This quick banana bread recipe uses a special technique to bring out all of the sweet juicy goodness from your bananas resulting in a moist, delicious loaf.
I love banana bread but for a long time I didn’t particularly enjoy making it. It used to seem like a tricky beast to get it just right.
I started subscribing to Cook’s Illustrated and am highly impressed with what I had seen. The first piece of mailing that I got was Cook’s All-Time Best Recipes: Foolproof Favorites from 20 Years of Cook’s Illustrated. I love just about everything about it, except that the body of Cook’s Illustrated magazine is in black and white. (I can understand how that is cost-effective, but I love to look at color photos.)
Anyway, there is a recipe for Ultimate Banana Bread (page 68-69.) The article discusses how the riper the banana the more fructose is produced. (Think sugar.) Then there is a piece about banana juice. Cook’s Illustrated instructs the reader to microwave bananas to extract the juice, strain it, and then reduce it.
How I Made Cook’s Illustrated Banana Bread
I like to take shortcuts, so I just microwaved my bananas and poured the juice first into the batter, then added the bananas themselves.
They also place sliced bananas on top (“Shingle Your Loaf”) to add more flavor before baking. I omitted this step.
I was reluctant to bake it for the 55 minutes like they suggest because my oven is an ole cranky gal and I often have problems getting baked items just right. (Okay, sometimes it probably is operator error, but trust me – my oven is about to croak. Sometimes I hear her groan after I have used her and turned her off. I am afraid she is going to fall out on my floor one day.)
The top had a beautiful color and the texture makes me want to ply it off and eat it immediately. It was like eating a”muffin top.”
The hardest part about this bread was waiting for it to cool.
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Banana Bread
This quick banana bread recipe uses a special technique to bring out all of the sweet juicy goodness from your bananas resulting in a moist, delicious loaf.
Ingredients
- 4 ripe bananas
- 1 3/4 cup all-purpose flour
- 1 tsp baking soda
- 1/2 tsp salt
- 1 stick unsalted butter, softened
- 3/4 cup packed brown sugar
- 2 large eggs
- 1 tsp vanilla
- demerara or granulated sugar for dusting
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Spray loaf pan with non-stick spray.
- Peel bananas and place in a microwave safe shallow bowl. Microwave on high for 3 minutes. Allow it to cool for 5 to 10 minutes.
- Combine flour, baking soda, and salt and set aside.
- Whip butter on high-speed in large bowl of an electric mixer. Add brown sugar and mix until well combined. Add eggs and vanilla.
- Slowly pour banana "juice" into batter in mixer and blend. (Remember that there are eggs in the batter and the juice is still hot/warm. You have to temper the batter.)
- Add bananas and mix until incorporated.
- Add flour and mix until smooth.
- Pour into prepared pan and Sprinkle top with sugar. Bake for 50 - 55 minutes or until done.
- Remove to wire rack and allow to cool.
Nutrition Information:
Yield: 8 Serving Size: 1 sliceAmount Per Serving: Calories: 339 Total Fat: 13g Saturated Fat: 8g Trans Fat: 0g Unsaturated Fat: 5g Cholesterol: 77mg Sodium: 328mg Carbohydrates: 52g Fiber: 2g Sugar: 24g Protein: 5g
How do you like your banana bread?
For a different take on banana bread, check out this video from Cosmopolitan Cornbread:
This was wonderful. It looked like bananna bread, tasted like bananna bread. It was easy too! I did make a few changes: I used White Whole Wheat flour, smart balance instead of butter, 1/3 cup of Agave Nector instead of sugar. Highly recommend it! Thanks, Helen
Thanks, Helen. You have inspired me to rethink it – I wonder how substituting honey would work and just might try it.
This recipe is [**** – edited for language]. I made it the way it said to, and it came out bland, and tasting like old, overripened bananas. I don’t think microwaving the bananas is a good idea; it smelled gross, ruined the flavor, and barely made any juice. Don’t waste your time with this abomination. I wish I hadn’t.
I am sorry that the recipe did not work for you. My family and I loved it. There are other recipes posted on the internet that call for microwaving bananas before using them. (http://www.justapinch.com/recipes/sauce-spread/fruit-sauce/ripen-banana-in-the-microwave.html http://www.ehow.com/info_8682504_procedures-banana-ripening.html)
I definitely prefer nut-free!! Bread should not be crunchy. 😀
I’ve never seen a recipe that calls for “banana juice.” It is a very interesting technique, and one I will definitely be trying the next time we make banana bread.
I love banana bread but I like mine without nuts.
What a great blog! There are so many things you can do with ripe bananas!
I just made this after finding it on Pinterest and I LOVE it! I’d never seen a recipe that called for microwaving the bananas before and it’s brilliant! This is my new favorite and go-to banana bread recipe!
Thank you!
Thank you very much! I thought it was a neat concept so I had to try it, too. I am thinking about trying to make some banana muffins with microwaved bananas. Doesn’t that sound good?
I have three bananas sitting on my counter just asking to be made into bread. I think I’m going to make this tomorrow.
Yum! This looks delicious. We love banana bread in our house – I will have to give this recipe a try. I love how moist this looks.
I’m looking forward to baking some banana bread for the fall.
I’ve never heard about microwaving the bananas to get the juice. That’s interesting. And what do you mean “waiting for it to cool”? hot bread is the absolute best!
One of my favorite treats is banana nut bread!
You had me at banana bread 🙂 My sister has been looking for a recipe so I’m going to have to share this with her.
Banana bread without nuts is always the way to go for me!!! Yours looks nom nom good!
Bananas on the verge of extinction are all too common at our house, so I am in desperate need of a good banana bread recipe. Thank you for sharing!
Everyone in our family likes banana bread some like it with nuts others do not but we all like it with chocolate chips! (not very healthy but VERY yummy :))
I can only imagine how much better it would be with chocolate chips.
I can see why the banana use makes the difference. I like mine without nuts.
Super yum, thanks for the additonal tips too
I love banana bread and make it quite frequently but sometimes I have a problem with the consistency. I think my oven has issues also. (Or operator error ;). Your recipe looks great. I’ll have to give it a try.
I love banana bread with nuts, but I won’t turn it down just because it doesn’t have any. Banana bread is my fave!
looks delicious i think u did a great job. MMMMM can u share?
I have some bananas that I could use for this!
I love banana bread- but had NO clue that bananas had banana juice!
I wish my kids would let bananas get old enough for this!
I think it’s great that they eat their bananas.
There are few things I love more than banana bread fresh out of the oven. Yum!
I could literally eat banana bread all day! I love it that much!
I love banana bread!
I love banana bread but I also love my Grandmother’s strawberry bread, they are both great with a touch of butter.
Butter makes everything better, right?
I love banana bread & now I want to make one 🙂
Banana Bread is like my most favorite thing ever.
Banana Bread is one of my favorite treats to make! Love eating it when it’s warm.
This looks like it turned out good! Nice and moist.
I prefer to use walnuts in my banana bread. Your recipe is great. I can see from your pic how moist the bread was.