Nana’s Banana Bread

It’s a time-honored truth. Grandma’s recipes are the best! Made-from-scratch, fresh, and warm from the kitchen - this simple recipe returns a moist, very dense bread full of real banana flavor. The top and sides are caramelized slightly to form a pleasant, sweet crust. We love this bread best when it’s toasted with a smear of butter. Makes 2 larger loaves, or 4 mini loaves, or one extra-large loaf and two minis.

Ingredients:
1 cup butter (2 sticks), softened
2 cups sugar
6 very ripe bananas
1/2 cup sour cream
4 eggs, room temperature
2 teaspoons baking soda
4 cups flour

Directions:
1. PREPARE PANS AND OVEN – Preheat the oven to 350°F. Prepare baking pans by lightly greasing the interior sides of the baking pans. If desired, also line the pans with parchment paper for an absolutely flawless removal from the pan.
2. MIX BUTTER AND SUGAR – With a hand or stand mixer, cream the butter and sugar together in a large bowl. Beat for 3 minutes until the mixture becomes a little fluy and slightly lighter in color.
3. MASH BANANAS – Using very ripe bananas, mash until fairly smooth in a separate bowl. If bananas are not totally ripe and easily mashed, puree with a food mill, or food processor.
4. ADD SOUR CREAM TO BANANAS – Add the sour cream to the banana puree, and mix until smooth and uniform. The sour cream will help to keep the bananas from over-browning during the mixing process.
5. BEAT EGGS, ADD TO BANANAS – With a whisk, break the eggs and beat slightly until uniform, but not foamy. Add to the banana-sour cream mixture, and stir. Add the banana, sour cream, and egg mixture to the creamed butter.
6. MIX DRY INGREDIENTS – In a large, separate bowl, mix the baking soda and flour together well so that the baking soda is evenly distributed throughout the flour.
7. ADD THE DRY INGREDIENTS TO THE WET INGREDIENTS – With broad strokes, mix the flour mixture into the banana mixture.
8. BATTER INTO PANS – Pour or spoon the batter into the prepared pans. The batter will be thick. Fill the pans about three-quarters full; this is a dense bread and will rise only slightly.
9. BAKE IN A MODERATE OVEN – Bake in a moderate oven (350°F) for 75-85 minutes. Check after one hour, if the tops are browning too quickly, tent the baking pans with a sheet of aluminum foil.
10. TEST FOR DONENESS – Check for doneness with a cake tester, or a long bamboo skewer. Insert the tester into the middle of the pan. If it comes out with batter on it, bake longer and check in another 7 minutes; if it comes out cleanly, it’s done.
11. COOL – Cool the loaves in their pans for about 10 minutes, but no longer. Remove from pans and continue to cool the loaves on a cooling rack. Once cool enough to handle, slice, and enjoy