Pan de Platano Nayarita

Ingredients

Equipment Needed

• •9 by 5 inch metal loaf pan
• •Mixing bowls
• •Fork or machacador for mashing bananas
• •Rubber spatula
• •Cooling rack

Instructions

1. 1

   Prepare the pan

   Heat the oven to 350F. Grease a 9 by 5 inch loaf pan and line it with a strip of parchment so you can lift the bread out cleanly. If you are baking in a horno de lena, wait until the fire has burned down and the oven floor holds steady, gentle heat. Quick bread needs even heat, not a fierce bread oven.

2. 2

   Mash the bananas

   Peel the ripe platanos and mash them with a fork until mostly smooth, with a few soft lumps left. Do not use firm yellow bananas. The peel should be heavily spotted or nearly black, and the fruit should smell sweet before it touches the bowl. That ripeness is your moisture and your flavor.

3. 3

   Mix the dry ingredients

   In a medium bowl, whisk the harina de trigo, baking powder, baking soda, ground canela, and salt. Break up any lumps with your fingers. Baking powder and baking soda are the lift here. No yeast. No ferment. No masa madre. This is pan de platano, not birote, and birote is a sourdough, not a bolillo.

4. 4

   Dissolve the piloncillo

   In a large bowl, whisk the grated piloncillo with the oil until the sugar darkens and looks like wet sand. Add the eggs one at a time, whisking well after each. Stir in the milk, vanilla, and mashed banana. Piloncillo brings a darker, mineral sweetness than white sugar. That is why the loaf bakes up deep brown instead of pale.

5. 5

   Fold the batter

   Add the dry ingredients to the banana mixture and fold with a spatula just until no dry streaks remain. If using nuts, fold them in now. Do not beat the batter. Harina de trigo builds gluten when you bully it, and then the bread turns tough. A few small lumps are fine. A tough loaf is not.

6. 6

   Fill and top

   Scrape the batter into the prepared pan and smooth the top. Sprinkle with sesame seeds and a little granulated sugar if using. The sugar gives a thin crisp surface under your teeth, and the sesame belongs on many western Mexican breads. Keep it light. This is not a cake wearing too much jewelry.

7. 7

   Bake the loaf

   Bake for 55 to 65 minutes, until the top is dark golden brown, the center springs back lightly, and a toothpick inserted into the middle comes out with moist crumbs but no wet batter. If the top browns too fast, tent it loosely with foil after 40 minutes. The loaf should smell of banana, piloncillo, and canela before you even open the oven.

8. 8

   Cool before slicing

   Let the bread cool in the pan for 15 minutes, then lift it out and cool on a rack for at least 45 minutes before slicing. Hot quick bread crumbles if you rush it. Let the crumb set. Serve thick slices for merienda with cafe de olla. Recetas probadas y garantizadas.

Chef Tips

• •Buy bananas from the market when they are already freckled and soft. Ask the fruit vendor for platanos para pan, and she will usually point you to the ones nobody buying pretty fruit wants. Preguntale a las senoras del mercado.
• •Piloncillo matters here. White sugar makes a lighter loaf, but it does not give the same dark, caramel edge. A substitution is a compromise, not an upgrade.
• •Use neutral oil for the most practical Nayarit-style home loaf. Melted butter tastes richer, but the bread dries out faster. The coast taught cooks to choose what survives the next day.
• •Do not add chocolate chips. That is a bakery adaptation from somewhere else. If you want texture, use chopped pecans or walnuts and stop there.
• •This bread is better after resting overnight. Wrap it once completely cool and slice it the next day. The banana and piloncillo settle into the crumb.

Advance Preparation

• •Bake the loaf one day ahead, cool completely, and wrap tightly. The flavor deepens overnight and the crumb slices more cleanly.
• •The bread keeps at room temperature for 3 days, wrapped in cloth and then stored in a tin or covered container.
• •Slices can be frozen for up to 2 months. Rewarm on a comal or dry skillet until the edges toast lightly.

Frequently Asked Questions

Nutrition Information

1 serving (about 115g)