Beautiful Banana Bread

I love this recipe-it’s taken me years to get it just right and it’s so dang easy. I have inadvertently discovered a secret to making your banana bread super moist-causing demand from neighbor’s and Grandmother’s everywhere.

Yum. Grab your wooden spoon and apron.
It’s time to bake.

Here’s what you’ll need:

5 1/2 Bananas
1/2 Cup Sweet Cream Stick Butter (I use unsalted butter)
2 Beaten Eggs
2 Cups Bread Flour (you can use all purpose, too)
1 Cup + 2 Tbs Organic Sugar (I prefer this, because it browns nicely)
1 1/2 tsp Baking Powder
1/2 tsp Baking Soda
1/4 tsp Salt (or omit if using salted butter)
1/4 tsp ground Cinnamon*
1/8 tsp ground Nutmeg*

*Grinding your own cinnamon and nutmeg really sends this banana bread over the top. But, if you don’t have them on hand-don’t worry your pretty little head about it. Just use the store bought spice and no one will be the wiser.

Preheat your oven to 350 first and foremost.
Next, peel your naners and mash the puddin’ out of them with a potato masher.

Melt the 1/2 Cup of butter in the microwave. Add the two eggs to your melted and beat thoroughly with a fork.

Pour the butter and eggs into your banana bowl. Mix thoroughly with a wooden spoon.

In a separate bowl, add the 2 Cups of flour.

And the 1 Cup + 2 Tbs of sugar.

Next, add the 1 1/2 tsp of Baking Powder and the 1/2 tsp Baking Soda.

If you are using salted butter, do not add the salt. If you are a purist like me and buy unsalted butter, add 1/4 tsp salt.

If you are using fresh nutmeg and cinnamon-it’s time to get your ‘grate on’. Add either the fresh 1/8 tsp of Nutmeg and the 1/4 tsp cinnamon or the store bought kind to the dry ingredients.
Stir the dry ingredients with a fork thoroughly and then make a well in the center.

Add the banana mixture to the dry ingredients all at once.

Stir with a wooden spoon just until the batter is moist. There will be lumps-and that’s ok. Sometimes, life gives you lumps…

Grease the sides and bottom of a 9” x 5” loaf pan. If you use another sizes of loaf pan, just decrease the amount of time the bread is in the oven. Fill the pan 2/3 full.
Bake for 45-55 minutes or until a toothpick comes out clean.

Cool in pan for ten minutes on a wire rack or trivet. Run a knife along the sides of the pan to release the bread. Flip the pan over onto a wire rack, tapping the bottom of the pan to remove the bread.

Make one for Poppa Bear, Momma Bear and Baby Bear.
Cool on a wire rack for ten more minutes. Now, here comes the secret part. Thoroughly wrap the bread in saran wrap-while it is still warm and let it sit overnight. You can go a step further and place the bread inside of a ziplock bag. This traps the moisture in the bread and makes it sooooo moist.

If you absolutely cannot wait until the next day to eat it-which usually happens around here if Biceps has anything to say about it-at least let it sit for an hour or two inside of the saran wrap.

Trust me, it’s worth the wait.