The Great Banana Bread Adventure

 

I’m not going to ask if you’ve ever had one of those days because I already know the answer. We all have.

 Yesterday was mine.

 A few days ago, I bought bananas with every intention of using them in smoothies. Naturally, life intervened. By the time I remembered them, they were past smoothie stage but not quite ripe enough for banana bread, so I waited.

Yesterday, after returning home from getting my haircut that somehow left me looking suspiciously like Moe Howard, I discovered that the bananas had progressed from "perfectly ripe" to one step away from pudding. If banana bread was going to happen, it had to happen now.

I had a particular recipe in mind because it’s a good one, but the baking gods were clearly feeling mischievous.

 The recipe called for mace. No mace. Fortunately, mace is the lacy covering of nutmeg, so I substituted nutmeg and hoped for the best.

 Then I discovered I didn’t have enough light brown sugar. Nor did I have enough dark brown sugar. What I did have was a partial supply of both, so together they became one full measure. Problem solved.

 At this point I was already tired. It had been a long day, and I was looking for shortcuts wherever I could find them.

 The recipe suggested lining the loaf pan with parchment paper. Did I want to do that? No. Was it difficult? Also no. But tired people make strange decisions, so I reached for my trusty Baker’s Joy instead.

 

The can was empty.

 I’m not entirely sure why I put it away empty, but since I live alone, there’s nobody else to blame.

 Fine. I’d use Pam.

 The lid was on a little tight. I pulled harder than necessary and launched it across the kitchen. It ricocheted off the refrigerator, flew into the hallway, bounced once, and rolled neatly down the staircase.

 “I’ll get it later,” I muttered.

 Back to the bread.

 I pressed the spray nozzle.

 The nozzle immediately detached from the can, hit the floor, and rolled directly into Stanley’s food dish. He gave me the side eye and walked away.

 

I retrieved it, cleaned it thoroughly, and prepared to put it back on the can.

 Instead, I dropped it down the garbage disposal.

After fishing it out, I decided perhaps fate was trying to tell me something.

 So I finally did what I should have done in the first place: greased the pan and lined the bottom with parchment paper.

The banana bread eventually made it into the oven, and despite the obstacles, it was absolutely worth the trouble.

One final note: don’t skip toasting the pecans. I’ve made this bread both ways, and while it’s good either way, the toasted pecans add a depth of flavor and crunch that takes it from good to memorable.

 Sometimes the best recipes come with a story. This one certainly did. 

Brown Sugar Banana Bread

 2 c. flour

¾ c. light brown sugar

½ t. baking soda

½ t. fine sea salt

1 t. ground mace

½ t. cinnamon

1¼ c. pecans, toasted and chopped

1½ c. well-mashed ripe bananas (about 3 medium)

¼ c. sour cream

2 large eggs

6 T. unsalted butter, melted and cooled

1 t. vanilla

2 T. dark brown sugar 

Position a rack in the lower third of the oven and preheat oven to 350°F.

 Lightly grease a 9 x 5-inch loaf pan and line the bottom with parchment paper, or not, your choice (see above).

 In a large bowl, whisk together the flour, brown sugar, baking soda, salt, mace, cinnamon, and pecans.

 In a separate bowl, stir together the bananas, sour cream, eggs, melted butter, and vanilla.

 Fold the wet ingredients into the dry ingredients until just combined.

Spread the batter evenly in the prepared loaf pan.

Sprinkle the top with the dark brown sugar.

 Bake for 50–60 minutes, or until a tester inserted in the center comes out clean.

 Cool in the pan for 5–10 minutes before transferring to a wire rack to cool completely.

 

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