Baking 101 - The World's Best Banana Bread

I have made banana bread in the past. I’ve done nutty ones, ‘healthy’ ones, and even a Nutella-infused banana bread. But never have I had a banana bread as simple or delicious as the recipe here.

Like many bakers, the incentive for baking banana bread this week came simply from the overripe bananas that I left to brown in the freezer. A quick Google search was necessary, since all my cookbooks are safely stored many hundreds of kilometres away. When I came up with a basic recipe I liked the sound of, I tweaked it a bit with the addition of the walnut oil.

The flaw that I came up against was impatience, as I mashed the bananas while they were still cold and had to warm the bowl in order for the butter to mix without hardening in the mashed fruit. Nevertheless, everything came out perfect, and after dinner we all agreed that there was something scrumptious about this specific recipe. I already have plans to make it again, though I worry that the perfection may have been a one-off. If you try this recipe and find it perfect too, let me know. I’m in the mood to spread the gospel – simplicity, in this case. No nuts, no Nutella, no apple sauce. Just old-fashioned banana bread in all its glory. And what could be more perfect than that?

3 or 4 overripe bananas, mashed
1/4 cup room temperature butter
2 tbsp walnut oil, plus more for greasing
1 cup sugar
1 egg, beaten
1 teaspoon vanilla
1 teaspoon baking soda
Pinch of salt
1 1/2 cups of all-purpose flour

Preheat your oven to 350 F. Grease a loaf pan with walnut oil. With a wooden spoon (no need for a mixer), blend mashed bananas, butter, and walnut oil. Add sugar and mix. Add beaten egg and vanilla and stirred until blended. Add baking soda, salt, and flour. When the mixture is consistent, pour into the loaf pan and bake in the middle rack for 50-60 minutes, depending on the size of your loaf pan (my 9″ long one needed about 50mins). When a knife comes out clean, the loaf is ready to let stand before removing from the pan. This can probably last up to five days in an airtight container, though I doubt you’ll make it past Day 2.

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