Banana Banana Bread

I've had a few bananas sitting on the counter, staring back at me.  They are black and squishy.  I've been putting off dealing with them, but it's decision time.  Bake with them or throw them away.  Luckily, Banana Bread happens to be one of Mike's favorite things. And after the weekend we had, he needs some!

Saturday morning Mike went bicycle riding on a trail with Kyle. The front wheel came off Mike's bike, threw him, and then flipped on top of him. Mike ended up with a broken left hand (he's a lefty too) and 3 fractures along his orbital socket. Oi!  Our week has been spent in and our of Urgent Care, the ER and doctor's offices.  There are more visits to come and this bread with make him smile, which makes me smile.

It seems like I've always had a little trouble with my Banana Bread.  Along the top of the loaf I would get a gooey clump of undercooked banana batter.  The top of the loaf would rise in the oven and then fall as the loaf cooled.  It drove me crazy.  I started trying every recipe I could find to make a better bread.  I found it.  Thank you All Recipes!  If you don't know about this site, check it out.  There are tons of great recipes and they all have ratings.  You can also read reviews to find out what other people who made the recipe did to tweak it and improve on things. 

So without further ado...Mike's favorite Banana Bread.

Banana Banana Bread
From AllRecipes.com - Submitted by Shelley Albeluhn

Ingredients:
2 cups all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup butter
3/4 cup grown sugar
2 eggs, beaten
3-4 overripe bananas, mashed

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.  Lightly grease a 9" x 5" loaf pan.
2. In a small bowl, combine flour, baking soda and salt.  In a large bowl, cream together butter and brown sugar.  Stir in eggs and mashed bananas until well blended.  Stir flour mixture into banana mixture (in 2 additions); stir until just moistened.  Pour batter into prepared loaf pan.
3. Bake for 60 to 65 minutes, until a toothpick inserted into the cented of the loaf comes of clean.  Let bread cool in pan for 10 minutes, then turn out onto a wire rack.