baking/recipes/sweets

Best Banana Bread Recipe

Posted March 14, 2013 by Stephanie

I’m a purist when it comes to banana bread: no nuts, no chocolate, no dried banana chips. I like my banana bread to taste like bananas. I love how something magical happens when bananas are baked; the sugars caramelize and intensify, making the bananas taste even more banana-y.

banana-bread-7

I’m always tempted to have a slice of banana bread when I go out for coffee, but I rarely give in because I usually end up disappointed. Too often store bought banana breads are too oily, too dry, or too bland.

The cure, of course, is homemade banana bread. I’m forever trying out new recipes in search of the one. To me, the ultimate banana bread needs to be moist, tender and filled with banana-iness.

banana-bread-3

This Bon Appetit recipe yielded a dark, moist, chewy loaf. There was plenty of banana flavour, but I just don’t think it’s the one for me. I like my loaves with a more mounded, domed top. I’m not give up my quest just yet, but in the meantime, I’m going to add this recipe to my tasty list.

i am moist, i am banana-y: i am banana bread!

Best Banana Bread Recipe from bonappetit.com
makes 1 mini loaf

  • nonstick vegetable oil spray
  • 1/2 cup plus 1 1/2 tablespoons all-purpose flour
  • 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
  • 1/8 teaspoon salt
  • 1 large egg
  • 1/2 cups sugar
  • 1 mashed ripe banana
  • 1/4 cup vegetable oil

Preheat oven to 350°F. Coat a mini loaf pan (5 3/4 x 3 1/4-inch) with nonstick spray. Whisk flour, baking soda, and salt in a medium bowl. Whisk eggs, sugar, bananas, and oil in a large bowl until smooth. Add dry ingredients to banana mixture and stir just until combined. Scrape batter into prepared pan and smooth top.

Bake until a tester inserted into the center of bread comes out clean, 40-50 minutes. Transfer to a wire rack; let bread cool in pan for 15 minutes. Run a knife around inside of pan to release the bread. Turn out onto rack and let cool completely. DO AHEAD: Banana bread can be made 3 days ahead. Store airtight at room temperature.

**I used 3 tiny, tiny loaf pans instead of the mini loaf pan listed above.

banana-bread-22

42 Comments

  1. Kristen says:

    simply lovely!

  2. Dhruv Talwar says:

    wow steph! another amazing recipe :)

    I swear if you were my age, i’d have flown down and married you :P

    Anyway, I’m really glad you started updating your blog again.

    Love from India!

    PS: Damn I wish it were easier to get ingredients here…

  3. Danielle says:

    Give smitten kitchens “jacked-up banana bread” a try. It’s my go to recipe, never fails to impress.

  4. LOVE LOVE LOVE BANANA BREAD!

  5. Banana bread is a firm favourite of mine- I can’t wait to try out this version!

  6. Sue says:

    The Flour bakery banana bread recipe from Joanna Chang is my favorite. You may want to give it a try.

  7. I jut had it and it was awesome! Thank you for sharing!

  8. Kelven says:

    Like you I love my banana bread as well. Can’t wait to try this out :D

  9. w. says:

    I went on a slightly manic search for the perfect banana bread recipe last year, and while I hesitate to call mine “perfect” (when is a recipe ever?), I’m pretty happy with it right now. :) just omit the nuts and it should hopefully hit the spot!

    http://dubdew.com/2012/07/24/bananarama/

  10. Ames says:

    They look so cute! I love a good banana bread so will be sure to try this out :)

  11. Mmmm, I love banana bread, yours looks delicious!

  12. Megan says:

    good
    food

  13. sembra buonissimo! adoro questa ricetta.

  14. Miguel Garcia says:

    IT IS HEAVEN

  15. linda8471 says:

    好美味的食品!香蕉面包我很喜欢的甜品!44

  16. Neha says:

    Sweet with Banana,Very Nice

  17. This is a yummy banana bread for sure.

  18. Aj says:

    America’s test kitchen’s “Ultimate Banana Bread” is knock your socks off good. Plus they habve a ton of tips to ensure the perfect loaf.

    http://www.americastestkitchen.com/recipes/detail.php?docid=25349

  19. Jon says:

    Love banana bread , I often take old banana,s from the pantry that looks destine for the bin and turn it into bread but will give ur recipe a try thanks ,

  20. very nice, I love it,

  21. Fish Store says:

    Thanks for the information, yummy is look so delicious, I like to eat that banana bread first, which is my favorite.

  22. Georgia says:

    Gosh that looks gorgeous! I agree, banana bread is best unadulterated, although sometimes I think a few raisins can’t go amiss. Lovely blog!

    http://thepescetarianpantry.blogspot.co.uk

  23. Sal says:

    This is the first time I’ve seen a banana bread recipe with 1 banana. Normally they call anywhere from 3-5 bananas. There was enough banana-ness, you said? Interesting.

    This is the one that I normally use:
    http://www.simplyrecipes.com/recipes/banana_bread/

    And it has the dome that you’re looking for. ;-)

  24. bini rai says:

    Great! I will surely try this at home.

  25. santoshk91 says:

    Really nice recipe! I will make it at home…Thanks for the lovely dish.

  26. Nicole says:

    I love the flour bakery recipe! It’s my new favorite.

