How To Make Banana Bread Step By Step

This How To Make Banana Bread Step By Step will eliminate the guesswork, show you how to mix everything together, and make your banana bread come out perfectly without fail.

A step by step guide for how to make banana bread, banana bread recipe, easy to follow recipe with pictures.  Banana bread is a popular homemade, quick and easy banana dessert

Learn How to Make Banana Bread—a High Rising Banana Bread—with these Step-by-Step Instructions that are perfect for beginners. This Easy Banana Bread Recipe is foolproof and will create a beautiful rise with a golden brown top.

The Best of the Quick Breads

Banana Bread is a quick bread and probably one of the most favorite among quick breads. If you are new to baking, you might be wondering what the term “quick bread” means. Well, a quick bread is a bread that can be sweet or savory, and you’ll make the bread with one or both of the chemical leavening agents baking soda and baking powder as the rising agent instead of yeast.

And the best thing about a quick bread—as the name implies—is that it is quick to make. There is no rise time involved as with yeast breads. So you can literally have fresh bread on the table in little more than an hour

Why Use Baking Soda for Banana Bread?

When it comes to making a Banana Bread, baking soda is a great choice for creating a nice rise in this type of quick bread. Generally, baking soda is used in quick breads that contain an acidic ingredient, such as buttermilk or lemon juice. But Banana Bread also benefits from using baking soda because most recipes call for using very ripe bananas. And very ripe bananas are mildly acidic.

And if you’re ready to experiment with making breads with yeast, try your hand at these two easy No-Knead Sandwich Breads. One is made with all-purpose flour, and the other contains some added whole wheat flour to increase the nutritional value

How To Make Banana Bread Step By Step

This high rising Banana Bread comes out perfect every time with a beautiful golden crust.

Prep Time – 10 mins

Cook Time – 1 hr

Total – 1hr 10mins

Ingredients

• 1 1/2 cups All-purpose flour See recipe notes for additional information.
• 1/2 cup Whole wheat flour See recipe notes for additional information.
• 1 cup Sugar You can use white sugar or a whole sugar such a dried cane juice (Sucanat), maple sugar, date sugar, etc. See recipe notes below for substituting liquid sweeteners such as honey.
• 1 teaspoon Baking soda
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1/2 cup Nuts, any variety, chopped
• 3 large Bananas, very ripe, peeled
• 1/4 cup Sour cream Can substitute with yogurt, buttermilk, or buttermilk substitute.
• 2 large Eggs
• 1 teaspoon Vanilla extract
• 1 stick Butter, melted Can substitute with ghee, coconut oil, or mild-flavored olive oil or avocado oil.

Instructions

• Set oven rack in the lower third of the oven.
• Pre-heat oven to 350°F.
• In a large bowl, add all the the flours, sugar, baking soda, and salt. Whisk together well and then toss in nuts to coat. Set aside.
• In a separate bowl, gently mash the peeled bananas.
• Add two slightly beaten eggs to the bananas along with the sour cream and vanilla and mix well.
• Add the melted butter to the banana mixture and mix well.
• Make a well in the center of the flour mixture, and pour the banana mixture into the well. Mix gently until the dry ingredients are incorporated with the wet and the flour is no longer visible. Do this gently and DO NOT over mix. Batter will be lumpy.
• Pour batter into greased loaf pan and transfer to oven. Bake for 50-60 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the center of the banana bread comes out clean. If at anytime the banana bread appears to be over browning, you can cover it with aluminum foil as it continues to bake.
• Once the banana bread is finished baking, transfer loaf pan to a wire cooling rack. Allow pan to cool slightly and then remove the banana bread from the pan to a wire cooling rack to allow the banana bread to cool completely. Slice and enjoy!

Banana Bread Recipe

Introduction: Banana Bread Recipe

About: I helped start Instructables, previously worked in biotech and academic research labs, and have a degree in biology from MIT. Currently at our parent company Autodesk, learning new things, and trying to catch …

This simple banana bread is my favorite because it’s a bit sweeter than the standard banana bread, which means the banana flavor really shines through.  It’s also an excellent base for adding nuts, chocolate chips, or anything else you like to eat in banana bread.

