Banana Bread
Banana bread is oh-so-simple… yet like many simple recipes, requires a few out of the ordinary ingredients to bring it from potentially boring to memorable. A hint of spice, honey for sweetness and moist texture, and one final touch—a few spoonfuls of jam—distinguish this tasty bread from run-of-the-mill versions. Step-by-step photos illustrating how to make this bread are available at Bakers’ Banter, our King Arthur blog.
1/2 cup (4 ounces) unsalted butter, at cool room temperature
2/3 cup (5 ounces) brown sugar, light or dark, firmly packed
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon baking powder
1 teaspoon salt
1 1/2 cups (12 ounces) mashed ripe bananas (about 3 medium or 2 large bananas; about 1 pound, unpeeled)
3 tablespoons (2 1/4 ounces) apricot jam or orange marmalade, optional but tasty
1/4 cup (3 ounces) honey
2 large eggs
2 1/4 cups (9 1/2 ounces) King Arthur Unbleached All-Purpose Flour
1/2 cup (2 ounces) chopped walnuts, optional
Preheat the oven to 325°F. Lightly grease a 9" x 5" loaf pan.
1) In a large bowl, combine the butter, sugar, vanilla, cinnamon, nutmeg, baking soda, baking powder, and salt, beating till smooth.
2) Add the mashed bananas, jam, honey, and eggs, again beating until smooth.
3) Add the flour, then the walnuts, stirring just until smooth.
4) Spoon the batter into the prepared loaf pan, smoothing the top. Let it rest at room temperature for 10 minutes.
5) Bake the bread for 45 minutes, then gently lay a piece of aluminum foil across the top, to prevent over-browning.
6) Bake for an additional 25 minutes. Remove the bread from the oven; a long toothpick or cake tester inserted into the center should come out clean, with at most a few wet crumbs clinging to it. The tester shouldn’t show any sign of uncooked batter. If it does, bake the bread an additional 5 minutes, or until it tests done.
7) Allow the bread to cool for 10 minutes in the pan. Remove it from the pan, and cool it completely on a rack.
Yield: One loaf.
Reviews
03/10/2009
Delicious! -- a good balance of texture and flavor. I made a double batch in stages...so rather than mixing the baking soda and powder with the creamed mixture, they were blended with the flour -- a mix of KAF unbleached white and white whole wheat (a bit more banana added to keep the loaf moist). The loaf peaked gently and the split was not so dramatic as some can be. Six, smaller, individual Bundt cakes were done in a little less than 45 minutes. The marmalade adds an interesting twist. This loaf won't need to be wrapped in foil to ripen for a few days, as it's moist and tender right out of the oven.
03/29/2009
I made this recipe and baked it in King Arthur's Standard Doughnut Pans. The baked banana doughnuts are fantastic! My husband is raving about them. I wanted to replace the fried cake doughnuts my husband buys that are not good for his health. Next time I make this recipe I will use King Arthur White Whole Wheat Flour, oil and egg whites. Thank you, King Arthur, for the doughnut pans and the great recipe for banana bread!
03/31/2009
Delicious! Very moist with a nice flavor. Thanks KAF for such reliably great recipes.
04/10/2009
Awesome, this bread came out perfect!!!!!!!
04/23/2009
I may have done something wrong...I did use half "light whole wheat" flour, but added additional banana for extra moistness. This was so dry you could barely eat it, and the folks in my office suggested i take it home and give it to the dog!! I was disappointed as it is expensive to use organic bananas, pecans, organic honey and your good flour.
I'm sorry your bread didn't turn out. If you give us a call at 800-827-6836 we'd be happy to troubleshoot the recipe with you. Molly@KAF
04/26/2009
Delicious but mine did not have a strong banana flavor even though my 3 bananas were nearly all black. I used the optional apricot jam and substituted 1 c. all-purpose flour with white whole wheat. I think the other flavors tend to overpower the banana. It is moist and tasty so I'd recommend this for people who want a less pronounced banana flavor.
05/08/2009
Wonderful! Moist, just the right sweetness, and did I mention MOIST? Oh the happiness in finding such a great banana bread recipe! I love that it doesn't call for oil. I made this last night and am still enjoying the sweet scents wafting through my home. My boys are so happy that I have found this site. I didn't have the jam or marmalade on hand so I used strawberry jelly instead and substituted white whole wheat flour for half of the AP flour. I used the "weight" measurement option for each of the ingredients that had it listed. Lovely! It rose nicely (and evenly) in a silicone 9x5 loaf pan with a typical split down the center. My new favorite banana bread recipe! Makes an elegant and tasty french toast, too when slices are quickly dipped in egg and cooked on the griddle. Yum!
Success! We love it when our customer/bakers share theirs AND when they share their creative alternatives to our recipes. BB French Toast? Terrific! Irene at KAF
05/26/2009
Wow, what can I say, but I was hungry for banana bread AND chocolate, so I used this recipe, but added a cup of chocolate chips. It is WONDERFUL!!!
06/01/2009
I didn't think I would really like this because of the apricot. But it really gave the banana bread a different flavor. Yummy! Thanks for the great recipes. KAF is my favorite site to browse now. This is the second recipe I've tried and so far so good. Your directions are great!
06/06/2009
Lovely bread! I halved the amount of sugar. It's such an easy and reliable recipe.
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