Super moist and super easy banana bread recipe.

I've used this recipe over a dozen times in the last two years and got the same result each time: delicious. My wife says it is one of my best recipes and if I have some made when visitors come over she encourages them to try it. The men always go "mmmmmm" and the women always want the recipe, which I ended up with after cooking three different banana bread recipes and reading dozens more. I've knocked out all of the non-essential steps found in those recipes and what I was left with was super-consistent and so easy a bachelor could do it.

4 very ripe bananas

1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour

1 cup sugar

1/4 cup unsalted butter(if you use salted butter leave out the salt)

1 teaspoon salt

1 teaspoon baking soda

1 egg

Optional Ingredients

pecans/walnuts

1 tsp vanilla

Prep time: 10 min

Cook time: 60-80 min(depends on size and ripeness of bananas) at 325°

First you will need to locate a 9x5x3 inch loaf pan. If you don't have one they are available at the dollar store. Grease the inside of the pan with cooking spray or spread cooking oil in it, then dust the inside with flour. This part is very important, if you do a lazy job of it your bread will tear apart when you try to get it out of the pan.

First off, bananas. Riper bananas make better bread, even if they are starting to bruise a little on the inside. This recipe is a great way to use bananas that are about to spoil.

Butter- Please try to use real butter. It's not really that expensive and the taste is much, much better than margarine. Melt it before adding by microwaving it for a few seconds.

Nuts and vanilla make the bread even better, but if you don't have them don't worry.

OK, are you ready for the fun part? Put all ingredients into a big bowl. That's right, don't sift the flower and salt and whatever together or break up the bananas with a fork or mix on speed 1 or any of that junk. Just put everything in a bowl. Now wash and dry your hands. See where this is going? If you absolutely must then put on food quality gloves, but remember that takes half the fun out of it. Now stick your hands in and get squishing! If you have children then be an adult and let them do this. The idea here is to mix everything together pretty well and to break the bananas up into a mush with tiny chunks. DO NOT MIX UNTIL SMOOTH. The tiny pieces of intact banana in the bread is what makes it great. Just make sure everything looks pretty consistent, then wring the excess off your hands and wash them. 

After you've washed up scrape the dough into your pre-seasoned pan. Once it's in shake it a little to level it out. Put it on the middle rack of your oven pre-heated to 325° close the oven and set a timer for 60 min. Go clean up your mess. When the timer goes off look in the oven. Sometimes the bread will be done at this point, it depends on the size and ripeness of the bananas. The longest I have ever had to cook this bread was just under an hour and a half, and i had used very large, very ripe bananas. With cake and muffins you check for doneness by inserting a toothpick in the center and seeing if it comes out clean, but with banana bread sometimes the toothpick never comes out clean. What I do is watch the middle of the bread. when it is brown I open the oven and feel that it's no longer too soft and sticky. Use my photos as an idea of how it will look when it's time to take it out, the one below was taken seconds after it came out of the oven.

Now you need to let it cool. I know you want to eat it but if you don't let it cool off if will break even if you are using a well greased pan. When it is cool place your hand on top of it and flip it, then gently shake it until it falls out. This may take a minute, or it might drop into your hand immediately. If this doesn't work you will need to gently pry it out. If you and any companions don't eat it all at once put into a big ziplock bag. This not only keeps it fresh, but it actually makes it better! See, all that time in the oven made the crust dry and hard, but inside the bag the breads moisture will soften the crust after a few hours. I know you will enjoy this bread. If you come up with any successful variations in the future please let me know!