My Favorite Banana Bread

Everyone’s got a banana bread recipe these days but this one is my favorite and the one I always come back to. It’s made with a ton of banana (why go light on the main ingredient?), isn't as cloyingly sweet as some other breads are, and has a few ingredients that make it a little different than your average banana bread recipe. The olive oil creates better texture than butter (butter makes things super light and fluffy which can be good, but just not in a banana bread - I don’t want pound cake thank you!) and has better flavor than alternative oils. It just helps round the bread out in a really subtle way.The yogurt also keeps the bread incredibly moist and the coconut is just delicious. Also, don’t skip the sprinkle of sugar on top at the end! This is what gives you a beautiful crunchy crust.Couple of additional notes:

• Any kind of yogurt will work here but if you don't have any, you can sub in buttermilk, sour cream, or even mascarpone
• For ease of use and so I always have banana bread ready bananas, I like to freeze my bananas in the skins ahead of time and then defrost in the microwave (1:30 on each side). This allows them to get exceptionally soft and moist and mashing them only takes a minute.
• If you have perfect bananas that are all ready to go, or you want bits of banana in your actual slices, then you should just mash them straight from the countertop - no need to freeze.

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Banana Bread

Makes 1 9 inch loafIngredients:

• 4 medium very ripe, mashed bananas (about 2 cups)
• 1 ⅔ cups flour 
• 2 tsp cinnamon 
• ¾ tsp kosher salt
• 1 tsp baking powder 
• 1 tsp baking soda
• 1/3 cup packed brown sugar
• 1/3 cup + 1 tsp white sugar
• 1/2 cup olive oil 
• 2 eggs 
• ¼ cup yogurt (any kind will work, but I like Greek)
• 2 tsp vanilla
• 6 tbsp shredded coconut, divided 

Method:

1. Preheat oven to 375 and grease a 9 x 5 loaf pan. 
2. In a medium bowl, sift together flour, cinnamon, salt, baking powder and baking soda (make sure baking soda especially is incorporated, if there are clumps they will be bitter when you bake).
3. In a large bowl, mix sugars and olive oil until well incorporated. Add eggs one at a time, beating well to blend completely after each addition until light and fluffy. You can use a mixer for this but you don’t have to. Add yogurt, vanilla, bananas and ¼ cup coconut and blend - it’s okay if there are banana lumps. Add flour in two batches and mix until just combined (try not to overmix as it will lead to a more rubbery texture). If adding nuts, add them at this point. Pour batter into the prepared loaf pan and top with remaining 2 tbsp coconut and 1 tsp white sugar. 
4. Bake, rotating the pan halfway through, until the top is dark and crackly and a toothpick comes out clean, about 55-60 minutes.