Banana Bread

This recipe is from Bon Apetit, which did a whole article on the best bread in Hawaii. Someone who used to live in Hawaii went back and drove around to little out of the way places eating banana bread the whole way to discover the best banana bread on the island. (Note to self: Find a job like this.) The best 'nana bread was Auntie Julia's. And Auntie Julia knows her banana bread. I love this recipe. Having a good recipe for banana bread is one of life's essential recipies. With four kids, we have a lot of banana's around. And it is always hard to foretell if it is going to be a week where everyone eats their banana's or not. So every few weeks I have a few neglected bananas who are sitting there freckled and black, just asking for some purpose in this life. Purpose beyond ending up in the pig slop pail, that is.

Off topic, one of the banana bread makers (seriously, I had no idea Hawaii was such a den of banana bread bakers.) made the comment, "We can cook from the same recipe, but it's the love in the hand that stirs that makes the difference." Bon Appetit liked this and made it large. I find this odd. If someone is not good at baking, why should we make it worse by telling them that they are only bad at baking because they don't have enough love in their stirring hand? "I'm sorry. It isn't just your technique. It goes deeper. You are emotionally depraved. WHY DON'T YOU LOVE YOUR FAMILY MORE?"

So just remember that. If you like this banana bread, it isn't the recipe. It is your emotional hand.

Julia's Best Banana Bread. (Or Bethaney's best. Or your best.)

1 3/4 cups all purpose flour
1 1/2 tsp baking soda
3/4 tsp kosher salt
3 large eggs
1 1/2 cups sugar
1 cup mashed, freckled, very ripe/over ripe bananas (about 2 large-ish)
3/4 cup vegetable oil.

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Grease loaf (or muffin) pan.
Whisk dry ingredients, flour, soda, salt together in medium bowl.
Whisk eggs, sugar, bananas, and oil in a large bowl until smooth. Mix in dry ingredients and stir until combined. Pour into loaf pan.
Bake 60-70 minutes until tester inserted into the center of the loaf comes out clean. (Or with a few crumbs if you like it slightly denser and gooier. I do.)  Transfer to wire rack. Let cool in pan 15 min. Run knife around pan to release bread, turn out to rack, cool completely.

Muffins bake in about 15-20 minutes. You can add whatever you like to it. Chocolate chips, coconut, chopped nuts, raisins, dried cranberries or cherries, some mashed potatoes and gravy. Seriously, banana bread is a great adder-toer. But I wouldn't advise the potatoes and gravy. Might show a lack of love in your mixing hand.

Somehow, even without butter, this tastes buttery. Yummy, buttery, moist.... oh banana bread.