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Something about Sundays necessitates baking. I had two things sitting around today that were begging to be used: whole wheat flour that I ground myself yesterday (using a very old and very heavy grinder my parents passed down to me) and a new cookbook, King Arthur Flour Whole Grain Baking. About an hour later, I had a hot loaf of whole wheat banana bread and a house fragrant throughout.
Easy Banana-Walnut Bread
1/2 cup (1 stick) unsalted butter (I microwaved mine to soften it)
1/2 cup packed light or dark brown sugar
3/4 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 1/2 cups mashed ripe banana (about 3 bananas)*
1/4 cup honey
2 large eggs
2 cups whole wheat flour
1/2 cup chopped walnuts (which I left out, since I'm not much of a nut person.)
*The recipe (as with all banana bread recipes, I assume) calls for ultra-ripe bananas, their "skins should be mottled black, and they should feel very soft to the touch". Mine weren't, so the final products wasn't as rich as it could have been.
1. Preheat the oven to 350°F. Lightly grease a 9 x 5-inch loaf pan.
2. Beat together the butter, sugar, baking soda, salt, cinnamon, nutmeg and vanilla until smooth. Add the banana, honey and eggs, beating until smooth. Add the flour and nuts, stirring until smooth.
3. Spoon the batter into the prepared pan and let it rest at room temperature, uncovered, for 10 minutes.
4. Bake for 50 minutes.
5. Lay a piece of foil gently across the top, and bake until a cake tester inserted into the center comes out clean, 10 to 15 minutes more. (My loaf didn't need this extra 10 to 15 minutes.)
6. Allow to cool for 10 minutes before turning it out of the pan to cool completely.
