Banana Bread by Cook's illustrated

Step 1

Position an oven rack in the lower-middle position and preheat the oven to 350°F (175°C).

Step 2

Butter the bottom and sides of a 9-by-5-by-3-inch loaf pan and then toss a little flour in the pan and tilt it to coat all the butter-slicked sides with a fine dusting of flour. Dump out the flour, tapping the pan to remove any excess.

Step 3

Toss the walnuts on a rimmed baking sheet and toast in the preheated oven until fragrant, 5 to 10 minutes. Immediately transfer the walnuts to a plate and let cool completely.

Step 4

In a large bowl, combine the flour, sugar, baking soda, salt, and walnuts.

Step 5

In a medium bowl, stir the mashed bananas, yogurt, eggs, butter, and vanilla.

Step 6

Lightly fold the mashed banana mixture into the dry ingredients with a rubber spatula, mixing just until combined. The batter should be thick and sorta chunky. Scrape the batter into the prepared loaf pan.

Step 7

Bake the bread until the surface appears golden brown and a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean, about 55 minutes.

Step 8

Cool the loaf in the pan on a wire rack for 5 minutes. Carefully tip the pan over so the loaf releases onto the wire rack and slice and serve the banana bread warm or let it cool completely, if you can stand the wait, and then devour. (The bread can be wrapped with plastic wrap and stored at room temperature for up to 3 days. It will have a rather crisp crust when consumed straight from the oven and a soft crust later that day or the next day.)