Banana Bread

JK loves bananas but never ends up being able to eat the whole bunch before it goes bad. As a result, we have a whole slew of black bananas in our freezer--making this sweet breakfast bread an easy treat any day! 

This makes one 9 x 5 x 3 loaf or two 8 1/2 x 4 1/2 x 2 1/2 pans.

1 1/4 c sugar
1/2 c butter, softened
2 eggs
3-4 very ripe bananas, mashed
1/2 c buttermilk
vanilla
2 1/2 c flour
1 tsp. baking soda
1 tsp. salt
1 c chopped nuts or chocolate chips

First things first...Side notes:

I've been making this recipe so often that I have several shortcuts and hacks involved. They are as follows (listen up because these tricks will help you on other baking ventures as well!)

• You can also use this recipe to make banana bread muffins. Follow the same recipe and baking temp, but leave them in there for around 20 min instead.
• When bananas start to blacken, throw them in the freezer! You don't even have to put them in bags, I just toss them in inside their peels. When you're ready for banana bread, let the frozen bananas sit out for a few hours, then you can slide them right out of their peels and their in a perfect sugary, mashed, bread-ready state! (Jk hates this part. He says it grosses him out too much.)
• You can make a cup of buttermilk by using 1 tbs of white vinegar and adding enough milk to fill up 1 cup. (for this recipe, just use half of each)
• I always use baking soda instead of powder or mixing the two. Probably because I have gargantuous amounts of it... Anyways, 1/3 of the about of baking soda = baking powder, just fyi.
• It calls for nuts or chocolate chips. You don't really need either or you can customize it even further. Lately we've been eating Blueberry Banana Bread (just add blueberries) or Chocolate-Walnut Banana Bread with Coconut flakes yum!
• Bread freezes super well, so if you want to toss an extra loaf or half your muffins in the freezer for a week or so, feel free! 

Now onto the recipe!

Heat oven to 350°F and lightly grease the bottoms of your loaf pan(s).

Mix sugar and butter in a large bowl. Stir in eggs, and then add bananas, buttermilk and vanilla. Beat until smooth. Stir in your dry ingredients. And add the nuts and/or chocolate chips last.

Pour into pan(s) and bake for 1hr to 1 hr 15 min depending on the size of your loaf/loaves or until a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean. Let it cool before slicing, and store at room temperature for up to 4 days or in the refrigerator for up to 10 days.