the merits of banana bread

my bff gave me a recipe for banana bread not too long ago. to be specific, it's for chocolate chip banana bread. i do love a good chip, but sometimes, untainted banana bread is a glorious experience.

the first loaf i made was for H's bday, and in accordance with the bday rule of "you get what you want; one day only," i did not include the chocolate chips (how fair is it that men dont like chocolate as much as women?). i dont think i fully understood what type of pan to use, cuz i just used what i consider to be the standard "banana bread/zucchini bread/soda bread" pan - that rectangle one that's about 4" deep. i put the batter into the pan, placed it gently into the preheated oven and set my timer for the alloted 45 minutes. tick tick tick... ding! it's not ready. in fact, it's rather jiggly. ohhhhkayyyy.... another 15 min: tick tick tick... ding! hmm, still not quite right - golden brown on the outside, but not yet springy. in this case, i can hear my mom's voice, "put tin foil over it or it will BURN!" so i do. 5 more minutes. tick tick tick... ding! yay! it's ready!

i didnt get to try the fruits of my labor but i hear that it was wolfed down with great intensity and thoroughly enjoyed. so i decided to make a loaf for me, and me alone. to hell with you carb counters!

while creaming the butter and sugar, i realize i'm out of vanilla extract. hmm... i do have vanilla syrup from Caribou. and i'm not putting chips in, so the extra sugar should only help, right? well, i take the risk. blended away, put it in the pan (this time i'm ready) and set the timer for 1 hour.

mind you, i decided to bake yesterday, when it was 90+ outside, and i only have a window a/c unit. not in the kitchen. i'm smart i tell you.

anyway, the bff came over and we chatted over some chilled white wine in the a/c room. "So you're making that bread, right? did you use the right pan? cuz i just put the batter into 2 rectangle pans and hoped for the best. it worked pretty well!" hmm... i screw up my face.
"what do you mean, the 'right pan'?"
"a pan like an angel food cake pan - you know, 10" tubular, like the recipe says"
"oh. well, no. i put it all in one rectangle pan. but i bake it for an hour and it turns out fine"
"huh."

tick tick tick... ding! out comes the bread, perfectly golden brown and HUGE. i guess i didnt think about that before, but the loaf is probably the biggest i've seen. it is domed and cracked appropriately, no oozing or falling as it cools.

so this morning i cut into it and take a buttered piece to work as breakfast. wow. FLUFFY banana bread! i've never experienced it before! the butter actually clings in the crevases... after each bite, the end springs back to life instead of clinging to itself. and yet, it's moist (heh heh, i said moist). Success!

so here's the recipe, if you're curious. just make sure you add about a tablespoon of vanilla syrup instead of extract. dont use chocolate chips. and use the wrong pan. and bake it for an hour. :o) yum!