Flour’s Famous Banana Bread
A friend of mine sent me Flour’s Famous Banana Bread recipe, citing it as one of the best banana breads she’s ever had. I thought I’d give it a try and have since made it several times, so you can guess that I also approve. The recipe makes one 9-inch loaf, but I’ve been known to double it because it never last long in this house before being gobbled up!
Ingredients
1½ cups all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking soda
¼ teaspoon ground cinnamon
½ teaspoon salt
1 cup plus 2 tablespoons sugar
2 eggs
½ cup canola oil
3½ very ripe, medium bananas, peeled and mashed
2 tablespoons crème fraîche or sour cream
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
Optional: nuts or chocolate chips
Instructions
Preheat oven to 325° and butter a 9-by-5-inch loaf pan.
In a bowl, sift together the flour, baking soda, cinnamon and salt. Set aside.
Using a stand mixer fitted with the whip attachment (or a handheld mixer), beat together the sugar and eggs on medium speed for about 5 minutes or until light and fluffy. (If you use a handheld mixer, this same step will take about 8 minutes.)
On low speed, slowly drizzle in the oil. Add it in slowly so it has some time to incorporate into the eggs and doesn’t deflate the air you have just beaten into the batter. This should take about a minute.
Add the bananas, crème fraîche (or sour cream) and vanilla and continue to mix on low speed just until combined.
Using a rubber spatula, fold in the flour mixture and the nuts just until thoroughly combined.
Pour the batter into the prepared loaf pan and smooth the top.
Bake for 1 to 1¼ hours, or until golden brown on top and the center springs back when you press it. If your fingers sinks when you poke the bread, it needs to bake a little longer. Let cool in the pan on a wire rack for at least 30 minutes and then pop it out of the pan to finish cooling.