[Family note: Your father gave me a loaf of this just before we started dating. It took me years to realize it was the only thing he knew how to make — and that that initial loaf wasn’t even intended for me :-).]
Ingredients:
3 medium (way) overripe bananas
2 eggs
2 T. molasses
1/4 C. (4 T.) honey
1/4 C. brown sugar
3/4 C. flour
1 1/4 C. whole wheat flour
1/8 t. salt
1 t. baking soda
1/2 C. chopped walnuts (optional)
Directions:
Find a large mixing bowl, a medium mixing bowl, and a loaf pan. Spray the inside of the loaf pan with non-stick cooking spray.
Preheat your oven to 350◦. (Don’t forget to take anything you store in the oven out first!)
Into the medium mixing bowl, measure the flour, whole wheat flour, baking soda, and salt. Stir briefly with a fork.
Peel the bananas and put the mushy banana pieces in the large mixing bowl. Use a sturdy fork to mash up the bananas. (The bananas don’t need to be entirely smooth, but you shouldn’t have any large chunks.) Crack the eggs into the bowl. (Wash your hands.) Beat in the eggs. Add the molasses and honey. [Pro tip: pour a bit of canola oil into a 1 T. measure, tip the spoon to coat the inside with the oil, add the canola oil to the batter, and then use that 1 T. measure to measure out the molasses and the honey — it will slide right out.] Stir well. Add the brown sugar. Stir to dissolve (at least mostly).
Add in the flour mixture. Stir well.
If you’ll be using walnuts, add the chopped walnuts. Stir.
Transfer the batter to the (sprayed) loaf pan.
When the oven is preheated, put the bread carefully in the oven and set a timer for 60 minutes.
Meanwhile, decide on what heat-resistant surface you’re going to put the hot loaf pan. (Good choices: a wood cutting board or a stove burner that’s not on.) Find a wire cooling rack for the bread.
When the timer goes off, turn the oven off. Use oven mitts to take the loaf pan out of the oven and put it where you decided it would be safe. Allow the bread to cool in the pan for 15 minutes. (Set a timer.)
After the bread has cooled in the pan for 15 minutes, use oven mitts to pick up the loaf pan and carefully tip it over the cooling rack so the bread falls out. (If the bread doesn’t fall out, you will need to run a butter knife carefully around the edge of the loaf, between the bread and the side of the loaf pan, to cut through any stuck spots and loosen the bread.)
Let the bread cool. Slice with a serrated knife and serve.
Variations:
*To make muffins, spray 12 muffin tin cups with non-stick cooking spray; spoon the batter into the muffin cups; bake at 350◦ for 25 minutes; remove the muffins from the muffin tin and allow to cool on a wire rack.
*Xtine’s variation: For a slightly healthier, slightly more interesting bread, omit the 1/4 C. honey (or the 1/4 C. brown sugar) and instead add 1/4 C. flax seeds (for crunch, fiber, and omega-3s) and 1/2 C. chopped prunes or dates (for natural sweetness and fiber).
Cooking Like Your Mom ♥ 