Banana Bread

This Banana Bread is one of my favorite old standby recipes! I always seem to have a few really ripe bananas at the end of the week and this is a terrific way to use them up. Some banana breads are kind of dry and crumbly (i've tried a lot of other recipes) but this recipe is super-moist and delicious, a delicious buttery undertone with nice rich banana flavor. Another great aspect of this bread is that it freezes perfectly and tastes just as good as the day you baked it! I will usually bake two loaves at a time, one to eat now and one to freeze for later. The recipe is really easy and forgiving. I have increased the amount of banana and increased or decreased the amount of sour cream, used walnuts, pecans or usually no nuts at all, depending on what i've had on hand. The bread always comes out tasty! There are a couple of things to remember when making quick breads of any kind. One is to not over beat your flour into the batter. Just combine it in quickly and leave it alone. This will give you a delicious delicate crumb and perfect texture. Over beating results in a tough, hard bread with a dense texture. The other tip is that after baking the bread for 30 minutes i pull it out of the oven and cover the top loosely with aluminum foil and then bake for the remaining 30 minutes. I've found that the aluminum foil keeps the top from getting too dark or burned while allowing the inside to get perfectly baked. To mix things up i sometimes add different spices and one of my favorites is a combination of spice from Penzeys called Cake Spice. Its a delicious blend of cinnamon, star anise, nutmeg, allspice, ginger and cloves that really warms up the banana bread and keeps people asking "what did you put in this??". If you are at all familiar with Penzeys Spices then you know how terrific they are! There is no Penzeys store anywhere near me but some friends of the family (Gayle and Chris) have a condo in Scottsdale Arizona that they visit every few months and low-and-behold there's a Penzeys Store right down the street and they so graciously bring me back delicious baking spices and vanilla extracts to try out! If you ever get a chance to shop at a Penzeys do so! They have delicious blends of spices and the most flavorful Double Strength Vanilla Extract! Enjoy!