Banana bread is the perfect answer to those brown bananas sitting on your counter. You know the ones. Too spotty to eat, too good to throw away. This bread turns them into something wonderful.
I make this almost every other week. It is moist, sweet, and full of banana flavor, with a soft tender crumb. A warm slice with butter is one of my favorite simple pleasures. It also makes the whole house smell incredible.
Ingredients
- 3 very ripe bananas, mashed (about 1.5 cups)
- 1/2 cup unsalted butter, melted
- 3/4 cup granulated sugar
- 1/4 cup packed brown sugar
- 2 large eggs, room temperature
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 1.5 cups all-purpose flour
- 1 teaspoon baking soda
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
- 1/2 cup chopped walnuts (optional)
- 1/2 cup chocolate chips (optional)
Steps
1. Mash the bananas well
Peel the ripe bananas and put them in a large bowl. Mash them with a fork until mostly smooth. A few small lumps are fine and actually nice in the finished bread. The riper the bananas, the sweeter and more flavorful your bread will be. Black spots on the peel mean perfect banana bread bananas.
2. Mix the wet ingredients
Stir the melted butter into the mashed bananas. Then add the granulated sugar, brown sugar, eggs, and vanilla. Whisk everything together until smooth and well combined. The mixture should look creamy and smell amazing already. Make sure the butter is not too hot or it will cook the eggs.
3. Combine the dry ingredients
In a separate bowl, whisk together the flour, baking soda, salt, and cinnamon. Whisking spreads the baking soda evenly so the bread rises uniformly. No one wants a bite that tastes like baking soda. This takes less than a minute and saves the whole loaf.
4. Fold it all together
Pour the dry ingredients into the wet mixture. Fold gently with a spatula just until the flour disappears. Stop mixing as soon as you cannot see white streaks. Overmixing makes the bread dense and tough instead of soft and tender. Fold in the walnuts and chocolate chips now if you are using them.
5. Prepare the loaf pan
Grease a 9×5 inch loaf pan with butter or cooking spray. You can also line it with parchment paper for easy lifting. Pour the batter in and smooth the top with the spatula. Give the pan a gentle tap on the counter to release any big air bubbles trapped inside.
6. Bake until golden
Bake at 350 degrees for 55 to 65 minutes. The top should be deep golden brown and a toothpick inserted in the center should come out with just a few moist crumbs. If the top browns too fast, tent it loosely with foil for the last 15 minutes. Every oven is different, so start checking at 50 minutes.
7. Cool in the pan, then on a rack
Let the bread cool in the pan for 15 minutes. Then run a knife around the edges and turn it out onto a wire rack. Let it cool for at least 30 more minutes before slicing. Cutting too soon makes it crumble. I know the smell is tempting, but the wait gives you perfect clean slices.
8. Slice and enjoy
Cut the banana bread into thick slices with a serrated knife. Serve it plain, or warm a slice and spread it with butter. It is wonderful with a cup of coffee or tea in the morning. The center slices are the softest, in my opinion.
Tips
The key to moist banana bread is truly overripe bananas. If yours are not ready, bake them unpeeled at 300 degrees for 15 minutes until black. Wrap the cooled loaf tightly and it keeps at room temperature for 3 days, or freeze slices for up to 3 months.
Conclusion
Banana bread is proof that the best recipes come from not wasting good ingredients. Those sad brown bananas become the moistest, sweetest loaf you have ever tasted. This is the recipe I share with every friend who asks.
