Favorite Banana Bread

I tried a fair number of banana bread recipes over the years.  Some were good, others not quite so much.  Too crumbly, not enough banana flavor, added ingredients.  I forget where I discovered this recipe but it's the one I've settled on for our tastes.  It's straightforward, no added spices or fruits, just a nice moist, buttery banana-y banana bread that goes down a treat any time of the day.

Now here's a hint I saw on Facebook the other day and it's so brilliant I had to share it with you.  I'm chagrined to think I've gone all these years without knowing and doing this.  You know how quick breads seem to take forever to cook in the middle?  The outside gets all dark and dry and the center is gooey and raw?  Well, looky look.  Take a piece of aluminum foil and cut out an opening the size of the center of your uncooked loaf.  Put it back in the oven and let it go another three or four minutes or however long it needs.  The edges are protected and the center is cooked.  This worked a charm!

Favorite Banana Bread

1/3 cup melted butter

3 or 4 very ripe bananas, mashed

1 cup sugar

1 egg, beaten

1 teaspoon vanilla

1 teaspoon baking soda

1 pinch of salt

1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour

Preheat oven to 350*F.  Grease and flour a 9" x 5" pan and set aside.

In a large bowl mix the butter into the mashed bananas.  Add the sugar, egg, and vanilla and mix.

Sprinkle the baking soda and salt** over the mixture and mix.

Add the flour and mix to combine.  This is a quick bread so just mix it until all moistened; you don't have to beat it.

Pour the batter into the prepared pan and bake for approximately 60 minutes or until toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean.

Let rest in pan for about ten minutes before running a thin knife around the edges of the loaf and tipping out on a rack to finish cooling.

**Recipe calls for a pinch of salt which is about an 1/8th of a teaspoon.  I use salted butter so I omit the salt entirely.