Banana
bread is one of those scrumptious “treats” that is a staple in our house. A
slice warmed up with some butter on it makes for a delicious breakfast. It also
serves as a great snack to tide you over between meals. Banana bread also makes
a frequent appearance with my husband at work and is often requested by his
buddies. The sour cream addition in this recipe makes for very moist bread! My
mother-in-law gave me this recipe when we got married 7 ½ years ago. Over the
years, we have made a few changes but the results are always delicious and well
received.
Recipe
¼
cup of butter (1/2 a stick)
1
1/3 cup of sugar
2
eggs
1-teaspoon
vanilla (We really like vanilla so I use 1 ½ teaspoons)
2
cups flour
1-teaspoon
baking powder
1-teaspoon
baking soda
¾
teaspoon salt
1-cup
sour cream (I use lite sour cream)
1-cup
mashed banana
Notes: I
like to use my hand mixer. I have used my stand mixer before and had the same
results, I simply like my hand mixer better for banana bread.
I prefer to
use bananas that are over ripe, close to the point that you would throw them
away. You can use ripe bananas, the work great and the bread turns out great
and just as wonderful.
Steps:
1.
Melt
or soften butter (I melt mine for about 30 secs). Cream butter and sugar together
in a large bowl.
2.
Add
eggs and vanilla. Mix well.
3. Add
in the dry ingredients. I like to do my baking powder, baking soda, salt and 1
cup of flour. Mix them together then add the 2nd cup of flour. I
have found that it is easier to mix together this way, it gets pretty thick.
4.
Add
1 cup of sour cream. Mix together.
5.
This
is my favorite part, banana mashing!!!! I like to use my hands to mash the
bananas. I break them into pieces and squeeze them in my hand. I am sure you
could mash them another way but this is my favorite way. 1 cup is about 2 ½
medium bananas. I also use the last half as well, why waste it!
6.
Preheat
the oven to 350 degrees. Pour the batter into 1 large (9 in x 5 in) or two
smaller loaf pans.
7.
Bake
for 45-60 minutes. I start at 55 minutes and typically go 10-12 more minutes.
Everyone’s oven is different though, so start with a lower time.
8.
Your
bread will be done when the middle doesn’t jiggle when you pull out the oven
shelf. This is a good quick visual to see if you need more time. You will also
want to make sure the loaf is pulling away from the sides of the pan and that a
toothpick inserted in the middle comes out clean.
Let
cool and enjoy!
