Julia’s Best Banana Bread
Banana Bread
This bread isn’t particularly famous in Brazil; we’re more into a banana cake that usually packs some nuts and seeds in it. However, this is one of my and my husband’s favorite recipes ever. I did try other banana bread recipes, but, in my opinion, none beat this one.
Why I love it:
Easy to find ingredients - Most of the time, I have all the ingredients needed in my pantry. The only ones I usually have to buy are bananas, but we usually always have some around as well.
Easy to follow - The recipe is pretty straightforward, no crazy steps needed. Simply mixing ingredients in order.
You can store its slices for later - I like to slice the bread as soon as it’s cool enough and store the slices in ziplock bags, two at a time. I freeze them and thaw them overnight whenever I feel like eating some the next day.
It tastes fantastic - And that’s the main factor that makes it my favorite. It’s packed with flavor, and you can actually taste the bananas! The salt also enhances the flavor and mouthfeel.
Now, I know you can find this recipe in other places. However, I tried it for the first time a few years back and did not save the recipe. When I went looking for it again online, I had a really hard time finding it. I couldn’t even find it in its original publisher, Bon Appétit. So, I decided to record it here and share it again, making it a bit easier for people to find. The more the merrier, right?!
INGREDIENTS
1 cup - about 2 - ripe bananas (I found that the super ripe, almost overripe ones are the best. Watch out not to actually use bananas that are gone bad, with mold and all.)
3 large eggs (I prefer pasture-raised. They usually pack more flavor, and I like to think the chickens are happy lol)
1 1/2 cups of sugar
3/4 cups of vegetable oil
3/4 tsp vanilla extract
1 3/4 cups of all-purpose flour
1 1/2 tsp of baking soda
3/4 tsp salt (a little bit less if using coarse kosher salt)
INSTRUCTIONS
Preheat the oven to 375°F (medium temperature). Grease a baking loaf pan (I use this one) with butter, or line it with parchment paper.
In a large mixing bowl, mash the bananas until they form a puree.
Add the eggs, sugar, oil, and vanilla to the banana puree.
Whisk everything together until well incorporated.
In a separate bowl, mix the flour, baking soda, and salt.
Sift the dry ingredients into the banana mixture.
Mix everything until well incorporated. Watch out not to overmix it. Just enough to not have flour clumps.
Pour the batter into the loaf pan.
Bake it for about 40-50 minutes. The time depends on your oven, really. I’d recommend checking it once the strong banana bread is filling the house, and the bread looks golden. You’ll know if it’s done by doing the toothpick test (chopstick in my case 🫠). If you poke the bread, and the toothpick comes out clean, it’s done!
Let it cool in the pan for about 10 min. Then, transfer it to a cooling rack to finish cooling, about 30 minutes. Tho, I don’t wait that long and just eat warm lol
As I mentioned earlier, once completely cooled, you can freeze it and enjoy it for 1 or 2 weeks (I think you can’t even go for more, but I’m not an expert on food storage, so don’t trust just my thinking lol).
