JB's Banana Bread

5 from 20 votes

Recipe above video. The wait is finally over! After weeks of testing, tweaking and plenty of taste-testing, my banana bread is finally ready to share. Crispy golden top, caramelised sides, and a soft crumb with big banana flavours that slices like a dream. Let’s go!

Prep Time20

Cook Time1 10

Cooling1

Total Time2 30

Course: Sweet Baking

Cuisine: Western

Keyword: banana, banana bread, banana bread recipe

Servings: - 10

Calories: 328cal

Author: Chef JB (RecipeTin)

Ingredients

Dry Batter Ingredients:

2 1/4 cup plain flour / all-purpose flour
1 tsp baking soda , sifted (bi-carbonate soda) (Note 1)
1/2 tsp cooking salt / kosher salt (half for table salt, +50% for flakes)
1 1/4 tsp cinnamon powder
1/4 tsp allspice powder

Wet Batter Ingredients:

4 medium ripe banana (400g / 14oz peeled) (makes 1 3/4 cup once puréed) (Note 2)
1 tightly packed cup brown sugar
2 large egg + 1 egg yolk , at room temperature (~55g/2oz shell-on weight)
1/3 cup sour cream , full fat best (Note 3)
80g (5 tbsp) unsalted butter , melted
1/3 cup vegetable oil
2 1/2 tsp vanilla extract

Cups - Metric

Instructions

ABBREVIATED RECIPE

Preheat oven and line loaf pan. Whisk dry ingredients together. In a seperate bowl, mash bananas, then mix in the rest of wet ingredients. Add dry to wet and mix gently until just combined. Pour into prepared pan. Bake at 180°C/350°F (160°C fan) 70 minutes.

FULL RECIPE

PREPARATION

Preheat oven to 180°C/350°F (160°C fan-forced). Arrange the shelf so the loaf will sit in the middle of the oven.
Prepare the pan - Scrunch a 40 cm / 16" sheet of baking / parchment paper and press it into a loaf pan (21.5 x 11.5 x 7 cm / 4.5 x 8.5 x 2.75"), leaving overhang on the sides for easy lifting.

MAKING THE BATTER AND BAKE

Whisk dry - Mix dry ingredients in a bowl, whisk together the flour, baking soda, salt, cinnamon and allspice until well combined.
Mash Bananas - In a large mixing bowl, mash the bananas with a potato masher until mostly smooth. Measure out 1 3/4 cups - save the excess for your morning smoothie. (Note 4)
Add wet - Add the brown sugar, eggs, extra yolk, sour cream, melted butter, oil and vanilla. Whisk until combined.
Add dry - Pour the dry ingredients into the wet. Fold gently with a spatula until the flour is just incorporated. Having a few little flour lumps is ok, it's better than overmixing which will make your banana bread firmer rather than soft.
Fill pan - Pour the batter into the prepared pan and smooth the surface.
Bake - Put the banana bread in the oven and bake for 70 minutes, until a skewer inserted in the centre comes out clean (turning the pan around halfway through cooking). While cooking, a crack will naturally appear along the top of your banana bread. The centre continues to expand, it pushes through the firm crust, creating that classic split. (Note 5)
Cool in the pan for 10 minutes, then lift out, and place on a wire rack. Let it cool for an hour before slicing. (Note 6)
Serving - Serve banana bread slices slightly warm or at room temperature. It’s great on its own, or spread with a little butter. Perfect for breakfast, afternoon tea, or a quick snack any time of the day.

Notes

1. Baking Soda - Also known as bi-carbonate of soda, it makes the loaf rise and keeps it light. Baking powder doesn't work as well. The banana bread wouldn't rise as much and its texture would be different.

2. Banana ripeness - The riper the bananas, the stronger the flavour and sweetness, but the texture of the bread stays the same.

Just ripe (yellow, no spots): light banana flavour, less sweetness.
Ripe (yellow with a few brown spots): balanced flavour and sweetness.
Overripe (lots of brown spots or mostly brown): deeper banana flavour and more natural sweetness.

All stages work well. The difference is in taste, not texture, the crumb will stay soft and moist regardless. Again, if you can’t find overripe bananas or don’t have time to let them ripen, don’t worry, ripe yellow bananas will still make a great banana bread!

3. Sour cream - A key element here, fat helps create a soft crumb and prevent the bread from drying out and its mild acidity triggers the baking soda to react and create the beautiful banana bread rise. Yoghurt is a great substitute. Avoid milk or buttermilk, they are thinner and can change the batter consistency, leading to a looser structure.

4. Mashing bananas - If you don’t have a masher, a fork will do the job just fine. It may take a little longer, but keep pressing and mashing until the bananas are mostly smooth with only small lumps left.

5. Baking - If your oven runs a little cooler and after 70 minutes the centre is still not cooked, simply loosely cover the top with foil and continue baking. This will prevent the crust from browning too much while the middle finishes cooking. Check every 5–10 minutes with a skewer until it comes out clean.

6. Cooling down - If you plan storing it for later, you will need to let the banana bread cool completely, this can take up to 6 hours. If you don't, the residual heat will make the crust soggy and create excess moisture that will affect texture and shorten the shelf life.

Leftovers and Storage - Keeps for 4 to 5 days in an airtight container. If the weather is warm or humid, you can store it in the fridge. For longer storage, slice the loaf, wrap and freeze the pieces individually. This way, you can take out a slice whenever you need one.

Nutrition per serving

Nutrition