Melissa’s Banana Bread – the best banana bread!
I love banana bread. I’ve tried all sorts of recipes and have concluded that finding a great banana bread is hard to do. Sometimes they are too sweet and often they don’t pack a bold banana flavor. I lost my favorite banana bread recipe years ago and I’ve been looking for another one ever since.
Melissa’s Banana Bread is the best I’ve ever eaten. Sometimes the memory of a really great meal is not just the flavor of the food but is colored by where you were and the people you were with. You’ve had that experience of trying a recipe for the second time because it was so good the first time (and the meal or party was really fun) and it just didn’t taste the same, haven’t you?
The first time I had Melissa’s Banana Bread was aboard the 28’ Beneteau, Booty-Ful, in the Harvest Moon Regatta. This annual race is from Galveston to Port Aransas and takes about 24 hours to complete. We hit the start line perfectly at 2pm. Tom, the captain, put Booty-Ful on a broad reach about a mile off the Texas coast. Just after dark the wind picked up unexpectedly so we sailed into the evening with eight foot waves crashing over the boat. Booty-Ful held her course but with the tossing and crashing of the waves, no one wanted the dinner I had prepared. Instead, we dined on Melissa’s Banana Bread because it was a perfect balance of sweet banana while being easy on the stomach. See the Harvest Moon Regatta – the Voyage of the Booty-Ful for more.
I asked for the recipe, made it, and found that it was as good as I remembered, even without the saltwater and the excitement. I tried making the recipe three ways: according to Melissa’s recipe, adding a few tablespoons of banana liquor and with fried plantains. The recipe really did not need the extras. Melissa’s Banana Bread is perfect just as is.
Tip: Grill or toast it for breakfast.
Melissa’s Banana Bread – the Best Banana Bread Ever
Ingredients:
2 ½ c all purpose flour
1 tsp salt – I use Morton’s Kosher salt
2 tsp baking powder
1 c coconut oil
1¾ c sugar
2 c bananas, very ripe, mashed – about 6
4 eggs, slightly beaten
1 c chopped pecans, coarsely chopped
Utensils:
2 medium loaf pans, measuring cups, measuring spoons, one small bowl, two medium bowls, a fork, a wooden spoon, and a toothpick or skewer.
Method:
Preheat oven to 350F.
Grease and flour two medium loaf pans.
Mash the bananas with your fork in the small bowl. Beat the eggs together in a medium bowl just until the white and yolks are blended. Stir in the coconut oil, sugar, mashed bananas and pecans. Mix all the remaining dry ingredients together in a bowl with a spoon. Add the dry ingredients to the wet ingredients and stir until the batter is just blended.
Pour the batter into the prepared loaf pans and bake for
55-60 minutes. Insert the skewer into the loaf. If the skewer comes out clean, your banana bread is done.
Allow the bread to cool in the pan for 5 minutes then turn the bread out onto a cooling rack and allow to cool completely.