Ingredients:
- 1 1/2 cups All-purpose Flour
- 1 teaspoon Baking Soda
- 1 teaspoon Salt
- 1/4 cup Vegetable Oil
- 3/4 cup Dark Brown Sugar, packed
- 1 cup Very Ripe Bananas, from freezer, mashed (see notes)
- 2 Eggs
- 1/4 cup Milk
- 1/2 cup Nuts (optional)
Directions:
In a small bowl, whisk together flour, baking soda, and salt.
In a second, large bowl, mix in this order: Oil, brown sugar, banana, egg, and milk
Stir flour mixture into the large bowl, and add nuts if using.
Turn into a lightly oiled, or parchment-lined pan.
Bake at 350ºF for an hour, until a toothpick inserted into the center of the loaf, comes out clean, or with only dry crumbs.
Cool briefly in pan before turning out to a rack to cool completely.
This bread is great fresh, but it will slice better after spending a night in the fridge, wrapped in foil. Slices can be buttered and toasted for a bit of an indulgent breakfast.
A note or two on bananas: Whenever a banana gets too brown to enjoy fresh toss it in the freezer. Freezing them helps break down the banana and helps them continue to sweeten (This is similar to some recipes you’ll see for roasting whole bananas. The freezer takes more foresight, but less work.) Frozen bananas can thaw at room temperature, or be microwaved at low power for a few seconds at a time. When thawed, you can snip one end of the banana off, and squeeze the flesh out like a tube of toothpaste, and then mash with a fork. You’re going to want a good cup of banana for this recipe, which is about two large bananas, but err to the top side. Use whatever the whole number of bananas will put you over the 1-cup mark.
