Banana Walnut Bread
Banana Walnut is the king of all quick breads, and this version is particularly regal.
INGREDIENTS | YIELDS 1 LOAF
- ¼ cup (½ stick) unsalted butter
- ¾ cup granulated sugar
- 3 ripe bananas
- 1 egg
- ¼ cup sour cream
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 2 cups all-purpose flour
- 1½ teaspoons baking powder
- ½ teaspoon kosher salt
- 1 cup chopped walnuts
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Preheat oven to 350°F. Coat a 9″ × 5″ loaf pan with pan spray, and line the bottom and short sides with a strip of parchment.
In a large bowl, beat together butter and sugar until creamy and smooth. Add bananas and egg, and beat until creamy. Stir in sour cream and vanilla.
Sift together all-purpose flour, baking powder, and salt; slowly stir into batter. Fold in walnuts.
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Transfer batter to prepared pan, and smooth the top. Bake 30 minutes Reduce oven temperature to 325°F and bake 30 minutes longer, or until a pick inserted in the center comes out clean. Tent with foil if loaf browns too quickly.
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Remove from oven and cool 10 minutes before removing from pan. Continue cooling on a rack.
Quick Baking
Quick breads are so-named because they are leavened with baking powder and/or baking soda, which do not require the prolonged fermentation time that yeast does. However, quick breads are not necessarily quick to bake. Batters baked in a loaf pan require time to allow heat to penetrate to the center. Regardless of the indicated baking time, the skewer test is the only true measure of doneness. When inserted, it must come out clean.
