It’s November. Your financially irresponsible roommates have once again bought bananas that remained neglected on your counter for far too long. You are beyond tired of throwing out these bananas time after time – DO NOT! Those mushy, gooey bananas are the key to banana bread that will make for an easy breakfast and leave you wanting to actually get out of bed for your 8:00 A.M. over in West Bank. For the absolute best and easiest banana bread recipe on the University of Minnesota campus, simply follow the recipe below, you will want to thank me later.

Serving Size:

2 loaves – great for many people or one person

Banana Bread Ingredients:

2 cups granulated sugar

1 cup soft margarine

4-6 very ripe bananas, mashed

4 large eggs, well beaten

2 ½ cups of cake flour (see notes)

1 teaspoon salt

2 teaspoons baking soda

Optional: walnuts

Supplies:

2 9x5x3 bread pans

Conventional oven

Non-stick spray

Timer

Optional: toothpick(s)

Notes:

1 cup of cake flour = 1 cup of cake flour + 2 tablespoons regular flour

Instructions:

• Gather ingredients.
• Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
• In a large mixing bowl, cream 2 cups of sugar and 1 cup soft margarine with a whisk or electric mixer. Make sure to precisely measure ingredients in measuring cups and use a knife to put excess sugar back into the bag. A key component to baking is having exact measurements to ensure a proper balance.
• Once the sugar-margarine mixture is creamed, add in the bananas. If the bananas are not already mashed, do so now. For a more potent banana taste, leave in larger chunks and add in more bananas. Break 4 eggs in a separate bowl to avoid shells and pour into the mixture. Mix the ingredients.
• Add in the teaspoon of salt, 2 teaspoons of baking soda, and 2 ½ cups of cake flour. Be careful not to overmix as this will allow the bread to rise better during the baking process. Optional: fold walnuts into banana bread mixture if desired.
• After the mixture is complete, pour the batter into 2 greased and floured 9x5x3 loaf pans.
• Set pans in oven and bake bread for 55 minutes, or until toothpick tests dry in the center of loaf. Turn out immediately to cool on wire rack.

See, easy as pie, or uh, well, banana bread. This can easily be sliced, warmed up in the microwave, and eaten for days (with butter of course because it would simply be wrong not to do so). Your roommates will thank you as you have made the entire house smell delicious. Your stomach will thank you as you now have a delicious bread to snack on. Above all, your culinary skills and wallet will thank you as you avoided tossing bananas and letting produce go to waste. This easy banana bread recipe hits the spot at any time of day and can be used in both celebration or mourning during the stressful mid-term season upon us.