Best-Ever Banana Bread Recipe

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Hi Bold Bakers!

WHAT YOU GET: This is the end-all, be-all Banana Bread recipe. If you need one go-to, let it be this one — it’s moist, full of banana flavor, has secret ingredients (how mysterious!), and above all else it’s easy! 

When it comes to comfort baking there is just nothing that can be compared to this classic, moist Banana Bread recipe. Something about that toasty, sweet smell that fills the house always gets me. Banana Bread tends to be one of those recipes that you need a master recipe for, one that never fails you.

If you’re like me, you probably have your mum’s or granny’s recipe written on a scrap of paper that you occasionally misplace and then freak out when you can’t find it.

Well, freak out no more because I have your go-to, never-fail Best Ever Banana Bread recipe right here. And if you’re looking for variations of this recipe, you’re in the right place. Feel free to try any one of these — because I’m a bit of a banana bread expert:

• Mia’s Family Banana Nut Bread
• The Fastest Way to Make Banana Bread
• The Softest Sour Cream Banana Bread
• The Essential Chocolate Chip Banana Bread
• Warm & Comforting Pumpkin Banana Bread
• Homemade Banana Bread Muffins
• Cream Cheese Swirl Banana Bread
• Must-Try Blueberry Banana Bread
• 3 Incredible Ways To Use Banana Bread
• Incredible Banana Bread French Toast
• Banana Bread Brownies
• Elegant Banana Bread Trifle
• Healthy Chocolate Banana Bread

My Banana Bread Recipe Secrets

I have tried and tested so many banana bread recipes throughout my career. After time spent working in pastry, baking in restaurants, working in catering, I have taken the best parts of all of the banana bread recipes I’ve ever created and combined them into the best banana bread recipe in the world. Keep reading to find out the secrets to how you can get the best results.

Why This Is The Best Banana Bread

When I think of Homemade Banana Bread I think of the sweet hearty banana flavor, a brown toasty crust, and a tender cake-like interior. To achieve that result, this recipe perfectly combines wholesome simple ingredients like sweet cinnamon, milk, ripe bananas, and a not-so-common ingredient: hearty oats.

The rolled oats soak up all the moisture and make for soft and moist banana bread. This recipe contains eggs, but if you don’t eat eggs you can use my egg substitute chart for baking. Once you combine your wet and dry ingredients, make sure you only fold them together so you don’t over mix the batter and make it tough.

What You’ll Need To Make Banana Bread

• Loaf pan and parchment paper
• Medium, large bowls
• Whisk
• Measuring cups

How To Make Banana Bread

This is how simple it is:

1. Preheat your oven and line a loaf pan with parchment paper.
2. Combine all the dry ingredients in a medium bowl.
3. Combine all your wet ingredients in a large bowl.
4. Add the medium bowl’s contents into the large bowl and mix by hand.
5. Pour the batter into the loaf pan and bake for 55 minutes.
6. Store at room temperature.

How NOT To Make Banana Bread

Despite the easiness of this recipe, there are in fact ways to make mistakes when whipping up a loaf. Let me break down the most common things people get wrong, so you can avoid them and sail straight to success.

• Don’t use green, under-ripe bananas!
  It is best to use brown, older bananas for a much sweeter and more pronounced banana flavor. Plus they’re way easier to mash.
• Don’t mix all the wet ingredients and bananas together!
  Speaking of mashing, mash the bananas first, then add the other wet ingredients. Mashing the bananas in the bowl by themselves first will allow you to get them much smoother and mushier. That is harder to do once the oil, milk, etc are in there.
• Don’t just dump all of the dry ingredients into the wet!
  Always mix the dry ingredients in a separate bowl before adding them to the wet ingredients. By doing this you are ensuring your raising agents, spices, and salt will all be evenly mixed before the next step.
• Do NOT overbeat your batter!
  Gently mix the batter together gently until just combined. Leaving lumps is totally fine. Over-mixing means you can develop the gluten in the flour resulting in much tougher bread. Nobody wants a tough slice.
• Don’t forget the parchment paper!
  Always line your loaf pan with parchment paper. This is such a heavy, large loaf and you just want to buy yourself extra insurance that it will easily pop right out of the loaf pan.
• Do not open the oven while baking!
  Resist the urge to open that oven while baking!!! Opening the door in the first 20 minutes of baking lets out the steam and hot air and can cause the banana bread to fall leaving you with a flat loaf.

How To Make Banana Bread Moist

In addition to oats, flavorless oil like vegetable oil helps ensure you’ll get a really moist result. And here’s another secret trick: once you bake your bread, and you see a lovely golden brown color on top, take your bread out of the oven and cover it with aluminum foil while it’s still warm. Covering the bread with foil will steam the cake to make it extra soft and delicious, giving you a sticky top like you’d find in a gingerbread.

If you’re craving some serious home-baked comfort food, I have you and your family covered with this recipe. Make sure to cut thick slices and enjoy it simply with butter. Once you give this Best Ever Banana Bread recipe a try with a buttery spread, this will be your new go-to recipe.

Try The Best Gluten-Free Banana Bread!

A lot of you may be wondering how to make a banana bread gluten-free and a little lower in sugar. Since swapping gluten-free flour for all-purpose can be a bit of a gamble, Bigger Bolder Baking‘s alternative baker Liv created an awesome recipe using alternative ingredients.

This is the Best Gluten-Free Banana Bread, made with a monkfruit sugar substitute, almond flour, and coconut flour, and this low sugar and low carb banana bread is great for everyone who is looking for a healthy banana bread recipe that’s dairy-free.

This recipe does use eggs, but even the eggs in the bread can be replaced with flax egg making the bread entirely vegan.

How to Make Chocolate Banana Bread

You can add chocolate chips to either of the above recipes for a chocolate chip banana bread recipe, but for those of you that are chocoholics like me, I’ve created a recipe for true chocolate banana bread! This Healthy Chocolate Banana Bread is not your average, as it has benefits!

This bread combines a hefty 1/2 cup of cocoa powder, ground flax, coconut sugar, and coconut oil to make a nourishing and rich bread.

The banana lightly sweetness the bread and the addition of chocolate chips make this the most satisfying breakfast, snack, and of course dessert with a sweet crunch!

How To Store Banana Bread

While nothing beats eating banana bread fresh out of the oven, you can store it in an airtight container or covered in plastic wrap and leave it out on the counter.

Can You Freeze Banana Bread?

You most certainly can! Make sure to tightly seal the bread with a food wrap or Ziploc bag, depending on whether or not you’re freezing a whole loaf or just a few slices.

How Long Does Banana Bread Last

Like most bread, this recipe can last for around three to four days on the counter. After that, it will start to dry out, but will still be safe to eat.

Seriously, Get More Banana Bread Recipes:

• Mia’s Family Banana Nut Bread
• Sour Cream Banana Bread
• Chocolate Chip Banana Bread (with 10 Minute Microwave instructions)
• Banana Bread in a Mug
• Cream Cheese Banana Bread
• Banana Bread Muffins
• Pumpkin Banana Bread
• Gluten-Free Banana Bread

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