Banana Bread

Classic American Banana Bread

A moist, tender quick bread that turns spotty, overripe bananas into a beloved American staple. Walnuts add traditional crunch, but you can leave them out or swap in chocolate chips.

Prep

15 min

Cook

65 min

Total

80 min

Serves

10 slices

Difficulty

Easy

Recipe ingredients

• •350 g (about 3 medium) very ripe bananas, peeled, skins heavily speckled or black; weight is peeled
• •115 g (½ cup (1 stick)) unsalted butter, melted and slightly cooled, plus extra for greasing the pan
• •200 g (1 cup) granulated sugar
• •2 whole (2 large) eggs, room temperature
• •5 ml (1 tsp) vanilla extract
• •5 ml (1 tsp) fine sea salt
• •5 g (1 tsp) baking soda, must be fresh; do not substitute baking powder
• •250 g (2 cups) all-purpose flour, spooned and leveled, not packed
• •80 g (about ⅔ cup) walnuts, roughly chopped, optional; toast lightly for more flavor

Steps

1. 1 Heat the oven to 175 °C (350 °F). Butter a 23 × 13 cm (9 × 5 in) loaf pan and line the long sides with a strip of parchment for easy lifting.
2. 2 In a large bowl, mash the peeled bananas with a fork or potato masher until mostly smooth with a few small lumps remaining.
3. 3 Whisk the melted butter, sugar, eggs, and vanilla into the bananas until well combined.
4. 4 Sprinkle the salt and baking soda over the surface of the wet mixture and whisk in (this step lets the baking soda react with the acidic bananas for the proper rise).
5. 5 Add the flour all at once and stir gently with a spatula just until no dry streaks remain; do not overmix or the loaf will be tough.
6. 6 Fold in the chopped walnuts.
7. 7 Pour the batter into the prepared pan and smooth the top. Tap the pan on the counter a few times to release large air bubbles.
8. 8 Bake on the middle rack for 55 to 70 minutes. The bread is done when the top is deeply golden and cracked, the edges pull slightly from the pan, and a wooden skewer inserted into the center comes out with only a few moist crumbs (no wet batter). If the top browns too quickly, tent loosely with foil after 40 minutes.
9. 9 Cool in the pan on a wire rack for 15 minutes, then lift out using the parchment and cool completely on the rack before slicing. Internal temperature at the center should read about 95 to 100 °C (205 to 210 °F) when measured with an instant-read thermometer.