I’m not proud to admit that until a few years ago, I was one of those people that threw away ripe bananas. That was until I educated myself and found out that ripe bananas are actually awesome in baked goods. Actually, if your bananas aren’t ripe enough, you shouldn’t even try to make banana bread. Who would have thought? Not my younger self, that’s for sure!
But now that I know better, I actually buy bananas just to let them ripe and then turn them into amazing banana bread, banana muffins and all kinds of banana cake.
For this banana bread, which I also happen to consider the best banana bread recipe ever, you’ll need 4 large ripe bananas (I used 5 because you can’t have too much of a good thing, or can you?). If your bananas are not ripe enough, I recommend letting them sit on the counter for a few days or at least microwaving them a little before trying to mash them.
How to mash the bananas for banana bread?
Mashing bananas is simple, especially if they’re ripe! You can use a fork, a potato masher, or your electric mixer. If you choose to mash them using the mixer, all you need to do is break the bananas into large pieces and begin beating on low speed, gradually increasing to medium-high. That’s all! You’ve got yourself some beautiful banana puree waiting to be used.
Other ingredients that I use in my banana bread recipe are butter – make sure it’s at least room temperature, brown sugar, eggs, and yogurt. These are the main ingredients you’ll need and after you gathered those, it’s time to get creative and throw some walnuts, chocolate chips, pecans or anything you fancy, really! Sky’s the limit! I added some chopped walnuts (50g) and some chocolate chips (50g) in mine.
Some people claim that the banana bread is best the second day, once all the flavors have settled together. But don’t kid yourself, the chances of having leftover banana bread are slim! I know I didn’t. Next time I will have to make two, just to test if it’s really better the second day.
See how moist is inside? That’s exactly how it’s supposed to be and it’s all thanks to the overripe bananas!
| Prep Time | 15 minutes |
| Cook Time | 60 minutes |
| Servings |
1 loaf
|
- 250 grams all purpose flour
- 1 teaspoon baking soda
- 1/4 teaspoon salt
- 1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
- 115 grams unsalted butter softened to room temperature
- 150 grams brown sugar
- 2 large eggs room temperature
- 80 grams plain yogurt or sour cream
- 4 large ripe bananas
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 100 grams chopped walnuts or pecans or chocolate chips optional!
Ingredients
|
|
- Preheat the oven to 177°C and adjust the oven rack to a lower position. Grease a 9x5-inch loaf pan and set aside.
- In a medium bowl, whisk the flour, baking soda, salt, and cinnamon together.
- Using a fork, potato masher or your electric mixer, mash the bananas. Set aside.
- Using a handheld or stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment beat the butter and brown sugar on high speed until smooth and creamy (about 2 minutes). Then, add the eggs, one at a time, while beating well on medium speed after each addition. Beat in the yogurt, mashed bananas, and vanilla extract until combined. Turn the mixer on low speed and slowly beat in the dry ingredients into the wet ingredients. Careful not to over mix. Fold in the nuts or chocolate chips, if using.
- Spoon the batter into the prepared baking pan and bake the banana bread for 60 to 65 minutes. After 30 minutes, you can cover the bread with aluminum foil, in order to help prevent the top getting too brown.
- Allow to cool in the pan for 20 minutes, and then transfer to a wire rack to cool completely.
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