🇺🇸 Banana Bread

Banana bread is a moist, comforting quick bread made with overripe bananas, browned butter, and cinnamon. It became popular during the Great Depression when home cooks refused to waste overripe bananas. The darker the bananas, the better the bread.

Ingredients

• 3 Overripe Bananas
• 115 g Butter, melted
• 150 g Brown Sugar
• 2 Eggs
• 1 tsp Vanilla
• 190 g Flour
• 1 tsp Baking Soda
• 1/2 tsp Salt
• 1/2 tsp Cinnamon
• 100 g Chocolate Chips or Walnuts

Method

1. Preheat oven to 175°C. Grease a loaf pan.
2. Whisk butter, sugar, eggs, vanilla, and bananas.
3. Fold in flour, baking soda, salt, and cinnamon.
4. Fold in chocolate or walnuts.
5. Bake 55–65 min.
6. Cool 10 min in pan, then on a rack.

History

Banana bread became popular in the United States during the Great Depression of the 1930s. Baking soda and baking powder had become widely available, and home cooks were looking for ways to use up ingredients that would otherwise be thrown away — including overripe bananas. The first banana bread recipes appeared in American cookbooks in the 1930s, and the bread quickly became a household staple. It was further popularised during World War II, when bananas were rationed and the bread became a way to make the most of what was available. Today, banana bread is one of the most-baked items in home kitchens worldwide, and the debate over whether to add nuts, chocolate, or neither is as lively as ever.

The science

The flavour of banana bread comes almost entirely from the bananas, and the key is using fruit that is very ripe — ideally with black or near-black skins. As bananas ripen, their starch converts to sugar, and their flavour compounds intensify. A banana that is yellow with a few brown spots is at the minimum level of ripeness for banana bread; a banana that is fully black is at the ideal level. Browned butter, made by cooking butter until the milk solids brown, adds a nutty, caramel-like flavour that plain melted butter cannot match. The cinnamon is optional but adds warmth, and the baking soda reacts with the acid in the bananas to help the bread rise.

Substitutions

The recipe is very forgiving. You can use white sugar instead of brown, though the bread will be less moist. For a gluten-free version, use a gluten-free flour blend and add a teaspoon of xanthan gum. For a vegan version, use a flax egg (one tablespoon of ground flaxseed mixed with three tablespoons of water) in place of the eggs, and a plant-based butter. The chocolate chips or walnuts are optional — the bread is good plain, or with a streusel topping, or with a swirl of peanut butter. Overripe bananas can be frozen for months and used whenever you are ready to bake.

Chef's tip

The darker the bananas, the better the bread. Black skins = maximum flavour.

Drink pairing

Coffee or cold milk. The bitterness of coffee cuts through the sweetness of the bread, while cold milk brings out the flavour of the chocolate chips or walnuts.