Banana Bread
While super-ripe bananas are a nightmare for many, to me, they are pure bliss as they are the main ingredient for delicious banana bread – the Banana’s last wish shall be granted in this household.
Banana bread became a fad during the first Lockdowns in the Corona pandemic and a symbol of our helplessness during that time, but I have been regularly making the recipe for years before that. It's such a simple thing to bake – and it brings so much joy when you wake up in the morning, the faint sweet smell of banana bread still lingering in your apartment, remembering that yesterday-you made this for you to enjoy for breakfast.
There are as many recipes for banana bread on the internet as there are variations. After trying out a couple, I settled on the one below. Depending on the "age” of the bananas I might change the amount of sugar I am using.
Ingredients
200g all-purpose flour
2 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
3-4 medium, very ripe bananas
100g sugar
40g vegetable oil
2 medium-sized eggs
1 1/2 teaspoons vanilla extract
Method
Preheat the oven to 180°C and grease a loaf pan with butter (or line it with baking paper).
Mix the flour, baking powder and salt in a bowl using a wooden spoon.
In another bowl, smash the bananas with a fork, add the sugar, oil, eggs, and vanilla and beat the mix with the wooden spoon until it is well blended.
Add the flour mixture to the banana mixture and stir until it's well mixed. If you are lazy and own a food processor, skip the wooden spoon and use that one instead.
Scrape the batter into the baking pan, and after spreading it evenly, put the pan into the preheated oven.
Bake for about 45 minutes (to test if the bread is ready, stick a toothpick or a spaghetti into the centre of the loaf, if it comes out with nearly no crumbs clinging to it, your banana bread is done)
Remove the pan from the oven, and cool for 15-20 minutes before eating.
