Ma's Banana Bread

I love getting a peek into what stylish people are making in their kitchens--fashion people are typically meticulous, gracious hosts, and that includes the food and drinks they serve at dinners and parties. So when I heard that the girls from Of a Kind had put together a little cookbook filled with recipes from all the designers they work with on their awesome site, I was very excited to get an advance look at it and experiment with the recipes.

I made Corinne Grassini's (of Society for Rational Dress) banana bread, a recipe her mother would frequently make her while she was growing up, and it was excellent--soft and moist and dead simple, just like a homemade loaf should be. I loved that the bread emerges from the oven with a substantial crust, crunchy and sugary, and then gives way to a bread that is lighter and a bit airier than the dark brown variety of banana bread you see around a lot. I made a few additions and tweaks, as I'm always apt to do (including the addition of buttermilk, which only had a few more days in my fridge before I would have had to chuck it), but the recipe here is hers at it's (delicious) core.

You can receive the entire cookbook yourself by signing up for the Of a Kind newsletter HERE. xo

Ma's Banana Bread
Adapted from Of a Kind Cookbook
Ingredients:
1 3/4 cups flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/4 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 cup butter
1 cup sugar
2 large eggs, beaten
3 medium bananas, mashed
4 tablespoons buttermilk
Pinch of kosher salt
3/4 cup chocolate chips (optional)

Directions:
Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Combine all dry ingredients in a large mixing bowl. Combine all wet ingredients in a medium mixing bowl. Pour the wet ingredients into the dry ones and stir to combine. Butter a 9-inch loaf pan. Pour in the mix. Bake about 1 hour, until golden brown.