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Banana Bread Recipe

Banana Bread Recipe

This is a friendly, forgiving recipe for classic banana bread, born from the need to use up overripe bananas.
It's a simple, one-bowl method that requires just mashing and stirring, resulting in a moist, sweet loaf that's perfect for breakfast, snacks, or dessert.
The post emphasizes that mistakes are okay and the bread is hard to ruin.
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Prep Time 10 minutes
Cook Time 1 hour
Total Time 1 hour 10 minutes
Servings: 9
Calories: 220
Ingredients Method Notes

Ingredients
  

  • 2 to 3 really ripe spotty bananas, peeled (you want about 1 ¼ cups after mashing)
  • ⅓ cup 76g butter, melted (and cooled a bit!)
  • ½ teaspoon baking soda that’s the one in the ARM & HAMMER box
  • 1 small pinch of salt
  • ¾ cup 150g white sugar (use ½ cup if you’re anti-sweet, 1 cup if you have a sweet tooth)
  • 1 large egg beaten (just whisk it with a fork in a cup)
  • 1 teaspoon vanilla extract the good stuff if you have it
  • 1 ½ cups 205g all-purpose flour

Method
 

  1. Preheat the oven to 350°F (175°C): Do this first so it’s ready. Grease an 8x4-inch loaf pan with butter, or spray it. A 9x5 works too; it’ll just be a bit flatter.
Mash the bananas and add the butter
  1. Mash the bananas and add the butter: In a big mixing bowl, attack those bananas with a fork until they’re basically a smooth, lump-free paste. Stir in the melted (and slightly cooled) butter.
    Mash the Bananas and Add the Butter
Mix in the remaining ingredients
  1. Dump in the baking soda and salt. Stir. Add the sugar, the beaten egg, and the vanilla. Stir until it’s all one homogenous, slightly weird-looking liquid. Now, add the flour. Stir it just until you can’t see white powder anymore. No over-mixing!
    Mix in The Remaining Ingredients
Bake the bread
  1. Pour the batter into your greased loaf pan. It’ll be thick. Plop it in.
    Bake the Bread
Slide it into your preheated oven
  1. Bake for 55 to 65 minutes. Start checking at 55 minutes with a toothpick or skinny knife.
  2. If it comes out with a few moist crumbs clinging to it, it’s done. If it’s wet, give it more time. If the top is getting too dark, put a foil “hat” on it.
    Slide It Into Your Preheated Oven
Cool and serve
  1. Take it out and let it sit in the pan on a wire rack for 10 minutes. Then, run a knife around the edges and tip it out.
  2. Let it cool completely before you slice it… or, you know, try your best to wait. Slice, serve, and accept compliments.
    Cool and Serve

Notes

If your first slice falls apart, or the middle is a little underdone, or you realize you used salted butter when the recipe said unsalted—congratulations.
You’ve made your banana bread. And it’s going to taste good anyway. That’s the whole beautiful point of this, and really, of most things in the kitchen.
It doesn’t need to be perfect to be exactly what you needed. Now, go rescue those bananas.