Rose's Baking Basics

Banana Walnut Loaf

Makes One 8¼ by 4½ by 3¼ inch high loaf

Oven Temperature: 350°F/175°C

Baking Time: 5 minutes for the walnuts; 55 to 65 minutes for the bread

Plan Ahead: Allow the bananas to ripen for several days in a warm area until they are covered with black spots.

Baking Equipment: One 9 by 5 inch by 2¾ inch (8 cup) loaf pan, coated with baking spray with flour

This combination of bananas and walnuts, accented by lemon zest and mellowed by buttermilk, is my favorite banana bread. Be sure to use very ripe bananas for maximum sweetness and flavor. Using a food processor makes this a very quick quick bread but mixing by hand in a bowl with a fork to mash the bananas and a wooden spoon to mix the rest of the ingredients also works well.

unsalted butter	28 grams	2 tablespoons
2 large eggs	100 grams	⅓ cup plus 1 tablespoon (94 ml)
walnut halves	75 grams	¾ cup
lemon zest, finely grated	3 grams	1½ teaspoons, loosely packed
bleached all-purpose flour	225 grams	1¾ cups (lightly spooned into the cup and leveled off) plus 2 tablespoons
sugar	150 grams	¾ cup
baking soda	5.5 grams	1 teaspoon
fine sea salt	3 grams	½ teaspoon
pure vanilla extract	.	1 teaspoon (5 ml)
2 very ripe large bananas, about 340 grams/12 ounces before peeling	227 grams	1 cup mashed
low-fat buttermilk	60 grams	¼ cup (59 ml)

Preheat the Oven

▪ Twenty minutes or longer before toasting the walnuts, set an oven rack in the lower third of the oven. Set the oven at 350ºF/175ºC.

Mise en Place

▪ About 1 hour ahead, set the eggs on the counter at room temperature (65º to 75ºF/19º to 24ºC). Cut the butter into 4 pieces.

▪ Toast and chop the walnuts: Spread the walnuts evenly on a cookie sheet and bake for 5 minutes. Turn the walnuts onto a clean dish towel and roll and rub them around to loosen the skins. Discard any loose skins and let the nuts cool completely. Chop medium coarse.

▪ With dish washing liquid, wash the lemons. Rinse, dry, and zest them (see Citrus Zest).

▪ In a medium bowl, whisk together the flour, sugar, baking soda, and salt.

▪ Into a 1 cup measure with a spout, weigh or measure the eggs. Add the vanilla and lemon zest.

Make the Batter

1. In a food processor, process the bananas and butter until a coarse consistency. Add the buttermilk and pulse until incorporated. Then process until smooth, scraping the sides of the bowl as needed.

2. Add the egg mixture and pulse just until smoothly incorporated.

3. Add the flour mixture and pulse several times, just until no dry particles remain. Scrape the sides of the bowl.

4. Add the nuts and pulse about 5 times, just until mixed through.

5. Scrape the batter into the prepared pan. Smooth the surface with a spatula. It will fill the pan to about 1½ inches from the top.

Bake the Banana Bread

6. Bake for 55 to 65 minutes, or until a wooden skewer inserted into the center comes out clean. (The bread may shrink from the sides of the pan before this point, so judge by the skewer test.)

Cool the Banana Bread

7. Let the bread cool in the pan on a wire rack for 10 minutes. Run a small metal spatula between the sides of the pan and the bread, pressing firmly against the pan, and tilt the pan to slide out the bread onto the wire rack. Cool completely top side up.

Store Airtight: room temperature, 3 days; refrigerated, 1 week; frozen, 3 months.

Baking Pearls

The peel of a banana represents about one-third of its weight.

Baby bananas have the sweetest and most intense flavor. You will need about four 5 inch long bananas.

Toasting walnuts keeps them from discoloring during baking, helps to remove the bitter skin, and intensifies their flavor.

You can replace the buttermilk with an equal amount of whole milk plus 1 teaspoon lemon juice but the batter will be thinner and not distribute the nuts as evenly.

Make This Recipe Your Own

The nuts can be replaced with an equal amount of mini chocolate chips or chopped chocolate of your choice.

Making a Banana Walnut Loaf