Yields: 1 loaf

Prep: 30 min.

Total time: 2 hours, 25 min.

Ingredients:

🍌 1 3/4 cups all-purpose flour

🍌 1 tsp. Baking soda

🍌 1/2 tsp. Table salt

🍌 1/2 tsp. Ground cinnamon

🍌 3 very ripe bananas (about 1 lb.)

🍌 1tsp. Fresh lemon juice

🍌 1/2 cup unsalted butter, softened (1 stick)

🍌 1/2 cup granulated sugar

🍌 1/2 cup firmly packed light brown sugar

🍌 1/2 tsp. Vanilla extract

🍌 2 large eggs

🍌 1/4 cup buttermilk

Directions:

🍌 Preheat oven to 350°. Sift together first four ingredients in a large bowl.

🍌 Mash bananas with lemon juice in a small bowl. (You want a little texture- like semi lumpy mashed potatoes.)

🍌 Beat butter and next 3 ingredients at low speed with a heavy-duty electric stand mixer 1 minute or until combined.

🍌 Increase speed to medium, and beat 1 1/2 to 2 minutes or until light and fluffy.

🍌 Add eggs, 1 at a time, beating until blended after each addition, stopping to scrape bowl as needed.

🍌 Add flour mixture to butter mixture alternately with buttermilk, beginning and ending with flour mixture. Beat at low speed just until blended after each addition.

🍌 Add banana mixture, beating just until batter is blended (no more than 10 seconds).

🍌 Pour batter into well-buttered and floured 8- × 4-inch loaf pan, and place on baking sheet. Bake at 350° for 55 to 60 minutes or until a long wooden pick inserted to center comes out clean.

🍌 Cool in pan on wire rack 10 minutes. Remove from pan to wire rack, and cool 50 minutes.

🍌 Wrap in plastic wrap (it will still be warm- this helps the bread stay moist), and store at room temperature up to 4 days.