Moist Banana Bread

Before you start

Banana bread is a quick bread: a simple batter of mashed banana, butter or oil, sugar, eggs and flour, raised with baking soda rather than yeast. Its flavor and moisture come almost entirely from the bananas, so use ones with skins that are heavily speckled or fully brown. As bananas ripen, starch turns into sugar and the fruit softens, giving a sweeter, more aromatic loaf that stays moist for days.

This recipe uses about 340 g of mashed banana, melted butter for flavor and a little yogurt for tenderness. Mix gently and stop as soon as the flour disappears; vigorous mixing develops gluten and creates tough tunnels. The loaf takes about an hour, and the center is the last part to cook, so check it with a skewer or thermometer rather than trusting the crust.

Ingredients

• 3 large (about 340 g peeled) very ripe bananas — heavily speckled or brown
• 115 g (½ cup) unsalted butter — melted and slightly cooled
• 150 g (¾ cup packed) light brown sugar
• 2 large eggs — room temperature
• 60 g (¼ cup) plain whole-milk yogurt or sour cream
• 1 tsp vanilla extract
• 210 g (1¾ cups, spooned and leveled) all-purpose flour
• 1 tsp baking soda
• ½ tsp fine salt
• ½ tsp ground cinnamon
• 75 g (¾ cup) chopped walnuts or chocolate chips — optional

Method

1. Heat the oven to 175°C (350°F) with a rack in the center. Grease the loaf pan and line it with a parchment sling that overhangs the long sides.
2. Mash the bananas in a large bowl with a fork until mostly smooth, with a few small lumps left. You should have about 1½ cups.
3. Whisk in the melted butter and brown sugar, then the eggs, yogurt and vanilla, until smooth and well combined.
4. In another bowl, whisk the flour, baking soda, salt and cinnamon. Add them to the banana mixture and fold with a spatula just until no dry flour shows. Fold in the nuts or chips if using.
5. Scrape the batter into the pan and smooth the top. Bake for 55 to 65 minutes, until the loaf is domed and deep brown, and a skewer in the center comes out with moist crumbs but no wet batter. The center should read 93 to 96°C (200 to 205°F). If the top darkens too quickly, tent it with foil after about 40 minutes.
6. Cool in the pan for 15 minutes, lift the loaf out by the parchment and cool on a rack for at least 1 hour before slicing.

Tips for success

• Freeze overripe bananas in their skins as they turn brown. Thaw them in a bowl and use the liquid they release too; it is full of flavor.
• Baking yellow bananas in their skins at 150°C (300°F) until black softens them for mashing, but the loaf will not be as sweet or aromatic as one made with naturally overripe fruit.
• Sprinkle a tablespoon of turbinado sugar over the batter before baking for a crunchy top.

Substitutions

Butter

Use 100 ml neutral oil for a moister loaf that stays soft longer. The banana flavor is a little more pronounced, with less buttery richness.

Yogurt

Buttermilk or extra mashed banana can replace it at the same weight. Without any, the loaf is slightly denser and less tender.

All-purpose flour

Replace up to half with whole wheat flour for a nuttier, slightly denser loaf. Add 1 tbsp milk if the batter looks very thick.

Variations

Chocolate chip banana bread

Fold in 120 g semisweet chocolate chips, keeping a few to scatter on top.

Banana muffins

Divide the batter among 12 lined muffin cups and bake at 190°C (375°F) for 18 to 22 minutes.

Troubleshooting

The center is gummy or sunken

It was underbaked or sliced too soon. Bake until a skewer is free of wet batter or the center reaches 93°C (200°F), and cool for an hour.

Tough texture with tunnels

The batter was overmixed. Fold just until the flour disappears, then stop.

The outside is dark but the middle is raw

The oven runs hot or the pan is dark metal. Check the oven with a thermometer, tent with foil and lower to 165°C (325°F) for dark pans.

Bland flavor

The bananas were not ripe enough. Wait until the skins are heavily speckled or brown, and do not skip the salt.

Storage

Wrap the cooled loaf and keep it at room temperature for up to 3 days, or refrigerate for up to 1 week. Freeze whole or sliced, well wrapped, for up to 3 months; toast slices straight from the freezer.

Safety notes

Do not taste the raw batter, which contains raw egg and flour. Contains wheat, egg and milk, and tree nuts if you add walnuts.