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.
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.
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.
Thank you, for the simple recipe. I am going to use this one for my banana bread. :)
this recipe is somehow similar to the Banana cake that we have here in our country. wanna taste that one ♥
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.
ABSOLUTELY DELICIOUS! I just used 1/4 of sugar rather than 1/2 and it’s still scrumptious!!!
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
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! :)
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!
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 :)
I love your blog
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.