I have to say, I think bananas are probably my favorite fruit. They are delicious no matter what you do to them. You can fry them, you can put them with ice cream, you can add them into salads, you can eat them frozen (and dipped in chocolate), you can blend them into a milkshake (possibly my favorite method of consumption), and you can bake them into delicious, delicious bread (my second favorite method of consumption). It takes little to no skill to make a banana milkshake: banana (preferably frozen) + milk + vanilla + blender = YUMMY. But bread takes a little more finesse.

Lucky for me, my mother makes an amazing banana bread. I asked her for her recipe and she promptly emailed it to me, at which point I realized there were a bunch of weird things in it. Ground oats. Ground flaxseed. Things I didn't have handy. Which was why, after some deliberations (and apologies to Mom, who promises to provide the ground oats I still need for her recipe, and when I get them expect a compare-and-contrast!), I turned to my favorite baking website Orangette for her take on things.

I didn't follow the recipe exactly. She had a topping which I found unnecessary -- why would you take any focus away from those incredibly delicious bananas?! -- and I am partial to a banana bread that is tastes strongly of bananas, but which isn't overly sweet (let's just say my sweet tooth is limited), so I eliminated her use of honey, an extra source of sweetness for her bread. The result was moist, rich, banana-y, and delicious...

Banana Bread adapted from Orangette

1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1 cup sugar
1 tsp. ground cinnamon
1 tsp. baking soda
1/2 tsp. salt
1 cup mashed ripe banana (about 3 medium bananas)
2 large eggs
1/2 cup vegetable oil
1/4 cup water

Preheat your oven to 350 F. Either grease a 9 x 5 inch pan well with butter and dust with flour, or spray very, very lightly with cooking spray and line with parchment paper. I used parchment, because it makes it much easier to get the bread out of the pan when you're done -- just lift by the top of the paper, then peel it away.

In a medium-sized bowl combine your flour, baking soda, sugar, cinnamon and salt and stir together. Mush up your three bananas (no food processor necessary, but make sure they're well-mushed), then combine them with the eggs, oil, and water in a larger bowl. Pour the dry ingredients into the wet ingredients and combine well. Pour the batter into the pan, and bake for about an hour, until a toothpick (or a chopstick, which is all I had handy) stuck into the center of the loaf comes out clean.

Allow to cool at least a little bit before eating it. Mine was absolutely fantastic. (If you notice, there's one and a half slices in that picture. That's because it was impossible for me to take a 2-second picture without eating half the slice as I focused my camera). I smooth a nice thick layer of cream cheese over my slices, and I recommend you do, too. If you are partial to a sweeter banana bread, see Orangette's recipe.

One note: Frozen bananas are banana bread's godsend. Got a couple extras no one seems to want to eat before they go over-ripe? Toss 'em in the freezer, save 'em for banana bread. It takes about an hour to two hours to thaw in your sink, and if they seem weird or watery don't sweat it. There is absolutely zero effect on the texture or taste of your bread; they are as good as fresh bananas.