Banana Walnut Bread

Preheat the oven to 175°C and grease a loaf pan or line with parchment.

Roughly chop 70g walnuts and toast them in a dry pan for 2 to 3 minutes until fragrant, which deepens their nutty flavor in the finished bread.

Mash 300g fully overripe bananas with peels completely blackened into a smooth puree using a fork, then mix in 2 eggs until evenly combined. The blacker the peel, the sweeter and more intensely flavored the puree.

Melt 80g unsalted butter, let it cool slightly, then stir into the banana mixture along with 90g sugar.

Mix until smooth and well combined to form the wet base.

Sift together 180g flour, 1 teaspoon baking soda, 0.5 teaspoon cinnamon, and 1/4 teaspoon salt directly into the wet mixture.

Fold gently with a rubber spatula, stopping as soon as the flour is no longer visible.

Fold the toasted walnuts into the batter and stir until evenly distributed, then pour into the prepared pan and smooth the surface.

Bake at 175°C for 48 to 50 minutes until a skewer comes out clean and the surface is browned with a natural crack down the center.

Cool in the pan for 10 minutes, then remove and cool completely before slicing for a moist, clean cut.