Banana Bread

Name: Banana Bread
Prep time: 15 min
Cook time: 2 h 15 min
Total time: 2 h 30 min
Cuisine: United States
Ingredients: 4 very ripe bananas (about 400 g peeled), plus 1 extra banana for the top, optional; 115 g (8 tbsp) unsalted butter, melted, plus extra for the pan; 150 g (¾ cup packed) light brown sugar; 2 large eggs (about 100 g without shells); 60 g (¼ cup) plain yogurt or sour cream; 5 ml (1 tsp) vanilla extract; 250 g (2 cups) all-purpose flour; 5 g (1 tsp) baking soda; 4 g (¾ tsp) fine sea salt; 2 g (1 tsp) ground cinnamon; 75 g (¾ cup) walnuts, toasted and chopped, optional

Moist, deeply banana-flavored, made in one bowl

Makes: 1 loaf (900 g / 2 lb tin), about 10 slices
Hands-on: 15 min
Total: 2 h 30 min
Level: Easy

A loaf for bananas gone black. Plenty of fruit, brown sugar, melted butter and a little yogurt make a loaf that is moist and tender for days. Everything is mixed in one bowl with a fork.

Ingredients

4very ripe bananas (about 400 g peeled)plus 1 extra banana for the top, optional
115 gunsalted butter, melted (8 tbsp)plus extra for the pan
150 glight brown sugar (¾ cup packed)
2large eggs (about 100 g without shells)
60 gplain yogurt or sour cream (¼ cup)
5 mlvanilla extract (1 tsp)
250 gall-purpose flour (2 cups)
5 gbaking soda (1 tsp)
4 gfine sea salt (¾ tsp)
2 gground cinnamon (1 tsp)
75 gwalnuts, toasted and chopped (¾ cup)optional

Diet: Vegetarian
Allergens: gluten, egg, milk, tree nuts
Origin: United States

Method

Heat the oven to 175°C (350°F). Butter a 900 g (2 lb) loaf pan and line the base and long sides with a sling of baking paper.
In a large bowl, mash the 4 bananas with a fork until mostly smooth with some small lumps.
Whisk in the melted butter, brown sugar, eggs, yogurt and vanilla until combined.
Sprinkle the flour, baking soda, salt and cinnamon over the top. Fold with a spatula until just combined; stop as soon as you see no dry flour. Fold in the walnuts, if using.
Scrape into the pan. If you like, halve the extra banana lengthwise and lay it cut-side up on top.
Bake 55–65 minutes, until deep golden, risen and cracked, and a skewer in the center comes out clean or with a few moist crumbs. If the top browns before the middle is done, cover loosely with foil after 40 minutes. 1 h
Cool in the pan 15 minutes, then lift out and cool on a rack at least 1 hour before slicing. 1 h 15 min

Why it works

As bananas ripen, their starch turns to sugar and their flavor compounds intensify, so the blacker the peel, the sweeter and more banana-flavored the bread. Bananas are also slightly acidic, and with the yogurt they give the baking soda the acid it needs to lift the batter. Melted butter coats the flour and limits gluten, keeping the crumb tender rather than bready.

Common mistakes

Using yellow bananas. They lack sweetness and flavor; wait for heavily freckled or black skins.
Overmixing after the flour goes in, which makes the loaf dense and tunnelled.
Slicing hot. The crumb is fragile until it cools.

Variations

Chocolate chunk: Swap the walnuts for 100 g chopped dark chocolate.
Whole-wheat: Use 125 g whole-wheat flour and 125 g all-purpose.

Make ahead and storage

Keeps 4 days wrapped at room temperature, and gets moister on day two. Freezes whole or in slices for 3 months. Freeze overripe bananas in their peels until you have enough.

Notes

Fan oven: 155°C (310°F). Dairy-free: use 100 ml neutral oil instead of butter and replace yogurt with plant yogurt. Tree nuts only if you add the walnuts.