Egg

Basic Banana Bread

by:
March  4, 2021
4
2 Ratings
Basic Banana Bread
Photo by halfsweetsundays
  • Prep time 20 minutes
  • Cook time 1 hour
  • Serves 8
Author Notes

I won’t make any claims about this being *the best* banana recipe in the world; with the millions of search results on Google, I’d probably be lying if I did. Regardless, it’s the recipe I always come back to and the one that never fails to produce a delicious loaf. So while I can’t promise that this banana bread will change your life or anything, I CAN promise it’ll deliver in other ways: 1) big banana flavour (you’d be surprised at how many banana breads I’ve had that barely tasted like bananas); 2) a soft and tender crumb achieved without a ton of oil; and 3) you can make this right now — no waiting for butter to soften or eggs to come to room temp. So simple and yet so good! —halfsweetsundays

What You'll Need
Ingredients
  • 1/2 cup brown sugar, lightly packed (70g)
  • 1/4 cup granulated sugar (50g)
  • 1/4 cup vegetable oil (50g)
  • 1/3 cup plain yogurt (70g)
  • 2 eggs (~100g)
  • 1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract (2g)
  • 2 cups all purpose flour (250g)
  • 1 teaspoon baking soda (4g)
  • 1 teaspoon baking powder (4g)
  • 1/2 teaspoon kosher salt (4g)
  • 1/2 teaspoon cinnamon (3g)
  • 3 medium ripe bananas, mashed (380g peels removed) + 1 banana for topping (optional)
  • 2/3 cup toasted walnuts or pecans (80g) coarsely chopped (optional)
Directions
  1. Pre-heat oven to 350F/175C (325F/165C with convection). Lightly coat loaf pan with non-stick spray and line with parchment paper, leaving an overhang on both sides.
  2. Whisk together both sugars, vegetable oil, yogurt, and vanilla in a large bowl until thoroughly combined, then add eggs one at a time, beating to blend after each addition.
  3. Whisk together dry ingredients for batter in another bowl - flour, baking soda, baking powder, salt, and cinnamon.
  4. Add flour mixture to the wet ingredients and mix gently until just combined - be careful not to over-mix. Add in mashed bananas and chopped nuts (if using) and mix until just combined (again).
  5. Scrape batter into prepared loaf pan, using a spatula to evenly distribute so the batter is level. Slice remaining banana in half lengthwise and place on top of the batter cut-sides up. Transfer to oven and bake for 60-65 minutes, or until the loaf is golden brown and a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean. Let cool in the pan for 20 minutes, then use the parchment paper to lift the loaf out of the pan. Transfer to a wire rack to finish cooling (if you can wait that long), then slice and enjoy!
Tags:

See what other Food52ers are saying.

Popular on Food52

1 Review

Dwalsh4174
Dwalsh4174 August 31, 2022
Made this banana bread today, but can't say it's my favorite.. but maybe the taste will be better the day after. I made a double batch, and even though I had eight bananas (4 over ripe, and 4 frozen, thawed)... Still thought it was a little dry. I like a very moist banana bread, but can't say this is it.
Did toast the walnuts. And added a handful of miniature dark chocolate chips... But the actual bread consistency is not as moist as I thought it would be. I will pass on this recipe again.