  27. Sumon Ahmed says:

    Awesome food blog. I am really happy to see the Best Banana Recipe in the nice Food Blog.
    Thanks for sharing.

  28. Guido says:

    Wonderful! It look so delicious, i knew banana bread in england and now i love it!

  29. I love your blog! I recently discovered it and will surely follow your posts. This banana bread recipe looks delicious :D Can’t wait to try it myself.

  30. Bhawani says:

    Hi,

    I cook Banna Bread the way you cooked.It won’t be too oily too?

  31. Thank you, for the simple recipe. I am going to use this one for my banana bread. :)

  32. amber asoque says:

    this recipe is somehow similar to the Banana cake that we have here in our country. wanna taste that one ♥

  33. Lisa says:

    My absolute go to favorite recipe is from the Flour Bakery cookbook by Joanna Chang. So good every time and it always gets compliments. I also freeze my super ripe bananas and I’ve noticed that brings out the banana-y flavor.

  34. Victoria Doan says:

    ABSOLUTELY DELICIOUS! I just used 1/4 of sugar rather than 1/2 and it’s still scrumptious!!!

  35. Maira Sarwar says:

    Hi Steph,

    I am definitely going to try this recipe for banana bread! I usually don’t make it from scratch and instead use the box recipe. However, I find that after the banana bread is booked, it’s too oily or doesn’t taste right. I also find it hard to tell if it is cooked properly and because of this I often burn the edges or the bottom! I hope your recipe works for me! Thank you!

    – Maira Sarwar

  36. olive says:

    i’m not a frequent baker, but when i do, i always try out different recipes with good reviews.
    this is a very simple recipe that outputs a flavorful and moist banana bread that my family loves.
    the difference was that i used bread flour instead of all purpose, and reduced the sugar down to 1/4 cup with double portion everything else to suit our low sugar preference.
    thanks for sharing! :)

  37. RB says:

    Tried this yesterday. Turned out brilliant. Everyone loved it. Have been ordered to make more today! Thanks a lot for sharing the recipe.

    Also, can I substitute a banana for any other fruit? Strawberry, Blueberry, Mango, etc? Will be interesting how those breads turn out. Banana bread no doubt is a classic.. its just that it turned out so well when I made it yesterday that I can’t help but think of the other possibilities!

  38. Lucy says:

    Banana bread is my favourite. Give this Nigella Lawson recipe a go if you want banana bread perfection.

    175 grams plain flour
    2 teaspoons baking powder
    ½ teaspoon bicarbonate of soda
    ½ teaspoon salt
    125 grams unsalted butter (melted)
    150 grams caster sugar
    2 large eggs
    4 small very ripe bananas (mashed)
    1 teaspoon vanilla extract

    Glaze with icing sugar :)

  39. Rheza says:

    I love your blog

  40. marie says:

    I too searched for many years for the optimal banana bread recipe. At my company, my director of human resources took lovely care of us each day. Every once in a while, we would begin to detect a distinct harbinger of our favorite treat as the incredible aroma of Lynda’s banana bread began to fill to office. She shared the recipe with us all. This recipe has definitely turned into my go to recipe. I often leave out the nuts and I have also found that if I do not have blackened ripe bananas, I merely need to put the yellow ones into the oven at about 200 for about 30 minutes. They turn black, soften and produce a liquid that adds to the moisture of the bread – I think it might even be better when I take this approach.

    Ingredients:

    ¾cup coarsely chopped walnuts (3 ounces)
    1 ¼ cups unbleached all-purpose flour
    1 teaspoon baking soda
    ½ teaspoon cinnamon
    ½ teaspoon salt
    1 cup sugar
    2 large eggs
    ½ cup canola oil
    3 medium overripe bananas, mashed (1 ¼ cups)
    1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract

    Instructions:
    1. Preheat the oven to 350°. Coat a 9-by-5-inch loaf pan with cooking spray. Spread the walnuts in a pie pan and toast in the oven for 5 to 8 minutes, or until fragrant; let cool.
    2. In a medium bowl, whisk the flour with the baking soda, cinnamon and salt. In another bowl, combine the sugar, eggs and oil and beat at high speed until light-colored and creamy. Add the mashed bananas and vanilla and beat until smooth. Stir in the dry ingredients until thoroughly blended. Fold in the nuts.
    3. Pour the batter into the prepared pan and bake in the middle of the oven for 50 to 60 minutes, or until the top is springy and a cake tester inserted in the center comes out clean. Let the loaf cool in the pan for 10 minutes before turning it out onto a rack to cool completely.

  41. Grace says:

    Your banana bread recipe has become my GO TO tummy pleaser for the past year. How many banana breads did I make? LOTS heh-heh.

  42. Ashley Jones says:

    this sounds absolutley delicious, great for leftovers probably! thanks for giving the different twists so I can try a different one each time.

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

$(function(){ var trigger = $('.hamburger'), overlay = $('.overlay'), isClosed = false; trigger.click(function () { hamburger_cross(); }); function hamburger_cross() { if (isClosed == true) { overlay.hide(); trigger.removeClass('is-open'); trigger.addClass('is-closed'); isClosed = false; } else { overlay.show(); trigger.removeClass('is-closed'); trigger.addClass('is-open'); isClosed = true; } } $('[data-toggle="offcanvas"]').click(function () { $('#wrapper').toggleClass('toggled'); }); bindBehavior.subscribe(); });