Banana Bread
Quick answer
- Total time
- 75 min
- Level
- Easy
- Servings
- 1 servings
- Ingredients
- 8
About this dish
Banana bread is a quick bread leavened with baking soda rather than yeast, which means no rising time and a straightforward one-bowl process.
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The most important variable is the banana: heavily blackened, overripe fruit is essential because the starches have converted to sugar, the flesh mashes effortlessly, and the concentrated banana aroma permeates every part of the crumb. Melted butter adds richness without creaming, a single egg provides structure, and vanilla extract amplifies the banana's fragrance. The batter mixes in one bowl and goes directly into the oven at 170 degrees Celsius for roughly sixty minutes. A toothpick inserted into the center should come out clean. The bread is good warm from the oven, but the flavor is measurably deeper the following day as banana sugars continue to penetrate the interior. Walnuts or chocolate chips folded into the batter add textural contrast without changing the essential character of the loaf.
Ingredients
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Instructions
Read the steps as a cooking flow: prep, heat, seasoning, doneness control, and finish.
- 1Step
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.
- 2Season
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.
- 3Season
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.
- 4Prep
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.
- 5Heat
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.
- 6Prep
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.
Practical Cooking Checks
The cues that matter most while cooking.
- Key technique
- Banana Bread results in a dense, moist loaf by utilizing blackened fruit for deep sugars.
- Finish cue
- The bread is done when a skewer inserted in the center comes out clean and the surface is deep brown with a natural split.
- Avoid this
- Do not overmix or the loaf can turn dense and tough.
- Storage and reheating
- Remove the banana bread from the pan using the parchment handles and let it cool completely on a rack before slicing.
Cooking decision evidence
Calculated Charim data and applicable official cooking and food safety guidance.
This recipe
75min, 8 ingredients
Category median
55min, 8 ingredients
Based on 248 recipes
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Tips
Estimated nutrition (per serving)
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.