Mom's Banana Loaf
Submitted by MADDISON
Mom’s banana loaf bakes ripe bananas, butter, and eggs into a tender, simple quick bread. Eight-ingredient family recipe, makes one large loaf or three small.
YIELD
12 servingsPREP
10 minCOOK
55 minREADY
70 minMom’s banana loaf is the simplest, no-frills banana bread recipe, the kind that lives on an index card in someone’s grandmother’s recipe box. Eight ingredients, one bowl, and you’ve got a tender, fragrant loaf that hits every comfort note without any of the modern additions (yogurt, sour cream, brown butter, fancy spices) that complicate so many contemporary banana bread recipes.
Three ripe bananas is the right amount. The recipe calls them “medium," totaling one cup of mashed banana, which is the sweet spot for proper moisture without weighing the loaf down. Underripe bananas taste starchy and won’t deliver enough sweetness; fully blackened bananas can verge on overpowering.
The baking soda dissolved in hot water trick is the technique worth noting. Pre-dissolving the soda ensures it distributes evenly through the batter and activates quickly when it hits the acidic banana, providing extra lift in this otherwise lean recipe. Skip this and you can get pockets of unreacted soda that taste slightly bitter.
Mix just enough to combine after the flour goes in. Overworked banana bread batter develops gluten, turning the crumb tough and dense instead of tender. A few flour streaks are fine; they disappear in the oven.
The option for three small loaves instead of one large is the move for gift-giving. Smaller loaves bake faster (35-45 minutes) and stack neatly in baskets. Plus, three little gifts go further than one big one.
Serve warm with butter or sliced into thick pieces for toast.
Pro Tips
- Use very ripe bananas with brown speckles, the riper the sweeter
- Don’t open the oven during the first 30 minutes, temperature drops cause the center to sink
- Test with a toothpick from the deepest part of the loaf, the outside cooks faster than the middle
- Cool 10 minutes in the pan before turning out, longer steams the bottom soggy
Variations
- Stir in a half cup of chocolate chips, chopped walnuts, or raisins
- Add a teaspoon of cinnamon or vanilla extract for warmer flavor
- Sub a quarter of the flour with whole wheat flour for nuttier character
Ingredients
Directions
Preheat oven to 350℉ (180℃).
Grease and flour one 9-by-5-inch loaf pan or three 5-by-3-inch loaf pans.
In large mixer bowl, beat together butter and bananas until combined; beat in eggs, one at a time.
In medium bowl, stir together flour and sugar (and baking powder, if using).
Add to banana mixture.
Mix only to combine.
If using baking soda and hot water, add and combine.
Bake large loaf 45 to 55 minutes, smaller loaves 35 to 45 minutes.
Bread is done when toothpick inserted in center of loaf comes out clean.
Comments
Great banana loaf recipe I have made it numerous times and have passed on to friends. Thanks for sharing.........