Banana Bread is the Comfort Food We Need Now

According to Google Trends, Banana bread has been the most googled recipe since March 1. It makes sense because, in times of stress and insecurity, people want comfort food. And simple, old-fashioned banana bread is the comfort food we crave right now.

Banana bread is an easy quick bread that even novice bakers can bake successfully. Just be sure bananas are ripe and soft. They’ll have black speckles when fully ripe. This makes the most moist and most intensely flavored banana bread.

Another comfort food to bake right now: Peanut Butter Cookies.

Banana Bread Tips

If your bananas are still firm, put them in an enclosed paper bag to trap the ethylene gas that is emitted naturally from the banana, to hasten the ripening process. You can add an apple, which will give off more ethylene gas.

If your bananas are ripe but you don’t have time to bake–or are still hunting for a source for flour–freeze the bananas in their skins. Defrost and peel before baking.

Kids tend not to like nuts, so you can just eliminate them if you’re baking for the grandkids. Also, if little ones refuse to try banana bread, my son got his on board by simply calling it banana “cake.” Branding magic. (Works for corn “cake,” too.)

This is a recipe I have used for more than 30 years, and remains a favorite.

My Favorite Banana Bread

½ cup vegetable oil
1 cup sugar
2 large eggs, beaten
3 ripe bananas, mashed
2 cups all-purpose flour
2 tablespoons ground golden flax seed (optional)
1 teaspoon baking soda
½ teaspoon baking powder
½ teaspoon salt
1/4 cup milk (3 tablespoons if not using flax seed)
¼ teaspoon vanilla extract
½ cup coarsely chopped walnuts

Heat oven to 350 degrees F.

In a large bowl, combine oil and sugar and mix together. Add eggs and bananas and mix well. In a medium bowl, combine flour, flax seed, baking soda, baking powder, and salt; whisk thoroughly.

Add dry ingredients, milk and vanilla to the banana mixture and mix just until blended. Stir in nuts. Pour into a well-greased and floured 9- by 5-inch loaf pan.

Bake about 1 hour or until a toothpick or skewer inserted into the middle of the loaf comes out clean. Cool before slicing.

Adapted from The Woman’s Day Encyclopedia of Cooking.