The Most Amazing Banana Bread Recipe
I absolutely love baking banana bread, for its ease, low cost, and the fact that it uses up all those deteriorating bananas in the fruit basket to make something delicious.
I’ve tried several different variations of the recipe over the years, but this is the best one I’ve come up with so far.
It’s a really beginner-friendly recipe, and the essential ingredients are cheap and likely already in your kitchen.
I’ve also included instructions for baking muffins further down if you prefer that instead of making a bread loaf.
At the very end is an explanation of why this particular recipe produces good results.
Without further ado, here is the recipe.
Overview:
Serving size: one loaf or 9 - 10 muffins.
Prep and cleanup time: Maybe 30 minutes if it’s your first time. Otherwise, less.
Cost: $5-7
Baking time: 1 hour+ for a bread loaf, 15-20 minutes for muffins.
Eating time: Up to you.
Ingredients (it’s good to check you have everything before you begin):
4 ripe bananas
¾ cup of brown sugar
2 room temperature eggs
1/3 to 1/2 cup of salted butter
1 ½ cups whole wheat or all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon vanilla extract (optional)
¼ cup chopped walnuts (optional)
Equipment:
Medium mixing bowl
Two small bowls
Large fork or spork for mashing bananas
Measuring cups and teaspoons
Oven
bread loaf pan/tin or muffin pan
Soft spatula for scraping out banana bread batter
Instructions:
Take your two eggs out of the fridge and put them in a separate bowl to allow them to warm up a bit.
Preheat your oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit. Set up the oven racks so one is in the middle.
Peel the ripe bananas and put them in the mixing bowl.
Squish the bananas with your fork until they are thoroughly mashed (some chunks are okay).
Measure out 1/3 cup butter and put it in a bowl. Chop up the butter in the bowl with a knife to speed the melting process. Microwave the bowl for 10-15 seconds to melt the butter.
Pour the melted butter into the mixing bowl with the mashed bananas.
Still got your two eggs? Warm them up a bit in your hands, then crack them open and add them to the mixing bowl.
Measure out 3/4 cup brown sugar and dump it into the mixing bowl.
If you plan to use vanilla extract then now’s a good time to add it to the bowl.
Thoroughly mix all the wet ingredients together in the mixing bowl.
Now, add the teaspoon of baking soda.
Add the 1 ½ cups of whole wheat or all-purpose flour
Mix it all together thoroughly until there are no bits of unmixed flour.
Oven Time(!):
Grease your bread loaf pan or muffin pan with some butter. You can sprinkle some flour on it too for extra non-stickiness.
Pour the batter into the pan.
Sprinkle the chopped walnuts on top of the banana bread batter
Put the pan/tin on the middle rack.
If you are baking a loaf, set a timer for one hour. Check on it at the 50-minute mark. It’s done when the top is golden/deep brown and an inserted knife comes out clean (no uncooked batter etc). If it needs more time leave it in for another 10 minutes. Repeat if necessary.
If you are baking muffins, check after 15 minutes. If they’re golden/deep brown on top they should be done, but you can do the knife test just in case. If they need more time, put them back for another 3-5 minutes.
When they’re done take them out of the oven and let the pan cool. Then take the bread and muffins out of the pan/tin to cool on a rack/plate.
Enjoy!
So, the key to this recipe, and why I think it tastes better than others out there, is the higher banana ratio, the brown sugar, the amount of flour and eggs, and the butter.
More bananas gives it a stronger taste and adds more natural sugars and flavours. The brown sugar gives it a deeper, caramel-like flavour.
The salted butter is always excellent. I’ve heard of recipes that use oil instead of butter but I’ve always considered that heresy.
This is one baking recipe where you can use whole wheat flour without impacting the taste. And it’s just better for you - more fibre and more vitamins.
The vanilla extract is optional because there are a lot of strong flavours in this banana bread. No doubt it adds an extra something, but the vanilla flavour gets a little drowned out. Plus, it’s expensive. But if you’d like to add it, by all means, please do!
It’s also nice if you can avoid over-baking it. Banana bread is pretty forgiving and its hard to ruin with a few minutes extra baking, but it’s always good to stop it at the perfect point. So, don’t be afraid to check on them a little before the appointed time.
