Banana Bread
Banana Bread is one of those things that we make all the time. Everyone in the house loves it, especially my four year old. She can be terribly picky but she never turns down homemade banana bread. Ironically, it's one of those things that you're just trying to use up leftovers (too ripe bananas, in this case) but it seems everyone prefers the reinvention to the fruit. I always buy bananas but nobody eats them! So we always have enough to make banana bread.
I start with some seriously overripe bananas. For the full recipe, which will yield a loaf and 24 mini muffins, I like to use 4-5 bananas. I like it better with more bananas than less, but the recipe works even if you only use 4. They've got to be so ripe that you can mash them with little effort using a fork. If the bananas are just ripe enough to eat, they're not ripe enough for banana bread. And trust me, using bananas that aren't very ripe can be disastrous. They will not taste good. At all. If you only had two or three bananas that went super ripe, you can just do half the recipe and you will still get a loaf or a dozen regular size muffins. I'll include the cooking time and yield for various size pans.
I like to use butter that's been left out to soften on its own for at least 3-4 hours, depending on how warm it is where you are. I used to microwave it to melt it but after trying it several ways, I think the softened butter is better. If you're trying to cut down on butter or you can't have it, I've tried substituting the butter with an equal amount of apple sauce and it works. You just have to adjust the sugar, using about 1/4 cup less. However, I always miss that little something that butter gives so I still recommend butter for better flavor.
In a large mixing bowl, you want to put the butter and the sugar and whisk away. I don't use a mixer when I make banana bread. I think it gives it a more rustic texture. But if the butter isn't quite soft enough, it's really going to stick to your whisk while you're trying to cream together the butter and the sugar. I just run a spatula through it to get it off the whisk and go again. I add the eggs. Whisk, whisk. Then I start mashing those bananas and add them in too, tossing some vanilla extract in there with it. At this point, I switch out the whisk for a wooden spoon. Sometimes I just use the spatula that I already had out when trying to remove butter that's stuck to the whisk.
You can now sift the dry ingredients together in a bowl and add it to the original mixture. Admittedly, I get lazy sometimes and just chuck them all in the bowl that's already got the creamed mixture. I'm a home cook. I don't think it makes a big difference. As long a you put in the right amount of flour, baking soda and salt, it usually comes out fine. I've used all-purpose flour and bread flour and both of them work with this recipe. Because it's banana bread though, if I have it, I prefer to use bread flour.
Most recipes will instruct you to pre-heat your oven at the very beginning. But I'll tell you, it takes me forever to get this batter neatly into muffin cups, especially if I've got to fill 24 mini muffins. I timed myself last night, it took 15 minutes! Add another 5 minutes if you plan to add some chocolate chips or nuts on top. So I preheat my oven right around this time instead. You know, before you put the batter in the cups. If you're just making a loaf though, then that takes like 2 seconds so pre-heat a little earlier!
For the loaf, I use the foil loaf pans sold by Reynolds which are barely 8" x 4" and if using a full recipe, you could fill two of them up to about 2/3 of the way. I don't really like when the loaf goes way over the pan and I often need room because I like to put plenty of chopped walnuts all over the top. You could mix nuts and chocolate chips into the batter but I prefer to just use these things as toppings so I can remove them easily if needed. For children under the age of five, I'm not sure nuts are a good idea, even if the kids aren't allergic. It's a choking hazard. The children love the chocolate chips but I like the bread to come out completely solid, not with melted chocolate holes, if that makes sense. And also to control the sugar, I just put some on top of each muffin, counting the chips as I go! This is perfect for us with a little OCD hahaha.
When cooking in loaf pans, you'll need to keep it in the oven for an hour. Large muffin tins, the ones that come 6 in a pan, stay in the oven for about 35 minutes. Regular size cupcake/muffins (12 to a pan), you can bake for 25 minutes and mini-muffins (24 to a pan) bake for 15 minutes. Muffin tins can be filled 2/3 to 3/4 of the way depending on how you like them and a full recipe will pretty much always yield enough for 2 pans, which can be baked at the same time.
Instructions:
I start with some seriously overripe bananas. For the full recipe, which will yield a loaf and 24 mini muffins, I like to use 4-5 bananas. I like it better with more bananas than less, but the recipe works even if you only use 4. They've got to be so ripe that you can mash them with little effort using a fork. If the bananas are just ripe enough to eat, they're not ripe enough for banana bread. And trust me, using bananas that aren't very ripe can be disastrous. They will not taste good. At all. If you only had two or three bananas that went super ripe, you can just do half the recipe and you will still get a loaf or a dozen regular size muffins. I'll include the cooking time and yield for various size pans.
