If you’re like me, I’m sure you’ve had over-ripe bananas in your kitchen at some point. So the question is, what do you do about it? You may as well make use of them. The good news is that over-ripe bananas are the secret to great banana bread.
How do you get enough of those over-ripe black bananas? I always have one out of the bunch that no one eats. Let that banana get good and black then place it in the freezer. When you have four medium-size or three large ones in your freezer, you have enough for a loaf of bread. Another question you might ask: what if I do not have sour milk in my refrigerator? To one-half cup milk I add one tablespoon of white vinegar. The following recipe is from my mom’s church back in Green Bay, Wisconsin. I have made this recipe for years. A very good friend of mine has a daughter who is six years old. She has gotten to the point that she will not eat any banana bread but this recipe. It has even become a big hit at my home and work!
Here’s what you need:
Black ripe bananas (black ripe bananas have fuller flavor and higher sugar content)
Sour milk (like buttermilk, it keeps your bread moist)
DO NOT over bake. When you hit the 50-minute mark baking your bread, start checking it with a toothpick every few minutes, and when the toothpick comes out with just a few crumbs clinging to it, you are done. Just a few minutes of over baking make for dry bread.
1/2 cup butter softened (not oil or any substitutions)
1 1/2 white sugar
2 eggs separated: beat egg yolks: then set aside; beat egg whites: set aside
3/4 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 cup sour milk
1 cup mashed bananas (I go by banana size and do not measure, 3 large or 4 medium bananas)
1/2 teaspoon salt
2 cups flour
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
2 teaspoon vanilla
Combine butter and sugar; cream together with mixer. Add egg yolks. Stir baking soda into sour milk (when you add the soda, the milk will foam and rise up, so add quickly to butter and sugar mixture). Add mashed bananas. Combine salt and baking powder to flour and add to batter. Stir in vanilla. Fold egg whites into batter until just blended. Pour into greased and floured loaf pan with parchment paper on the bottom of the pan (if you use parchment paper on the bottom you will never have your bread stick in the pan). Bake at 350 degrees for one hour.My family does not like nuts in bread, but feel free to add if you like. Also, people have asked for chocolate chips in the bread. I have tried everything including adding chips covered with flour, but the chips still fall and layer in the bottom of the pan. I personally stay away from them in this bread recipe. I also double the recipe when I make this, as I can never have enough to go around.
