really dark ones can be squeezed out of the peels like toothpaste and that is satisfying.)

9. After the eggs and bananas are thoroughly mixed into the shortening mixture, add about 1/3 of the flour mixture to it.

10. Mix and repeat until all the flour mixture is incorporated. (Make sure you get to the bottom of the bowl so that everything is relatively uniform.)

11. Add 1/2 cup of chopped/smashed/broken nuts to the bowl. (Walnuts are probably the best, but other nuts work.)

12. You want to fold the nuts in with a spatula. (Using the stand mixer here might smash them too much and throw off the consistency of the bread.)

13. Pour and scrape this mixture into the loaf pan.

14. Throw it in the oven until it is done. It should take about an hour.

Some folks say that this stuff should be eaten right away, but honestly it holds up pretty well just sitting on the counter. Just keep it covered with a little plastic wrap after its cooled off, and you have a quick breakfast of quick bread ready for a few days.