How to Make The Best Banana Bread

Today we want to share with you a special post:

The Best Banana Bread

Use these ripe bananas in the best banana bread recipe. Moist and delicious, it's easy to prepare – just one bowl, no mixer required!

This banana bread has been the most popular recipe on for over 10 years. Thousands of people do it every day. Because?

Because this really is the best banana bread recipe, period. You can mix everything in a bowl, you can vary the amount of sugar or bananas. And the secret of its good taste? Melted butter.

The beauty of this banana bread recipe is that you don't need a fancy mixer! All you need is a mixing bowl, a fork for beating the eggs, and a sturdy spoon for mixing the batter. The amount of sugar is flexible. The original recipe called for a cup of white sugar, but most people, including me, are fine with 3/4 cup, and many are fine with 1/2 cup.

If you want, you can add a cup of chopped nuts, raisins, or chocolate chips, or scoop the batter into muffin tins and make banana pecan muffins instead. You can even take it a step further and make chocolate banana bread.

NOTE: A blender is not needed for this recipe! Cleaning is also easy. If you want, you can mix everything in a bowl.
This recipe calls for an 8 x 4 inch loaf pan. If baking in an 8 1/2 x 4 1/2 inch pan, bake for 47-57 minutes. If baking in a 9 x 5 inch pan, bake for 45-55 minutes. Keep in mind that the larger pan size will produce flatter bread.

The best bananas to use in banana bread are those that are overripe. The yellow skins should be at least medium brown, and the plantains inside should be soft and golden.

Ingredients

2 to 3 medium (7" to 7-7/8" long) very ripe bananas, peeled (about 1 1/4 to 1 1/2 cups mashed)
1/3 cup (76g) butter, unsalted or salted, melted
1/2 teaspoon baking soda (not baking powder)
1 pinch salt
3/4 cup (150g) sugar (1/2 cup if you would like it less sweet, 1 cup if more sweet)
1 large egg, beaten
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 1/2 cups (205g) all-purpose flour

Method

Preheat the oven and prepare the pan:
Preheat the oven to 350°F (175°C), and butter an 8 x 4-inch loaf pan.

Mash the bananas and add the butter:

In a mixing bowl, mash the ripe bananas with a fork until completely smooth. Stir the melted butter into the mashed bananas.

Mix in the baking soda and salt. Stir in the sugar, beaten egg, and vanilla extract. Mix in the flour.

Pour the batter into your prepared loaf pan.

Bake for 55 to 65 minutes at 350°F (175°C), or until a toothpick or wooden skewer inserted into the center comes out clean. A few dry crumbs are okay; streaks of wet batter are not. If the outside of the loaf is browned but the center is still wet, loosely tent the loaf with foil and continue baking until the loaf is fully baked.

Cool and serve:

Remove from oven and let cool in the pan for a few minutes. Then remove the banana bread from the pan and let cool completely before serving. Slice and serve. (A bread knife helps to make slices that aren't crumbly.)

Wrapped well, the banana bread will keep at room temperature for 4 days. For longer storage, refrigerate the loaf up to 5 days, or freeze it.

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