Aunt Buzz’s Banana Bread

Both of our favorite “quick” bread recipes come from beloved aunts; our friend Barb’s Aunt Beezy; justly famous for her Soda Bread, and my own Aunt Buzz’s also pretty darned terrific banana bread.

What makes this bread special?

I am not certain, it just seems to become a favorite for whomever I serve it too (much like Aunt Beezy’s). The two great ladies never met, but I think they would have had a good time over lunch together.

INGREDIENTS
•3 ripe bananas
•1/4 cup walnuts (optional)*
•3/8 cup butter, softened
•3/4 cup sugar
•3/4 cup milk
•3 eggs
•3 cups flour
•1 tbsp baking powder
•3/4 tsp baking soda
•3/4 tsp salt

*Black walnuts are really nice in this bread.

Heat your oven to 350º and apply cooking spray to a bread pan.

Sift the flour together with the baking powder, baking soda, and salt in a large bowl until well mixed. Aunt Buzz noted that they should be sifted together three times, but a wire whisk works a treat and, in my opinion, is much easier to clean than a sifter.

Add the walnuts to the flour mixture and stir well (you can use the whisk for this, too).

In another bowl, beat the butter and sugar until creamy; then beat in the eggs, one at a time, until well blended.

Set aside.

In another bowl, mash the bananas with the milk until blended. A few lumps are fine.

Add about half of the butter and egg mixture to the flour and mix with an electric mixer.

Mix in half of the banana milk blend, then repeat with the remaining butter and egg and finally the banana milk until you have a thick batter.

Transfer to your prepared bread pan and bake for about an hour, until a wooden skewer in the center comes out clean.

Note: this loaf is approximately 1/3 bigger than Aunt Buzz’s original recipe, so it actually took about 75 minutes to bake and needs a big loaf pan – mine is one pound.

Her original proportions, which work a treat in a smaller, traditional loaf pan are here:

•2 medium ripe bananas
•1/2 cup milk
•2 cups flour
•2 tsp baking powder
•1/2 tsp baking soda
•1/4 cup butter
•1/2 cup sugar
•1/2 tsp salt
•2 eggs
•1/4 cup black walnuts (optional)

Either way, you get a pretty spiffy loaf of bread, which is lovely with butter or cream cheese; and makes nice French toast, too.