Banana Bread
Quick answer
- Total time
- 75 min
- Level
- Easy
- Servings
- 1 serving
- Ingredients
- 8
About this dish
With baking soda doing the lifting, the batter goes into the pan as soon as it is mixed, with no rise to wait for.
Read more
Three mashed bananas supply most of the moisture and sweetness, with melted butter and an egg making the crumb dense and tender. Baking it a day ahead costs nothing: the banana flavor gets stronger overnight and the loaf stays moist once cool. Walnuts or chocolate chips can be folded in for texture.
Ingredients
Instructions
- 1
Preheat the oven to 175°C and line a 9x5-inch loaf pan with parchment paper, letting it overhang on both long sides.
The overhang acts as handles for easy removal after baking.
- 2
Mash 3 very ripe bananas with dark-spotted peels completely using a fork.
Add 75g melted butter, 3/4 cup sugar, 1 egg, and 1 teaspoon vanilla extract and stir until evenly combined.
- 3
Whisk together 1.5 cups flour, 1 teaspoon baking soda, and 1/4 teaspoon salt in a separate bowl.
Sift before adding to avoid lumps. Overmixing after combining with wet ingredients develops gluten and results in a tough loaf.
- 4
Add the dry ingredients to the banana mixture and fold gently with a rubber spatula, stopping as soon as the flour disappears.
The batter should look lumpy. Stirring more than 15 times risks a dense, rubbery texture.
- 5
Pour the batter into the prepared pan and smooth the top.
Bake at 175°C for 50 to 60 minutes. The bread is done when a skewer inserted in the center comes out clean and the surface is deep brown with a natural split. Cool in the pan for 15 minutes before removing.
- 6
Remove the banana bread from the pan using the parchment handles and let it cool completely on a rack before slicing.
Cutting while warm causes the interior to tear rather than slice cleanly. Allow at least 30 minutes.
Use-up ingredient planner
Turn these ingredients into two more meals
The overlap excludes basic seasonings. Open the next recipe and your selected dishes will stay with you.
Chocolate Chip Cookies
All-purpose flour, Butter
Earl Grey Banana Bread
Ripe banana, All-purpose flour
Churros
All-purpose flour, Butter
Tips
Variations
Banana Walnut Bread
Sweet ripe banana and crunchy walnuts come together in a tender loaf. Each bite has a mellow sweetness with a nutty finish.
Blueberry Banana Bread
Ripe banana batter and blueberries create a fruity, moist loaf with fresh aroma. Bursts of berry tartness balance the natural sweetness.