OK, I promised banana bread. First, as always,check out Alaska'a Golden Spoon. I have used that recipe ever since I got my starter from Lisa. No complaints at all.
But the Holly Tivoed an episode of "America's Test Kitchen" about banana bread. No url to the recipe here since their web site wants you to pay to join. If the show comes around, watch it. They made 3 changes to the typical banana bread recipe.
First: Instead of the normal 2 or 3 bananas they used 5 and heated them in the microwave to get lots of liquid out. Then they reduced the liquid to 1/4 cup and added it back to the bananas, mashed them up and used them in the recipe. This adds lots of extra banana flavor. A change I highly recommend and it doesn't require any other changes to the recipe/
Second: They sliced a banana and placed the slices on top of the batter in a line up each side of the pan (none in the middle). Well, it looks nice but doesn't really add anything. Didn't seem worth the effort and if you don't finish the loaf right away they slices start to absorb moisture.
Third: Before baking sprinkle some surgar (1/4 to 1/3 cup) over the top of the batter. This adds a nice little bt of crunch. Recommended but not required.
Bottom line: Follow Alaska's Golden Spoon recipe but use the America's Test Kitchen trick with the bananas.
