Recipe Corner: Banana Bread

I made my own adaptation of Saveur's Mom's Banana Bread recipe and, to absolutely toot my own horn, I think it's even better! I like that there are various substitutions available in case you don't have the recommended ingredients on hand, and I reduced the amount of sugar just because I could.

Ingredients
Butter (or PAM), for greasing pan
1/2 cup unbleached all-purpose flour
1/2 cup whole wheat flour
3/4 tsp baking soda
1/4 tsp kosher salt
1/2 cup sugar
1/4 cup canola oil
1/4 cup extra-virgin olive oil
1/3 cup buttermilk
1 tsp vanilla extract
1 egg
2 large very ripe bananas, mashed
optional add-ins: chocolate chips, pecans, walnuts, dried cherries or cranberries, orange zest, turbinado sugar (for sprinkling on top)

Recommended substitutions

• flour - 1 cup unbleached all-purpose flour (omitting the whole-wheat flour)
• oil - 1/2 cup canola, olive, vegetable oil, etc. or any combo of oils so long as you have 1/2 cup (note: olive and coconut oils add their own distinctive flavors so keep that in mind)
• buttermilk - 1/3 cup plain or vanilla yogurt (I've tried regular yogurt and Greek yogurt and was happy with both results)
• vanilla extract - Disaronno (amaretto)

Directions

Heat over to 350˚ F. Grease a standard loaf pan and dust with flour. 

Whisk the flour, baking soda, and salt in a large bowl. 

In a medium bowl combine the sugar, oil, buttermilk (or yogurt), vanilla, and egg and whisk until smooth. Pour wet ingredients over dry ingredients and stir until just combined. Add mashed bananas (and other optional add-ins) and stir in gently. Pour batter into prepared pan and bake until golden brown and a toothpick inserted in middle of load comes out clean,  55-65 minutes. Let cool for 30 minutes before slicing and serving. 

UPDATE: After making this recipe a ridiculous number of times, I noticed that the mashed bananas seemed to settle in the middle of the batter instead of being distributed throughout, which meant that section became a little soggy.  I've since started adding an additional quarter cup of flour and this makes the batter thicker, helping the banana stay distributed.  Yay!