Banana Bread - Photo by JayDi Photography

 Oh my-lanta this heat!  It's been humid and sticky for days now.  My beautiful bunch of bananas quickly speckled and was turning a deep brown. You'd think they'd be bad, oh but they were perfect for delicious and homey banana bread. Believe it or not, (believe it!) it's actually better when the bananas are super speckled and dark brown. And yes, the heat is almost unbearable with the oven on... but it was only for about an hour and most certainly worth it in the end.

Banana Bread 

 Total Time: 1 hr 30 mins | Makes: 1 (9-inch) loaf

INGREDIENTS

• Butter, for coating the pan
• 2 cups all-purpose flour, plus extra for dusting the pan
• 2 teaspoons baking powder
• 1/2 teaspoon plus 1/8 teaspoon fine salt
• 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
• 1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
• 1 cup granulated sugar
• 2 large eggs, at room temperature
• 1/3 cup vegetable oil
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 4 very ripe medium bananas, mashed (about 1 1/4 cups)
• 1/2 cup sour cream
• walnuts or pecans (optional)

INSTRUCTIONS

1. Heat the oven to 350°F and arrange a rack in the middle. Coat a 9-by-5-inch loaf pan with butter and dust it with flour, tapping out the excess. Whisk together the measured flour, baking powder, salt, baking soda, and cinnamon in a large bowl to aerate and break up any lumps. Set aside.
2. Place the sugar, eggs, oil, and vanilla in the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with a paddle attachment and beat on medium speed until thoroughly combined, about 2 minutes. Add the bananas and sour cream and mix until just combined. Scrape down the sides of the bowl, add the flour mixture, and mix until just combined, stirring in the nuts if you want them at this point.
3. Turn the batter into the prepared loaf pan and bake until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean, the top is golden brown, and the bread is pulling away from the sides of the pan, about 1 hour.
4. Transfer to a wire rack to cool for 10 minutes. Slide a knife around the perimeter of the pan, invert to release the bread, and cool completely on the wire rack before serving.