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Banana Bread

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This banana bread recipe uses a special technique to bring out the all of the sweet juicy goodness from your bananas.

loaf of banana bread
I love banana bread but for a lonng 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.  CI instructs the reader to microwave bananas to extract the juice, strain it, and then reduce it.

ripe bananas

I like to take shortcuts, so I just microwaved my bananas and poured the juice first into the batter, then added the bananas themselves.

banana juice

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’s like eating “muffin tops.”

The hardest part about this bread is waiting for it to cool.

banana bread

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Banana Bread

Banana Bread

Yield: 8
Prep Time: 20 minutes
Cook Time: 55 minutes
Total Time: 1 hour 15 minutes

This banana bread recipe uses a special technique to bring out the all of the sweet juicy goodness from your bananas.

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

  1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Spray loaf pan with non-stick spray.
  2. 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.
  3. Combine flour, baking soda, and salt and set aside.
  4. Whip butter on high-speed in large bowl of an electric mixer. Add brown sugar and mix until well combined. Add eggs and vanilla.
  5. 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.)
  6. Add bananas and mix until incorporated.
  7. Add flour and mix until smooth.
  8. Pour into prepared pan and Sprinkle top with sugar. Bake for 50 - 55 minutes or until done.
  9. Remove to wire rack and allow to cool.
Nutrition Information:
Yield: 8 Serving Size: 1 slice
Amount 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
Nutrition information is an approximation.
© Lynda
Cuisine: American
Feel free to add nuts or chocolate chips to the batter before baking.

slices of banana bread
How do you like your banana bread?

For a different take on banana bread, check out this video from Cosmoplitan Cornbread:

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Comments

  1. Gregor says

    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

    Reply

  2. Melissa says

    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.

    Reply

  7. J Michelle says

    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!

    Reply

    • Lynda says

      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?

      Reply

  8. Jenn- The Rebel Chick says

    I have three bananas sitting on my counter just asking to be made into bread. I think I’m going to make this tomorrow.

    Reply

  11. Jennifer says

    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!

    Reply

  19. Katy says

    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.

    Reply

  33. Angela says

    I prefer to use walnuts in my banana bread. Your recipe is great. I can see from your pic how moist the bread was.

    Reply

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