Sweet Banana Bread

Back when I began to learn how to cook, this recipe for banana bread was one of my first successful attempts at a custom-made recipe that was easy to make and deliciously sweet. This banana bread can be enjoyed as a desert eaten alongside ice cream, as breakfast to start your day right, or simply a snack to enjoy. Another advantage of banana bread is that it allows anyone to add additional ingredients such as nuts freely to the batter.

Warning: When handling with ingredients and utensils, remember to practice sanitary practices in the kitchen. Use clean utensils, wash your hands when handling food, and keep the area you are working in clean.

Ingredients:

• 1 cup granulated sugar
• 8 tablespoons of unsalted butter at room temperature
• 2 eggs
• 2 to 3 bananas
• 1 tablespoon of milk
• 1 teaspoon of cinnamon
• 2 cups of all-purpose flour
• 1 teaspoon of baking powder
• 1 teaspoon of baking soda
• 1 teaspoon of salt
• Additional chocolate chips, nuts, or other small foods you might want to add.

Kitchen Utensils and Tools

• 4 mixing bowls
• Spatula or kitchen scrapper
• Whisk or electric mixer
• Fork or spoon
• 1.5 liter dish or 9 x 5 x 3 inch loaf pan
• Rack
• Oven mitts

Make sure you have ample space and all surfaces are clean in the kitchen. Preheat the oven to 325 degrees Fahrenheit. As you wait for the oven to preheat, begin making the batter by creaming the sugar and butter in a large mixing bowl. Use a whisk or electric mixer to mix them until they become light and fluffy.

Crack the eggs into the second bowl, then whisk them thoroughly until the mixture is yellow. Then, pour the eggs bit by bit into the creamed sugar and butter, mixing it after each small amount is added. The reason why small amounts of egg must be added at a time is to avoid removing the fluffy substance of the sugar and butter. The mixture should take on a slightly more yellow color.

It is time to mash the bananas. Make sure to use ripe bananas so that they are sweeter and easier to mash. Bananas with an average brown coloration work best (There is an example in the picture in the Supplies section ). Peel the bananas, then mash them in the third bowl with a fork or spoon until they are a paste identical to the one in the picture of this step.

Add milk and cinnamon to the banana paste, then mix them so that they appear as a dark brown paste identical to the one in the picture of this step.

In the fourth bowl, mix the flour, baking soda, baking powder, and salt together

Add the banana mixture to the creamed butter and sugar mixture and mix them together thoroughly. Then, add the flour mix and stir until it is fully mixed and the flour is no longer visible.

You can add additional ingredients into the batter or atop it. If you would like to add smaller foods such as chocolate chips or nuts to the bread, pour these into the batter and mix them in. The batter in the picture above contains about a half cup of chocalate chips. If you would like nuts atop the bread, see Step 8.

Pour the batter into the dish or pan, using the spatula to scrape any small amount of batter into the bowl. Wait for the batter to settle or spread it evenly with the spatula. If you would like, layer any nuts atop the batter. Then, put the pan or dish into the oven and bake for between 1 hour to 1 hour 10 minutes.

Take the pan out of the oven with the oven mitts. See if bread is thoroughly baked by sticking a toothpick through the top, then withdraw it. If the toothpick comes out clean of batter, the bread is done baking. Let the bread cool for 15 minutes.

Remove the bread from the pan by inverting it onto a rack. Use the spatula to gently separate the bread from the pan walls if bread sticks to it. Return the bread to its original position after it is out of the pan, then let it finish cooling.