Real Banana Bread

This is the first thing I think of when my bananas start getting speckly. Mom used to make it when I was a kid. It's based on a recipe in an old edition of the Fannie Farmer cookbook, though if I remember correctly, the recipe in newer editions is different.

This isn't a banana cake, moist and dense and buttery, as many "banana breads" are. This one contains no butter or oil, its texture is similar to Boston brown bread, and it's only moderately sweet. I like it best toasted and spread with cream cheese.

Real Banana Bread

3 ripe or overripe bananas
2 eggs
2 cups flour
3/4 cup sugar
1 teaspoon baking soda (so says the recipe; I used 1-1/4 teaspoons of baking powder)
1 teaspoon kosher salt
(optional: 1/2 cup chopped walnuts or pecans)

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. In a medium or large bowl, mash the bananas with a potato masher or a fork (lumps are okay). Add the eggs and whisk well. Add the dry ingredients and stir until combined, adding a bit of water if necessary (my batter was too thick to stir at first, but a tablespoon of water fixed it right up). Stir in nuts, if you like. Spread in a greased loaf pan and bake for one hour.

That's it! One of these days I'll try making it with semisweet chocolate chips, like my godmother does with her banana bread (though hers is much sweeter than this one).

This would be a nice thing to whip up if you have company coming for breakfast or weekend houseguests: it takes about five minutes to put together and an hour to bake, and is actually better the next day.

I'm having it for dinner.