Friday, September 27, 2013

Banana Bread

A bread variety made with ripe bananas and nuts.

Banana bread is perfect for a quick breakfast, as a light snack, or even as a low-calorie dessert.It is a very easy recipe to use the over-ripened bananas which are not very pleasing to eat as is. The nuts, add the extra crunchiness and makes the bread very interesting. 





Serves 4

Prep Time : 20 minutes
Cook Time : 30 minutes

Ingredients
  • All purpose flour - 1 cup ( Self-rising flour could be used instead )
  • Baking soda - 1/2 teaspoon ( Skip this if you are using self-rising flour )
  • Unsalted Butter - 1/4 cup
  • Sugar - 1/4 cup 
  • Eggs - 1
  • Bananas - 1 cup ,mashed overripe
  • Vanilla essence - 1/4 teaspoon
  • Nuts ( walnuts/almonds ) - 1/2 cup ,chopped 
  • Pinch of salt
  • Oil to grease the pan.
Note : I used a 5 x 3 Inch mini loaf pan/muffin tray. The measurements are suited for a mini-loaf rather than a full loaf

Steps followed :

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.  Prepare the pan for baking by lightly greasing all the sides of the pan with oil.

In a large bowl, take the sieved flour. Add baking soda and salt to it and mix it lightly. If you are using self-rising flour, skip adding the baking powder.

In a separate bowl, cream together butter and sugar. Add the egg to it and stir it well, until the mixture is fluffy.Next, add the mashed bananas and vanilla essence and blend it well.
    Gently, stir in the banana mixture into flour mixture. See to it that no lumps are formed.Add the chopped nuts.Stir lightly, just to moisten till you get a uniform smooth batter.

    Pour the batter into greased loaf pan.Bake in the preheated oven for 25-30 minutes. You can see the crust turning golden. Insert a knife/tooth pick in the centre to check if the bread is baked enough. If the tooth pick comes out clean, it means its done. 

    Remove the banana bread from the oven. Let it cool for 10-15 minutes. 

    Invert it on a plate from the loaf pan once it is cooled. Slice it up as you like. Banana Bread is ready to be served.