Secrets to the Best Banana Nut Bread Recipe

2 Comments

I’ve been trying to stock my freezer lately, in preparation for the arrival of a new baby—and an extended period of time during which I won’t want to cook. Granted, I’m not particularly excited about extra cooking now, when it’s hot outside, and I have a baby heating me up from the inside, and a propane oven that raises the temperature in our small cabin pretty quickly… But there were bananas looking lonely in the freezer, and I thought how nice it would be to have some banana bread on hand for breakfasts. So out they came and I dug out my mom’s best banana nut bread recipe.

My mother’s banana nut bread recipe is hands-down the BEST I’ve tasted. It has better flavor and texture than so many others, and rises nicely to make a large, domed loaf.  Not to mention it also freezes well. You can make it with or without nuts, and I like to pretty it up for Christmas or Valentine’s Day by adding chocolate chips and maraschino cherries. If you’re trying to limit sugar, here’s a link to a lower-sugar variation that my sister developed and her family loves. It’s also dairy-free!

I grew up eating slices of this bread spread thinly with butter, which my husband finds appalling. It is equally tasty plain or with peanut butter. In fact, I commonly make banana bread and peanut butter sandwiches to take along when we’re traveling, because they tend to be less messy than regular PB&J sandwiches.

THE SECRET IS IN THE BANANAS:

You don’t want to use perfectly yellow bananas with no brown spots when making banana bread. As they ripen, the flavor of bananas becomes more developed and the starches convert into sugars. That said, I like to use bananas that are a bit past their peak, let them sit on the counter for a few more days so they have lots of brown spots, and then pop them in the freezer until I have enough time and bananas to make bread. I definitely recommend freezing your bananas first, because then when you thaw them, they’re already mushy, and you don’t end up with chunks of banana in your bread. Ideally, you want the texture to be consistent throughout your bread (except for nuts/add-ins). If you do decide to refrigerate or freeze your bananas, the skins will turn dark brown. Don’t be alarmed! This is normal, and the fruit inside tastes just fine.

NOTE: If you let bananas sit out at room temperature too long, they will start to rot, and both the banana and its skin will turn dark and mushy. Do not use rotten fruit!

A word about milk

One other tip for the best banana nut bread recipe is the sour milk. Cultured buttermilk works just as well. This brings out the sweetness and overall flavor of the bananas, while improving the texture of the bread. It’s easy to sour your milk by adding just a touch of vinegar to it, and letting the mixture sit for a few minutes so it will curdle. I use white vinegar in this recipe, because I don’t want to add any other flavors. Lemon juice would probably work as well, but you might have to use a larger amount in order to curdle the milk.

When baking this bread, don’t be alarmed if it gets pretty dark on top.  The color should be a nice glossy brown when it’s done. This is due to caramelization of the sugars in the bananas themselves, because we used such ripe fruit. To determine doneness, stick a toothpick in the center. If it comes out clean or with just a few moist crumbs, the bread is done. You can also check by pressing lightly on top of the loaf with your finger. It should spring back, not sink.

Print Recipe

Mom’s Banana Bread

Firm-textured and deeply flavorful, this banana bread is a tried and true family favorite.

Prep Time20 minutes mins

Cook Time1 hour hr 5 minutes mins

Total Time1 hour hr 25 minutes mins

Course: Breakfast

Keyword: banana bread, Quick bread

Servings: 1 loaf

Ingredients

• 1/2 cup butter softened
• 1 cup sugar
• 2 eggs
• 3 bananas preferably frozen, thawed
• 3 tbsp milk + 1/2 tsp vinegar, or use sour milk
• 1 cup unbleached all-purpose flour
• 1 cup whole wheat flour
• 1 tsp baking soda
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 1/2 tsp allspice optional
• 1 cup chopped walnuts or other nuts optional
• 1/2 cup chocolate chips optional
• 2 tbsp chopped maraschino cherries optional

Instructions

• In a large mixing bowl, cream the butter and sugar.
• Add the eggs, bananas, and sour milk.
• In a separate bowl, mix together the flour, baking soda, salt, and allspice. Add the dry ingredients to the banana mixture.
• Fold in any extra ingredients: nuts, chocolate chips, and/or maraschino cherries. Don't mix too much!
• Turn into a greased 9×5" bread pan. Bake at 350 degrees for 60-70 minutes.

Notes

If your bananas are very small, you may want to use 4 instead of 3.