I've gotten into the habit of keeping bananas around so I have them available for baking projects. And recently when a bunch of bananas reached peak over-ripeness, I decided to try Shauna Sever's banana bread recipe from Midwest Made, which she boldly calls "The Only Banana Bread You'll Ever Need."
Scanning over the recipe, two things stood out as slightly unusual. First, it includes buttermilk. Second, the loaf is topped with damp sugar. But the recipe is otherwise straightforward. You combine all of the wet ingredients (mashed bananas, dark brown sugar, oil, buttermilk, eggs, and vanilla) in one bowl; combine all of the dry ingredients (flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt) in another; and incorporate the dry into the wet. You pour the batter into a parchment-lined 9-inch by 5-inch loaf pan and top it with damp granulated sugar that is slightly clumped together.
The amount of batter was absolutely perfect for the loaf pan -- the batter rose just shy of the rim and the bread was gracefully domed in the center. The bread was nicely moist, although just bordering on being rubbery. The bread tasted fine, although it was not quite the end all, be all of banana bread that I was hoping for. The flavor seemed a little flat, especially in the banana department. I definitely think that some nuts would make it more interesting, and perhaps also some cinnamon and the optional tablespoon of rum that I had meant to include but omitted by mistake. However, I do think that the crunchy sugar crust on top of the loaf is delightful. It was definitely my favorite part.
I have to rank this banana bread behind Joanne Chang's banana bread recipe and the King Arthur Flour Whole-Grain Banana Bread. Both of them have a more intense banana flavor and a richer flavor overall. While Shauna's banana bread is good, I just wouldn't call it great.
Recipe: "The Only Banana Bread You'll Ever Need" from Midwest Made by Shauna Sever.
Previous Posts:
Scanning over the recipe, two things stood out as slightly unusual. First, it includes buttermilk. Second, the loaf is topped with damp sugar. But the recipe is otherwise straightforward. You combine all of the wet ingredients (mashed bananas, dark brown sugar, oil, buttermilk, eggs, and vanilla) in one bowl; combine all of the dry ingredients (flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt) in another; and incorporate the dry into the wet. You pour the batter into a parchment-lined 9-inch by 5-inch loaf pan and top it with damp granulated sugar that is slightly clumped together.
I have to rank this banana bread behind Joanne Chang's banana bread recipe and the King Arthur Flour Whole-Grain Banana Bread. Both of them have a more intense banana flavor and a richer flavor overall. While Shauna's banana bread is good, I just wouldn't call it great.
Recipe: "The Only Banana Bread You'll Ever Need" from Midwest Made by Shauna Sever.
Previous Posts:
- "Baked Sunday Mornings: Honey Banana Poppy Seed Bread," March 3, 2013.
- "Irene's Aftermath: Flour's Famous Banana Bread," September 13, 2011.
- "Sorry, You Didn't Get the Job... But Can I Keep Your Recipe?," March 29, 2009.
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