Equipment
Ingredients
Wet Ingredients
- 3 overripe bananas, heavily speckled or black
- 115 g unsalted butter, melted and slightly cooled
- 150 g dark brown sugar, packed
- 1 egg, room temperature
- 5 ml vanilla extract
Dry Ingredients
- 190 g all-purpose flour
- 5 g baking soda
- 3 g salt
- 2 g ground cinnamon
Nutrition (per serving)
Nutrition is estimated per serving. Nutrients without complete source data are omitted.
Full nutrition
- Calories
- 248 kcal
- Protein
- 3 g
- Carbohydrates
- 37 g
- Fat
- 10 g
- Fiber
- 2 g
- Sugar
- 19 g
- Sodium
- 267 mg
- Saturated Fat
- 6 g
- Monounsaturated Fat
- 3 g
- Polyunsaturated Fat
- 1 g
- Cholesterol
- 43 mg
- Potassium
- 173 mg
- Calcium
- 25 mg
- Iron
- 0.5 mg
- Magnesium
- 16 mg
- Phosphorus
- 41 mg
- Zinc
- 0.3 mg
- Vitamin A
- 88 mcg
- Vitamin C
- 3 mg
- Vitamin D
- 0.1 mcg
- Vitamin E
- 0.4 mg
- Vitamin K
- 1 mcg
- Vitamin B6
- 0.1 mg
- Vitamin B12
- 0.1 mcg
- Thiamin
- 0.04 mg
- Riboflavin
- 0.06 mg
- Niacin
- 0.5 mg
- Folate
- 15 mcg
- Water
- 34 g
- Alcohol
- 0 g
Sources: USDA FoodData Central
Method
Preheat oven to 175 degrees Celsius (350 degrees Fahrenheit). Grease a 9x5-inch loaf pan generously with butter or cooking spray, or line it with a parchment paper sling for easy removal.
In a medium mixing bowl, peel and mash the overripe bananas using a fork or potato masher. Continue mashing until mostly smooth, leaving just a few small chunks for texture.
In a large mixing bowl, whisk together the melted unsalted butter and packed dark brown sugar until completely combined and smooth. The mixture should look like wet sand.
Add the room temperature egg and vanilla extract to the butter mixture, whisking vigorously until fully incorporated. Stir in the mashed bananas until evenly distributed.
Sprinkle the all-purpose flour, baking soda, salt, and ground cinnamon over the wet ingredients. Using a rubber spatula, gently fold the dry ingredients into the wet batter just until no dry streaks of flour remain.
Pour the batter into the prepared loaf pan and use the spatula to smooth the top into an even layer. Bake in the center of the preheated oven at 175 degrees Celsius (350 degrees Fahrenheit) for 55 to 65 minutes.
Remove the loaf from the oven and allow it to cool in the pan for 15 minutes. This helps the crumb structure set. Carefully invert or lift the bread out of the pan and transfer it to a wire cooling rack to cool completely before slicing.
Chef's Notes
- The darker the banana skin, the sweeter and more pronounced the flavor will be. Black, shriveled bananas are culinary gold for this application.
- Dark brown sugar contains more molasses than light brown sugar, which contributes significantly to the final moisture level and deep caramel notes of the crust.
- Always allow melted butter to cool slightly before adding to the sugar and egg. If the butter is piping hot, it can prematurely cook the egg.
- For the cleanest slices, resist the temptation to cut into the bread while it is still hot. Letting it cool completely ensures the internal starches set properly.
Storage
Refrigerator: 1 week — Store in an airtight container or wrapped tightly in plastic wrap to prevent drying out.
Freezer: 3 months — Wrap individual slices in parchment paper, then transfer to a freezer-safe bag or container.
Reheating: Warm individual slices in the microwave for 10 to 15 seconds, or toast lightly in a toaster oven.
Troubleshooting
Bread sinks in the middle during cooling
Cause: The bread was underbaked, or there was too much moisture from using oversized bananas.
Fix: Cannot be fixed once cooled. Slices from the sunken middle can still be eaten or toasted; they will just be dense.
Prevention: Always verify doneness with a skewer piercing the deepest center part of the loaf. Weigh peeled bananas to ensure they do not greatly exceed 340g.
Bread is tough, dense, or rubbery
Cause: Overmixing the batter after adding the flour, which develops too much gluten.
Fix: Cannot be fixed.
Prevention: Fold the dry ingredients gently with a spatula, stopping the moment the last streak of flour disappears.
Cultural Context
Banana bread became a prominent staple in American baking during the Great Depression. As household budgets tightened, home cooks refused to waste costly, overripe bananas. The concurrent commercialization of chemical leaveners like baking powder and baking soda made quick breads an accessible, yeast-free baking alternative.
