my kitchen: i strongly recommend FLOUR BAKERY BANANA BREAD

Today I made pizza dough from scratch for the first time (thank you Mark Bittman). I don’t know why but for some reason I had been afraid of baking recipes that called for yeast and when I finally made my own focaccia last week I realized that instant yeast is my friend. 

So today after making pizza, the oven was still hot, I had a few very ripe bananas on the counter and coincidentally had creme fraiche in my fridge. So I’m glad I tried this popular banana bread recipe from my favorite Flour Bakery in Boston because it is AMAZING. Moist, caramelized crust and not too dense from whipping the eggs and sugar together first. Definitely worth the effort, though I moved the directions around a bit so that you can just use 1 mixing bowl.

Thank You Joanne Chang!!! I miss Flour Bakery, I want to try to make their breakfast sandwich next!! 

FLOUR BAKERY BANANA BREAD

Ingredients

• 1 2/3 cups all-purpose flour
• 1 teaspoon baking soda
• 1/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• *1 cup plus 2 tablespoons sugar *(I reduced to 3/4 cup, I might use 1/2 cup next time)
• 2 eggs
• 1/2 cup oil
• *3 1/2 bananas, very ripe, mashed *(I used 4)
•  2 tablespoons creme fraiche or sour cream
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• *2/3 cup walnuts, toasted and chopped *(I used whole pecans on top) 
• *added a handful of chocolate chips)
• *(I also added 1 teaspoon baking powder to get the top to rise higher)

Directions

Set oven to 350 degrees F (180C). Line the loaf pan with parchment paper.or butter generously 

Beat sugar and 2 eggs with a whisk until light and fluffy, about 10 minutes. Slowly drizzle in 1/2 cup oil. Add mashed bananas, 2 tablespoons creme fraiche, and 1 teaspoon vanilla. 

Sift together the 1 2/3 cups flour, 1 teaspoon baking soda, 1/4 teaspoon cinnamon and 1/2 tsp salt. Fold in dry ingredients and nuts. Pour into a lined loaf pan and *stir in a handful of chocolate chips atop. Bake for about 45 minutes to 1 hour, or until middle is set and top is golden