Brown Butter Banana Walnut Bread

Steps

1. Preheat the oven to 350°F (175°C). Brush a 9x5-inch loaf pan with the canola oil and line the bottom with parchment.
2. Spread the walnuts on a small baking sheet and toast in the oven for 7 to 8 minutes until fragrant; let them cool.
3. Melt the butter in a small saucepan over medium heat, swirling, until it foams and turns golden brown with a nutty smell, 4 to 5 minutes. Pour it into a large bowl and cool for 10 minutes.
4. In a medium bowl, whisk together the flour, baking soda, cinnamon and salt. This is the dry mixture.
5. Into the bowl of browned butter, whisk the brown sugar, then the egg, the vanilla, the buttermilk and the mashed banana until smooth. This is the wet mixture.
6. Add the dry mixture to the wet mixture and fold gently with a spatula until just a few streaks of flour remain.
7. Fold in all the toasted walnuts until evenly spread and no dry flour remains; do not overmix.
8. Scrape the batter into the prepared pan, smooth the top and sprinkle the granulated sugar evenly over it for a crackly crust.
9. Bake 55 to 65 minutes, until the top is deep golden and a toothpick in the center comes out clean. Tent loosely with foil after 40 minutes if it browns too fast.
10. Cool in the pan for 15 minutes, then turn out onto a rack and cool completely, about 1 hour, before cutting into 12 slices.