Madani’s Banana Bread

Ingredients:

• 3 or 4 black bananas (super ripe and peeled)
• 2 eggs
• ½ cup butter, melted (plus a couple of Tbs to coat bread pan)
• 1 ¾ cups all purpose flour
• 1 cup sugar (plus some extra for the bread pan and for dusting)
• ¼ cup dark rum
• ¼ cup molasses
• 1 tsp vanilla extract
• 1 tsp baking soda
• ½ tsp baking powder
• ½ cup chopped walnuts or chopped, pitted dates (optional)

Equipment:

• one large mixing bowl big enough to contain all the ingredients;
• one medium bowl for the dry ingredients;
• one glass (oven safe) or metal bread pan (size of an average loaf);
• a pastry brush (or your clean fingers).

Preheat your over to 375°F.

Prepare the bread pan by coating it with melted butter with the pastry brush (or your clean fingers), then by coating the butter in the pan with a dusting of sugar. This will help when you are going to want to remove the bread from the pan.

Combine the bananas and the eggs in the large mixing bowl. Mix in the melted butter, until you have a consistency resembling that of oatmeal.

Slowly add the sugar to the bananas, butter and eggs while mixing.

Mix in the rum, vanilla and molasses. You don’t have to get rid of all the dark molasses streaks.

In the medium bowl, combine the flour, baking soda and baking powder. Sift the flour mixture into another medium bowl if it appears lumpy.

Slowly add the flour to the large bowl containing the wet ingredients, while mixing. All the flour should become absorbed.

Add the optional walnuts and/or dates, mix until roughly incorporated.

Pour the mixture into the prepared bread pan, leaving about ½ to 1 inch of room for the bread to rise.

(Optional) Dust the top of the bread mixture with some sugar. This will create a crunchy glaze when the bread is baked.

Bake in the preheated oven for 45 to 60 minutes. Test with a wooden skewer inserted into the middle of the bread pan after about 40 minutes. When the skewer comes out clean, the bread is done. Let it cool in the pan on a counter top. When it is cool enough to handle with your bare hands, remove it from the pan and enjoy.