St. John's Virgin Banana Bread - Best in the World!

Of all of the Banana breads in the world...you had to find your way to my house! I don't think that it would be an understatement to say that I have baked a thousand loaves of this bread. As all good cooks know, some of the best recipes come from church published cookbooks - featuring time-tested and tasted success stories. This one is an oldie from St. John's Ukrainian Orthodox Chuch in Johnson City, New York. My mother gifted me this book in 1976 and it has been much used to the delight of my family and friends.




I have altered the name of this recipe somewhat. Homage is paid to its origins as the St. John's name, but sans the walnuts called for in the recipe, thereby 'virgin' - unless of course you want nuts and then I call it "Adam" for obvious reasons! It is all in good humor! The contributor of this recipe in its original form is Ella Kosko. Unbeknownst to Ms. Kosko, she has brought a lot of happiness to the palates of many people with this banana bread!



St. John's Banana Bread



1/2 Cup butter or margarine



1 Cup of Sugar



2 Eggs



2 Cups of Flour



1 tsp. Baking Soda



1/2 tsp. Salt



3 large bananas - mashed



*** 1 Cup of Nuts



Cinnamon-sugar Mixture



Cream butter and sugar. Beat in eggs, one at a time. Mix in sifted dry ingredients. Beat in mashed bananas and add the nuts. Pour into a greased and floured 9 x 5 x 3 inch pan (loaf pan). Bake in preheated oven at 350 degrees for 50-60 minutes. Insert knitting needle to check for doneness. While bread is still warm, pour melted butter over top and sprinkle with cinnamon-sugar mixture.


As you can imagine, I have played with this recipe over the years and have added my own touches to it. I have really succeeded in perfecting it! Instead of butter or margarine, I use canola oil. I use two bananas instead of three, but my secret to moist and aromatic bread - is to let the bananas blacken until they begin to emit banana oil. They are disgusting looking...but worth it to be sure. Baking time varies depending upon the baking pan and the oven used. If the bread is not quite done, I simply pop it into the microwave for a minute or two and finish it off to perfection. I vary the sugars I use to sprinkle the buttered top with too. Experiment! Let me know your results and if you have any questions I will help you with those too!