Notes
This recipe makes one large banana bread, but I usually make two smaller ones, one with nuts and raisins and one without.
Ingredients
3 – 4 overripe bananas
½ cup canola oil
2 eggs
1 teaspoon vanilla
2 ¼ cups all purpose flour
1 ¼ cups brown sugar
2 ½ teaspoons baking powder
½ teaspoon baking soda
½ teaspoon salt
Chopped nuts and raisins (optional)
Process
For most baking projects I mix the wet and dry ingredients separately and then mix the two together. So, first, peel the bananas and put them in a large mixing bowl. Use a whisk to crush them and then puree them. Add the oil, eggs and vanilla and stir well with the whisk. Put the flour, sugar, baking powder, baking soda and salt in another somewhat smaller bowl. Use the whisk or a sifter to mix the flour / sugar mixture well. Add the dry ingredients into the wet ingredients in the larger bowl. Stir well with a wooden spoon. Grease and flour two loaf pans. Pour half of the mixture into one of the pans. Add nuts and raisins to the remainder of the mixture, stir and pour into the other loaf pan. Bake at 375° for about 30 minutes. Spin the pans around every 5 minutes or so, so they will cook evenly. You will know it is cooked when it is “bouncy” to the touch, not soft. You can also tell it is done when you put in a toothpick and it comes out dry.
