Banana Bread

One thing to know about me is that although I have outgrown childhood hatred of some foods (onions, peppers, tomatoes), I just can’t get past others.

I still think bananas are disgusting. I know, I know, they’re healthy and everything I dislike about them is all in my head. Every once in a while I try them again, and it just doesn’t work. I even tried freeze-dried banana chips, and those were just as bad. I gave them away when I couldn’t finish them at work.

But I don’t mind banana bread. I really don’t. It’s not that I can’t taste the banana flavor, but the flavor is so subtle and soft, and juxtaposed with sugar and bread and cinnamon (or whatever people put in their banana breads) that I can totally handle the banana in it. The key is moderation.

Last week I found myself with two bananas leftover from when we had company. There was no way I was about to eat them, and when I asked hubby if he was going to, he looked at me like I’d asked him to wear a pink shirt with a popped collar next time we went out. So I thought I’d try my hand at making banana bread. Somehow I’ve never made one, though I’ve made white bread, wheat bread, pumpkin bread, zucchini bread, and strawberry bread.

I found this recipe on allrecipes.com and decided to play around with it according to the reviewers’ suggestions.

First, the recipe says to mix melted butter and sugar, but reviewers unanimously said to cream together room-temperature butter and sugar, like you would with cookies. So I did. Then add vanilla extract and eggs. Also, according to a modification made by the submitter herself in a comment, I also added a touch of lemon juice along with the eggs and vanilla.

The original recipe said to sift together all-purpose flour, baking soda, and salt in a separate bowl. I used both all-purpose and whole wheat flour, upping the total amount by 1/4 cup because the reviewers said to. I also included some baking powder, along with ground cinnamon, cloves, and nutmeg.

While stirring the butter and sugar mixture, gradually add in the flour mixture until it’s smooth and creamy.

Sweet action shot, huh?

The thing about this recipe that makes it so good, according to what I read, is the addition of a half cup of sour cream.

And of course, you can’t forget about the bananas. I peeled them and mashed them, even though the recipe said to slice them, because the idea of biting into gooey banana chunks grosses me out. Sorry, banana lovers.

Put the sour cream and bananas in the dough, stir it around a bit, and then add in a half cup of chopped walnuts for good measure.

This only makes one loaf, which was fine by me because I was still waiting to find out if this was a Good Recipe or Bad Recipe (can you sense my skepticism?).

An hour later, the aroma of cinnamon and nutmeg were wafting through the house. Getting out of the shower, I couldn’t help but follow my nose to the kitchen to stare at the bread and lean over it, inhaling. After it cooled in the pan for 10 minutes, I transferred to a wire rack until it was completely cool.

Oh my, it just smelled so good. I wish I could bottle up that scent and somehow share it with you.

The verdict: GOOD RECIPE. Had a subtle banana flavor, but it wasn’t overpowering. The spices I added helped the flavor, and it was rich and moist. I brought it to work to share with my coworkers, and people did go back for seconds.

I think they’re going to miss me when I leave this job (today’s my last day!), if only because it means I won’t bring them my kitchen experiments anymore. My new job starts on Monday, and I have a feeling that I won’t be able to update this blog on the job like I can at the one I’m leaving. So if my posts slow down, I’m sorry! But I will definitely keep them coming because I just love doing this.

I will be putting this in my TasteBook ASAP. I know I’m a little behind in putting recipes in there, but I will catch up soon!