Banana bread

Instructions

1. Step 1

   Preheat the oven to 175°C and line a 23 x 13 cm loaf pan with parchment paper, letting the paper hang over the two long sides. The overhang works like a pair of handles so you can lift the loaf out without breaking the edges. The pan is ready when the paper lies flat and hugs the bottom and both sides.

   Mark step 1 as done

2. Step 2

   Peel 360 g ripe bananas, put them in a large bowl and mash them with a fork, leaving a few small chunks if you like biting into pieces of banana. The smoother the bananas, the more easily they blend into the batter and keep the whole loaf evenly moist. The bananas are ready when they are as thick as porridge with just a few pea-sized lumps here and there.

   Mark step 2 as done

3. Step 3

   Pour 115 g melted and slightly cooled unsalted butter into the bowl of bananas, add 150 g brown sugar, 100 g eggs and 5 g vanilla extract and stir with a whisk. The butter needs to cool a little, because butter that is too hot will scramble the eggs. The mixture is ready when the sugar has nearly dissolved and it is an even, slightly glossy golden brown.

   Mark step 3 as done

4. Step 4

   Sift 250 g all-purpose flour, 5 g baking soda, 3 g salt and 2 g ground cinnamon into the bowl, then fold up from the bottom with a flat spatula, mixing just enough. Overmixing develops the gluten, making the loaf tough with long tunnels inside. Stop as soon as no dry flour is visible; a slightly lumpy batter is completely normal.

   Mark step 4 as done

5. Step 5

   Break 60 g walnuts into small pieces, toast them in a dry skillet over low heat for about five minutes, then scatter them into the batter and fold a few times. Toasting brings out their nutty flavor and keeps them crunchy inside the moist crumb. The nuts are evenly distributed when every spoonful of batter has a few pieces of walnut.

   Low heat.

   Mark step 5 as done

6. Step 6

   Pour the batter into the pan, smooth the top and bake on the middle rack at 175°C for about 55 to 65 minutes. If the top is already dark after 40 minutes, lay a sheet of foil loosely over it so the inside can finish baking without the crust burning. The loaf is done when a long crack has opened down the middle of the top and a bamboo skewer inserted in the center comes out with just a few moist crumbs, not wet batter.

   Bake at 175°C for about 55 to 65 minutes.

   Mark step 6 as done

7. Step 7

   Let the loaf sit in the pan for about 15 minutes, then lift it out by the parchment handles and set it on a rack to cool completely before slicing. The crumb is very soft while hot, so it turns gummy and sticks to the knife if you cut it too soon. It is ready when the bottom no longer feels warm and the knife cuts clean, neat slices.

   Suggested time: about 15 minutes.

   Mark step 7 as done