This recipe makes two regular loaves or one huge loaf.  I usually leave one loaf plain, and add chocolate, nuts, and/or coconut to the second.

This banana bread is good warm, but even better a day or two later when you toast slices and slather them with butter! Delicious.

Step 1: Tools and Ingredients

Ingredients:
3 overripe/black bananas, fresh or freeze-thawed¹
1 cup sugar
1/2 cup butter (1 stick) – save wrapper to grease pans
2 eggs
3 Tablespoons milk
2 cups flour
1 teaspoon baking soda
2 Tablespoons each add-in

Tools:
KitchenAid mixer (or a bowl, and electric beaters or a spoon and strong arm)
rubber spatula
1 or 2 loaf pans

¹Freezing your ridiculously ripe bananas, preferably in groups of 3, means you’re always ready for banana bread.  You can thaw the bananas in your bowl on the counter, or microwave them.  Don’t worry about the pool of liquid they drop – the freeze-thawed bananas will actually taste better than the same bananas that haven’t gone through the process.  Just remember to peel your bananas before freezing them.

Step 2: Cream Butter, Sugar, and Bananas

Cream the stick of room-temperature butter and 1 cup sugar together with the 3 overripe bananas. 

I typically dump all three into my KitchenAid mixer, hit go, and wander off for a bit.  Be sure to scrape the sides at least once, then mix a bit more.

Step 3: Add Eggs and Milk

Add in the 2 eggs and 3 Tablespoons milk, and mix until they’re thoroughly incorporated.  Again, scrape sides as needed between bouts of stirring.

Step 4: Add Flour and Baking Soda

Add 2 cups flour and 1 teaspoon baking soda, and stir in gently until mixed.  Scrape sides and mix again.  The resulting batter will be a thin pudding consistency.

Step 5: Prep Extras

If you’re going to add nuts, coconut, chocolate chunks/chips, or any other extra bits, now is the time.  I generally figure about 2-3 Tablespoons is the right amount to add in.  If you’re using big chunks of nuts or chocolate chips instead of more finely chopped, make them heaping tablespoons.  There’s really no way to go wrong –  just add things you think taste good with bananas.

Some things that go well in banana bread:
– dark chocolate
– milk chocolate
– macadamia nuts
– hazelnuts
– pecans
– walnuts
– maraschino cherries (yes, I grew up in the midwest – why do you ask?)
– coconut shavings

Step 6: Grease and Fill Pans

– Grease two loaf pans with the left-over butter wrapper.
– Scoop half of batter into each loaf pan, and remove any drips from the edge. 

You may add any extras before or after filling the pans.  Since I tend to leave one plain, I just dump the bits on top of the second pan and mix them in with a fork.  It’s a bit tidier to add them in earlier, but I’m lazy.

You can also make this in muffin pans, or an 8×8 square pan if you prefer.  Just adjust the timing a bit, and pay close attention because you’ll be using the “cook it till it’s done” method.

Step 7: Bake

Bake in 350F oven for 50-55 minutes until golden brown on top and a test poke from a toothpick or skewer comes out clean.

Let the pans cool slightly, then while still warm (but no longer dangerously hot) use a silicone spatula or other flexible implement to separate the bread from the edge of the pan, and gently turn the loaf out onto a wire rack to cool.

Step 8: Serve & Store

Slice the bread and serve warm or room-temperature.  To store, let the loaf come to room temperature then wrap in aluminum foil.

I’m particularly fond of toasting the leftover banana bread and smearing it with high-quality butter, honey cream cheese, or Nutella. 

Banana Bread

Put those ripe bananas to use in the best banana bread recipe ever. Moist and delicious, it’s easy to make—one bowl, no need for a mixer!

