Banana Bread

Ingredients

• 110 g Butter, cool, for the batter
• Butter, for greasing the pan
• 175 ml Dark brown sugar, for the batter
• 2 Egg, at room temperature
• 550 ml Banana, very ripe (about 5 bananas)
• 475 ml All-purpose flour
• 5 ml Baking soda
• 1.2 ml Salt
• 44 ml Walnut, chopped, or pecans
• 15 ml Granulated sugar, or coarse sugar, for the topping
• 0.6 ml Cinnamon, for the topping

Method

1. 01

   Heat the oven to 175°C

   Set the oven to 175°C before mixing the batter. Let it heat fully so the loaf starts baking at the intended temperature; a partially heated oven can delay the rise and leave the centre underdone. This setup can run while you prepare the batter.

2. 02

   Mix the batter and fill the pan

   Lightly grease 1 9-by-5-inch loaf pan with the pan butter. Using an electric mixer, cream the cool butter until smooth and fluffy, then add the dark brown sugar and cream for 2 minutes more. Mix in the eggs one at a time, then the very ripe bananas until only small lumps remain. Stir the flour, baking soda, and salt together, add them to the banana mixture, and mix just until combined. Pour into the prepared pan or pans.

3. 03

   Top and bake the loaf

   If using the optional topping, stir the chopped walnut or pecans, granulated or coarse sugar, and cinnamon together, then sprinkle it evenly over the batter. Bake the filled 1 9-by-5-inch loaf pan at 175°C for about 55 to 65 minutes, until a toothpick inserted in the centre comes out clean. If scaling up leaves more pans than your oven can hold, bake them in batches.

4. 04

   Cool the loaf completely

   Let the bread cool in the pan for 10 minutes, then turn it out onto a wire rack and let it cool completely before wrapping it tightly for storage. Wait until the centre is no longer warm so the loaf slices cleanly and the crust does not become damp.

Note

The recipe card gives 65 minutes as the cook time, while the baking instruction says about 55 to 65 minutes; start checking at 55 minutes and rely on a clean toothpick.