BREAD-ULTIMATE BANANA BREAD

By Sharon T

BREAD-ULTIMATE BANANA BREAD
From the best of America’s test kitchen 2012
BEST I HAVE EVER TASTED- GOOD AND VERY MOIST

Ingredients

• 1 1/4 1 1/4 1/4 C ALL-PURPOSE FLOUR
• 1 1 1 TSP BAKING POWDER
• 1/2 1/2 1/2 TSP SALT
• 6 6 1/2 LARGE, VERY RIPE BANANAS (2 1/2 POUNDS) PEELED
• 8 8 8 TB UNSALTED BUTTER, MELTED AND COOLED
• 2 2 2 LARGE EGGS
• 1/4 1/4 1/4 C PACKED LIGHT BROWN SUGAR
• 1 1 1 TSP VANILLA EXTRACT
• 1/2 1/2 1/2 C WALNUTS, TOASTED AND CHOPPED COARSE (OPTIONAL)
• 2 2 2 TSP SUGAR

Preparation

Step 1

1. ADJUST OVEN RACK TO MIDDLE POSITION AND HEAT OVEN TO 350 DEGREES. SPRAY 8 ½ X 4 ½ LOAF PAN WITH VEG SPRAY. WHISK FLOUR BAKING SODA AND SALT TOGETHER IN LARGE BOWL.
2. PLACE 5 BANANAS IN BOWL, COVER WITH PLASTIC WRAP, AND CUT SEVERAL STEAM VENTS IN PLASTIC WITH PARING KNIFE. MICROWAVE UNTIL BANANAS ARE SOFT AND HAVE RELEASED LIQUID, ABOUT 5 MINUTES. TRANSFER BANANAS TO FINE-MESHED STRAINER PLACED OVER MEDIUM BOWL AND ALLOW TO DRAIN, STIRRING OCCASIONALLY FOR 15 MINUTES (YOU SHOULD HAVE ½ TO ¾ CUP LIQUID). TRANSFER BANANAS TO BOWL.
3. Transfer liquid to medium saucepan and cook over medium high heat until reduced to ¼ cup, about 5 minutes. Remove pan from heat, stir reduced liquid into bananas, and mash with potato masher until fairly smooth. Whisk in butter, eggs, brown sugar and vanilla.
4. Pour banana mixture into flour mixture and stir until just combined with some streaks of flour remaining. Gently fold in nuts, if using. Scrape batter into prepared pan. Slice remaining banana diagonally into ¼ inch thick slices. Shingle bananas slices on top of either side of loaf, leaving 1 ½ inch wide space down center to ensure even rise. Sprinkle sugar evenly over loaf.
5. Bake until toothpick inserted in center of loaf comes out clean, 55-75 minutes, rotating pan halfway through baking. Cool bread in pan to wire rack for 15 minutes, and then remove loaf from pan and continue to cool on wire rack. Serve warm or at room temperature. (Banana bread can be stored for up to 3 days.)
Notes from test kitchen
Bananas-The riper, the better

Don’t even think of making banana bread with anything less than very rice, heavily speckled fruit-unless you want a bland loaf. As bananas ripen, their starch converts to sugar at an exponential rate. Heavily speckeled has nearly 3x amount of fructose than less spotty bananas.