This banana bread has been the most popular recipe on Simply Recipes for over 10 years. Thousands of people make it every day. Why?

Because it really is the best banana bread recipe, period. You can mix everything in one bowl, you can vary the amount of sugar or bananas. And the secret to its great flavor? Melted butter.

The beauty of this banana bread recipe is you don’t need a fancy mixer! A mixing bowl, a fork to whisk the eggs, and a sturdy spoon to mix the batter are all you need. The sugar amount is flexible. The original recipe called for a cup of white sugar, but most people, including me, do just fine with 3/4 cup, and many are happy with 1/2 cup.

You can toss in a cup of chopped nuts, raisins, or chocolate chips if you want, or put the batter into muffin tins and make banana nut muffins instead. You can even go a step further and make chocolate banana bread

How to Make Banana Bread

The Best Loaf Pan for This Recipe

This recipe calls for an 8- x 4-inch loaf pan, which produces a tall loaf. The recipe will also work in an 8 1/2- x 4 1/2-inch loaf pan, producing a slightly shorter bread. Since the pan is a bit larger, the bake time is shorter: 47 to 57 minutes. A 9- x 5-inch pan will yield an especially short but still delicious bread; bake for 45 to 55 minutes.

Adapt This Banana Bread Recipe

• Swap out all of part of the sugar for light brown sugar.
• Replace up to half of the flour with white whole wheat flour.
• Add 1 teaspoon of cinnamon.
• Mix in 1/2 cup of chopped nuts or dried fruit.
• Add 1/2 cup chocolate chips.

Banana Bread

PREP TIME – 10 mins

COOK TIME – 60 mins

TOTAL TIME – 70 mins

SERVINGS – 8 to 10 servings

YIELD – 1 loaf

No need for a mixer for this recipe! Clean-up is easy, too. If you want, you can mix everything in one bowl.

This recipe calls for an 8- x 4-inch loaf pan. If you are baking in an 8 1/2- x 4 1/2-inch pan, bake for 47 to 57 minutes. If baking in a 9- x 5-inch pan, bake for 45 to 55 minutes. Note that the larger pan size will produce a flatter loaf.

The best bananas to use for banana bread are those that are over-ripe. The yellow peels should be at least half browned, and the bananas inside squishy and browning.

Ingredients

• 2 to 3 medium (7″ to 7-7/8″ long) very ripe bananas, peeled (about 1 1/4 to 1 1/2 cups mashed)
• 1/3 cup (76g) butter, unsalted or salted, melted
• 1/2 teaspoon baking soda (not baking powder)
• 1 pinch salt
• 3/4 cup (150g) sugar (1/2 cup if you would like it less sweet, 1 cup if more sweet)
• 1 large egg, beaten
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 1 1/2 cups (205g) all-purpose flour

Method

1. Preheat the oven and prepare the pan:
   Preheat the oven to 350°F (175°C), and butter an 8 x 4-inch loaf pan.
2. Mash the bananas and add the butter:
   In a mixing bowl, mash the ripe bananas with a fork until completely smooth. Stir the melted butter into the mashed bananas.
3. Mix in the remaining ingredients:
   Mix in the baking soda and salt. Stir in the sugar, beaten egg, and vanilla extract. Mix in the flour.
4. Bake the bread:
   Pour the batter into your prepared loaf pan.Bake for 55 to 65 minutes at 350°F (175°C), or until a toothpick or wooden skewer inserted into the center comes out clean. A few dry crumbs are okay; streaks of wet batter are not. If the outside of the loaf is browned but the center is still wet, loosely tent the loaf with foil and continue baking until the loaf is fully baked.
5. Cool and serve:
   Remove from oven and let cool in the pan for a few minutes. Then remove the banana bread from the pan and let cool completely before serving. Slice and serve. (A bread knife helps to make slices that aren’t crumbly.) Wrapped well, the banana bread will keep at room temperature for 4 days. For longer storage, refrigerate the loaf up to 5 days, or freeze it.