Banana Bread (Printer-friendly)
Moist banana loaf made with ripe bananas, butter, and cinnamon; optional walnuts or chocolate chips for an extra touch.
# What You Need:
→ Wet Ingredients
01 - 3 large overripe bananas, mashed (about 1¼ cups)
02 - 2 large eggs
03 - ½ cup unsalted butter, melted (or neutral oil)
04 - ½ cup granulated sugar
05 - ¼ cup light brown sugar, packed
06 - 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
→ Dry Ingredients
07 - 1¾ cups all-purpose flour
08 - 1 teaspoon baking soda
09 - ½ teaspoon salt
10 - ½ teaspoon ground cinnamon (optional)
→ Optional Add-ins
11 - ½ cup chopped walnuts or pecans
12 - ½ cup semi-sweet chocolate chips
# How to Make It:
01 - Preheat oven to 350°F. Grease a 9x5-inch loaf pan and line with parchment paper, leaving an overhang on the long sides for easy removal.
02 - In a large mixing bowl, whisk together the mashed bananas, eggs, melted butter, granulated sugar, brown sugar, and vanilla extract until smooth and well blended.
03 - In a separate medium bowl, whisk together the all-purpose flour, baking soda, salt, and ground cinnamon until evenly distributed.
04 - Pour the dry ingredient mixture into the wet ingredients. Using a spatula, gently fold until just combined — a few streaks of flour are fine. Do not overmix, as this will make the bread tough.
05 - If using, fold in the chopped walnuts or pecans and chocolate chips with a few gentle strokes.
06 - Pour the batter into the prepared loaf pan and smooth the top evenly with a spatula. Tap the pan once on the counter to release any air bubbles.
07 - Bake on the center rack for 50 to 60 minutes, rotating the pan halfway through, until the top is deep golden brown and a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean or with a few moist crumbs.
08 - Let the bread cool in the pan for 10 minutes, then use the parchment overhang to lift it out onto a wire rack. Cool completely before slicing into 8 even portions.
# Expert Tips:
01 -
- It turns something you were going to throw away into the best smelling thing your kitchen has ever produced.
- The recipe forgives almost everything: imperfect measurements, missing add-ins, even slightly underripe bananas will still give you something wonderful.
02 -
- Overmixing the batter once the flour is added creates tough dense bread so stop folding the moment the dry ingredients disappear.
- If the top is browning too fast around the 40 minute mark tent it loosely with aluminum foil and let it continue baking underneath.
03 -
- Let the melted butter cool slightly before adding it to the eggs so you do not accidentally cook them into little scrambled ribbons throughout your batter.
- Sprinkle a pinch of raw sugar on top of the batter just before baking for a crackly sweet crust that makes people ask what your secret is.