Banana Bread

An easy and delicious banana bread recipe that does not skimp on banana flavor. It is tender, moist, packed with bananas, and has a rich, buttery flavor. I feel like this could easily be Julia Child’s banana bread.

Julia Child said “with enough butter, anything is good”. Butter adds flavor, depth and structure to baked goods. It’s hard to beat the flavor and imposters like margarine fall short.

I can taste the difference in a quick bread that uses oil instead of butter but truthfully, oil creates a much moister, and less dense quick bread. But butter has flavor that oil can not beat.

This recipe combines both butter and oil for deliciously moist banana bread. I think it is how Julia Child would have solved the issue of a dense, all-butter banana bread. Not that there is anything wrong with more butter, but we are going for a light, tender, moist banana bread. Similar in texture to our Copycat Starbucks Banana Bread recipe.

Oil is what gives it that super moist texture. Make sure you use a neutral oil to let the butter and banana flavors stand out. However, if you want to add some complexity to the bread, you can use a light olive oil.

If you do want to use olive oil then it will change the flavor quite a bit. If you decide to do that, make sure you use a light olive oil or it can be too overpowering. I like light Spanish olive oil for most baked goods, it has more fruity notes than Italian or Greek olive oils which tend to have herbal, grassy notes to them.

Use ripe bananas

There are a lot of bananas in this banana bread and more is not always better as bananas add fiber which can create a tougher texture so the key here is to be extra gentle when mixing your ingredients (see my baking tip below).

Make sure you use pretty ripe bananas. They should have plenty of black speckles on them. The riper the bananas are, the better this recipe will turn out.

You might also like our maple spelt banana bread or our blueberry banana bread.

Baking Tip: The Muffin Method

This banana bread recipe uses a two-bowl mixing method called the muffin method. The muffin method is commonly used for pancakes, waffles, quick breads and of course muffins. It is easy, fast and creates a delightfully moist and tender texture that holds together well.

Although this method is easy, if you over-mix the batter it can create a tough texture. The key to success is to only mix the batter until the dry ingredients are moist and just barely combined. You want to see some lumps which will dissipate once it is baked.

Start by combining all the dry ingredients in one bowl. Whisk or sift them together to get them evenly combined (you don’t want to bite into a “pocket” of baking soda).

Next, stir together the liquid ingredients in a separate bowl then pour the liquids into the flour mixture and fold them together with a wide spoon or spatula.

You should only use a few strokes to prevent over-mixing. It is good to have a lumpy batter.
Do not use an electric mixer with this method. An electric mixer will over-work the batter and develop the gluten which will result in a tough texture.

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Banana Bread

An easy and delicious banana bread recipe that does not skimp on banana flavor. It is tender, moist, packed with bananas and easily the best banana bread I have made.

4.90 from 37 votes

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Prep Time: 15 minutes minutes

Cook Time: 1 hour hour 5 minutes minutes

Total Time: 1 hour hour 20 minutes minutes

Servings: 1 loaf

Calories: 200kcal

Author: Dahn Boquist

Ingredients

Dry Ingredients

• 2 cups all-­purpose flour 240 grams
• 1 teaspoon cinnamon
• ½ teaspoon nutmeg
• 1 teaspoon baking powder
• 1 teaspoon baking soda
• ¾ teaspoon salt

Wet Ingredients

• ½ cup brown sugar (100 grams)
• ½ cup granulated sugar (100 grams)
• ¼ cup butter melted (55 grams)
• ¼ cup vegetable oil (50 grams)
• 2 large eggs
• 2 cups mashed ripe banana (about 3 to 4 bananas)
• ¼ cup sour cream (60 grams)
• 2 teaspoons vanilla extract

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Instructions

• Preheat the oven to 350° and grease a 9­ by­5 ­inch loaf pan.
• In a large bowl, whisk the dry ingredients together
• In a medium bowl, whisk the wet ingredients together. Use a large spatula to gently fold the dry mixture into the wet ingredients until they are just combined.
• Pour the batter into the prepared loaf pan and bake for 55 to 65 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean. Let the banana bread cool in the pan for 20 minutes, then remove it from the pan and cool completely on a wire rack.

Notes

• This banana bread recipe uses a two-bowl mixing method called the muffin method. The muffin method is commonly used for pancakes, waffles, quick breads and of course muffins. It is easy, fast and creates a delightfully moist and tender texture that holds together well.
• Although this method is easy, if you over-mix the batter it can create a tough texture. The key to success is to only mix the batter until the dry ingredients are moist and just barely combined. You want to see some lumps which will dissipate once it is baked.
•  Do not use an electric mixer with this method. An electric mixer will over-work the batter and develop the gluten which will result in a tough texture.

Nutrition

Serving: 1slice | Calories: 200kcal | Carbohydrates: 30g | Protein: 3g | Fat: 8g | Saturated Fat: 3g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 4g | Cholesterol: 34mg | Sodium: 259mg | Fiber: 1g | Sugar: 15g

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