Banana Bread

4.91 from 44 votes

We’ve FINALLY discovered our family’s go-to banana bread recipe. This one is courtesy of Joanne Chang of Flour Bakery & Cafe.

Prep Time25

Cook Time1 15

Total Time1 40

Course: Dessert

Cuisine: American

Servings:

Calories: 254kcal

Author: Kaitlin

Ingredients

1 1/2 cups all purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon (make it 1 1/4 teaspoons if you love cinnamon!)
1/2 teaspoon kosher salt or sea salt
1 1/8 cup sugar (1 cup plus 2 tablespoons)
2 large eggs (at room temperature)
1/2 cup vegetable oil
3 1/2 very ripe medium bananas (peeled and mashed, about 1 1/3 cups or 340g)
2 tablespoons sour cream (or whole milk yogurt)
1 teaspoon vanilla extract

US Customary - Metric

Instructions

Position a rack in the center of your oven, and preheat to 325°F. Grease a 9x5-inch loaf pan.
In a medium bowl, sift together the flour, baking soda, cinnamon, and salt. Set aside.
Using a stand mixer fitted with the whisk attachment, beat together the sugar and eggs on medium speed for about 5 minutes, or until light and fluffy. If using a hand mixer, beat for 8 minutes. If mixing by hand, whisk for about 10 minutes...or until your arm goes limp and you can’t be bothered anymore.
After your sugar and eggs have been properly mixed, reduce the mixing speed to low and slowly drizzle in the oil in a thin stream. This should take about 1 minute. This part is hard if you’ve only got a hand whisk, but do your best!
Add the bananas, sour cream, and vanilla extract. Mix on low speed just until combined.
Using a rubber spatula, gently fold in the dry ingredients until just incorporated (and there are no visible flour streaks). Avoid overworking the batter. Then fold in any add-ins (no more than ¾ cup total), if using.
Pour into the loaf pan, and pop it in the center of the oven. Bake for 60-75 minutes, until it’s a deep golden brown and the center springs back when you press it. You can also use an instant read thermometer. It's done when the internal temperature is 200-205F and the thermometer comes out clean. Cool for at least 30 minutes.
This banana bread is great warm with butter, but in our opinion, it’s even better the next day. Cover, and let it sit on the counter overnight. We have a loaf pan that comes with a lid, so we just put that on. A cake plate with a cover also works well.

Notes

If you want to make this banana bread into muffins, simply make the batter as written. Add-ins that work great for muffins are 1/2 cup of chopped walnuts, 1/4 cup of toasted flaked coconut, and a handful of chocolate chips if you like. Line a muffin tin with paper muffin cups and fill them to the top of the paper. Bake in a 400F for 5 minutes, reduce the temperature to 375F and bake for an additional 18 minutes until a toothpick comes out clean and the internal temperature is 200-205F.

Nutrition