Banana Cream Pie

Put sugar, flour, and salt into a medium saucepan over medium heat. Gradually whisk in milk, about 1⁄2 cup at a time, and cook, whisking constantly, until mixture is thick and comes to a boil, about 50 minutes. Boil for 1 minute, then remove pan from heat. Whisk 1⁄3 cup of the milk mixture into the egg yolks in a small bowl, then whisk milk–egg mixture into milk mixture in saucepan. Cook custard, whisking constantly, until very thick, about 5 minutes. Remove pan from heat and whisk in butter and vanilla. Transfer custard to a large bowl, cover surface of custard with plastic wrap to prevent a skin from forming, and set aside to let cool.

Preheat oven to 400°. Roll dough out on a lightly floured surface into an 11" round, then ease into a 9" pie pan. Refrigerate for 30 minutes. Prick bottom and sides of crust with a fork. Line with parchment paper, fill with pie weights or dried beans, and bake until edges of crust begin to color, about 15 minutes. Let cool for 2–3 minutes, then remove weights and paper. Return crust to oven to let bake for 5 minutes more. Let crust cool completely.

Peel bananas and thinly slice. Line pie shell with half of the bananas, then spread custard evenly over bananas. Arrange remaining bananas over custard. Cover surface of pie with plastic wrap and refrigerate pie until custard is set, about 2 hours.

Whip cream in a large bowl until soft peaks form. Top pie with whipped cream and garnish with a few peeled banana slices, if you like.