Easy Banana Bread (One Bowl, 10 Minutes)

Every kitchen needs one quick bread recipe that never fails, and mine is this banana bread. It comes together in a single bowl in about ten minutes, it uses ingredients you already have, and it fills the house with the smell of warm vanilla and brown edges. I have made it on school mornings, for new neighbors and for the kind of rainy Sunday that asks for something warm on the counter.

The secret is in the bananas. You want them past the point where you feel guilty about them: peels freckled and nearly black, flesh soft enough to mash with a fork. That is where the sugar lives. Pair them with melted butter instead of creamed butter and you get a loaf that is tender the day you bake it and even better on day two.

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Classic Banana Bread: the recipe

Prep: 10 min | Bake: 55 to 60 min | Makes: 1 loaf, 12 slices | Oven: 350 degrees F, 9 by 5 inch loaf pan

Ingredients

• 3 very ripe bananas, mashed (1 1/2 cups)
• 1/2 cup (115 g) unsalted butter, melted
• 3/4 cup (150 g) granulated sugar
• 1 large egg, beaten
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 1 teaspoon baking soda
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 1 1/2 cups (190 g) all purpose flour

Instructions

1. Heat the oven to 350 degrees F. Line a 9 by 5 inch loaf pan with parchment, leaving an overhang on the long sides.
2. Stir the melted butter into the mashed bananas in a large bowl. Mix in the sugar, egg and vanilla.
3. Sprinkle the baking soda and salt over the batter and stir. Add the flour and fold until just combined; a few streaks are fine.
4. Pour into the pan and bake 55 to 60 minutes, until a toothpick in the center comes out clean. Tent with foil at 40 minutes if the top browns fast.
5. Cool in the pan 10 minutes, lift out by the parchment, and cool completely before slicing.

Storage: Wrap tightly and keep at room temperature up to 3 days. Refrigerate up to 1 week, or freeze sliced up to 3 months.

Why this banana bread works

Three small choices make this loaf reliable. First, melted butter goes straight into the mashed bananas, so there is no creaming step and no mixer to wash. Second, baking soda reacts with the acid in the bananas for a gentle rise without any baking powder. Third, a modest amount of flour keeps the crumb soft rather than cakey.

What I use in my kitchen

You do not need much, but a few good tools make quick bread almost automatic. I bake in a USA Pan 1 pound loaf pan because the light aluminized steel browns evenly and the corrugated surface releases the loaf cleanly. I still line it with a sheet of unbleached parchment, cut to leave a two inch handle on each long side, so I can lift the loaf out whole.

For measuring I reach for a stainless steel measuring cup and spoon set, and when I want to be exact I weigh the flour on a digital kitchen scale. A glass mixing bowl set gives me a big bowl for the batter and a small one for the dry ingredients, a balloon whisk blends the wet ingredients quickly, and a silicone spatula folds the flour in without overmixing. I use pure Madagascar vanilla extract and a pinch of Saigon cinnamon in the batter, because they make the banana taste more like itself.

Tips from my test kitchen

Ripen bananas faster by baking unpeeled ones on a half sheet pan at 300 degrees for 15 to 20 minutes, until the peels turn black. Let them cool before mashing.

Ovens run hot and cold, so I keep a large dial oven thermometer on the middle rack. If your oven says 350 and the thermometer says 375, you will understand every burnt top you have ever baked. Test for doneness with a stainless steel cake tester in the center; it should come out clean or with a few dry crumbs. If the top is dark but the center is wet, tent the pan with foil and give it ten more minutes.

Always cool the loaf in the pan for ten minutes, then lift it out and let it finish on a rack. Slicing a hot banana bread tears it. When you are ready, a serrated bread knife saws through without squashing the crumb.

Variations

Fold in half a cup of chopped walnuts or pecans for crunch, or a cup of mini chocolate chips for a dessert loaf. Swap half the sugar for light brown sugar to add a caramel note.

Serving, storing and gifting

Serve it warm with a smear of salted butter from a glass butter dish left out on the counter. For breakfast I stack slices in a wicker bread basket lined with a cotton waffle weave towel, which keeps the bread warm and looks pretty on the table.

To store, wrap the cooled loaf in parchment and keep it at room temperature for up to three days. For a gift, wrap a slice or two in a clear cellophane treat bag, tie it with twine and add a handwritten tag. Pull the pan out with silicone oven mitts and always let it cool first.

Get all 10 quick breads free

This banana bread is one of ten quick breads in my free Sweet Bread Recipe eBook: pumpkin, lemon, zucchini, cinnamon swirl, cranberry orange, chocolate chip, apple cinnamon, blueberry and gingerbread. Every recipe has exact measurements, baking times and storage notes, one recipe per page and ready to print.