Freshta's Take on Classic Banana Bread

Do your banana's look like this?

Equipment 

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Ingredients

• 2 medium sized (225g) ripe bananas
• ¼ cup (56g) vegetable oil (or any neutral oil)
• 1 cup + 2 tablespoons (225g) granulated sugar 
• 2 eggs, lightly beaten, room temperature
• ½ cup + 1 tablespoon (143ml) buttermilk *see note below for recipe*
• 1 ¾ cups (225g) all-purpose flour
• 2 teaspoons baking soda
• ¼ teaspoon salt
• 1 teaspoons cinnamon (optional) 
• ½ cup of chopped walnuts/chocolate chips (optional)

Directions

1. Preheat the oven to  350°F (177°C)
2. Grease and line loaf pan. Set aside
3. Whisk together the flour, baking soda, salt and cinnamon (if adding) in a medium bowl and set aside.
4. With a handheld or stand mixer fitted with a paddle attachment, mix together the bananas sugar and oil until well combined
5. Mix in the eggs until fully combined. Make sure to whisk them a little before adding as it makes it easier for them to combine
6. Pour in the buttermilk. Mix until combined
7. Add in the dry ingredients and mix until just combined. DO NOT OVERMIX
8. Fold in walnuts/chocolate chips if adding 
9. Pour batter into the prepared loaf pan. *See Note for getting a nice split on the top*
10. Bake for 50-60 minutes or until toothpick inserted in the middle comes out clean

Notes

• Egg: If egg is still cold, place in a bowl with warm water for about 10 minutes or until it reaches room temperature
• Buttermilk: If you don’t have any buttermilk on hand, no worry, you can always make it yourself at home! Pour ½ tablespoon of vinegar or lemon juice into a ½ cup milk of your choice. Let it sit for about 5 minutes (do this for your first step; it will be ready by the time you need to add it in!) 
• Bananas: If you are making everything by hand, mash the bananas before mixing it in with the oil and sugar to make it easier to combine
• Split on Top: To get that nice split down the middle of the banana bread, you’ll need a bench scraper and some oil. Once your batter is in the pan, take your bench scraper and lightly spray/grease a third of the way up and gently dip it into the middle of the batter going about halfway down. Remove the bench scraper, and bake as normal!
• Storing Banana Bread: 3-4 days at room temperature in an airtight container or 7-10 days in the refrigerator. To keep banana bread in the freezer wrap the loaf  in plastic wrap and foil (so it doesn’t get freezer burn) and store for up to 3 months