I like to use butter that's been left out to soften on its own for at least 3-4 hours, depending on how warm it is where you are. I used to microwave it to melt it but after trying it several ways, I think the softened butter is better. If you're trying to cut down on butter or you can't have it, I've tried substituting the butter with an equal amount of apple sauce and it works. You just have to adjust the sugar, using about 1/4 cup less. However, I always miss that little something that butter gives so I still recommend butter for better flavor.
In a large mixing bowl, you want to put the butter and the sugar and whisk away. I don't use a mixer when I make banana bread. I think it gives it a more rustic texture. But if the butter isn't quite soft enough, it's really going to stick to your whisk while you're trying to cream together the butter and the sugar. I just run a spatula through it to get it off the whisk and go again. I add the eggs. Whisk, whisk. Then I start mashing those bananas and add them in too, tossing some vanilla extract in there with it. At this point, I switch out the whisk for a wooden spoon. Sometimes I just use the spatula that I already had out when trying to remove butter that's stuck to the whisk.
You can now sift the dry ingredients together in a bowl and add it to the original mixture. Admittedly, I get lazy sometimes and just chuck them all in the bowl that's already got the creamed mixture. I'm a home cook. I don't think it makes a big difference. As long a you put in the right amount of flour, baking soda and salt, it usually comes out fine. I've used all-purpose flour and bread flour and both of them work with this recipe. Because it's banana bread though, if I have it, I prefer to use bread flour.
Most recipes will instruct you to pre-heat your oven at the very beginning. But I'll tell you, it takes me forever to get this batter neatly into muffin cups, especially if I've got to fill 24 mini muffins. I timed myself last night, it took 15 minutes! Add another 5 minutes if you plan to add some chocolate chips or nuts on top. So I preheat my oven right around this time instead. You know, before you put the batter in the cups. If you're just making a loaf though, then that takes like 2 seconds so pre-heat a little earlier!
For the loaf, I use the foil loaf pans sold by Reynolds which are barely 8" x 4" and if using a full recipe, you could fill two of them up to about 2/3 of the way. I don't really like when the loaf goes way over the pan and I often need room because I like to put plenty of chopped walnuts all over the top. You could mix nuts and chocolate chips into the batter but I prefer to just use these things as toppings so I can remove them easily if needed. For children under the age of five, I'm not sure nuts are a good idea, even if the kids aren't allergic. It's a choking hazard. The children love the chocolate chips but I like the bread to come out completely solid, not with melted chocolate holes, if that makes sense. And also to control the sugar, I just put some on top of each muffin, counting the chips as I go! This is perfect for us with a little OCD hahaha.
When cooking in loaf pans, you'll need to keep it in the oven for an hour. Large muffin tins, the ones that come 6 in a pan, stay in the oven for about 35 minutes. Regular size cupcake/muffins (12 to a pan), you can bake for 25 minutes and mini-muffins (24 to a pan) bake for 15 minutes. Muffin tins can be filled 2/3 to 3/4 of the way depending on how you like them and a full recipe will pretty much always yield enough for 2 pans, which can be baked at the same time.
Banana Bread
Ingredients:
- 1/2 cup butter
- 1 cup sugar
- 2 eggs
- 5 bananas, mashed
- 1/2t vanilla extract
- 1 1/2 cups flour
- 1t baking soda
- 1/2t salt
- 1/2 cup chopped walnuts (optional)
- 1/2 cup semi-sweet chocolate chips (optional)
Instructions:
1. Cream together butter and sugar. Add eggs and mashed banana and vanilla extract.
2. In a separate bowl, sift flour, baking soda and salt. Add that to the creamed mixture.
3. Pour into desired pan (loaf pans or muffin tins, lined or greased)
4. Bake at 350 degrees. 60 mins for loaf, 35 mins for large muffins, 25 mins for regular muffins/cupcakes and 15 minutes for mini-muffins.
5. Cool completely before covering and storing.
2. In a separate bowl, sift flour, baking soda and salt. Add that to the creamed mixture.
3. Pour into desired pan (loaf pans or muffin tins, lined or greased)
4. Bake at 350 degrees. 60 mins for loaf, 35 mins for large muffins, 25 mins for regular muffins/cupcakes and 15 minutes for mini-muffins.
5. Cool completely before covering and storing.
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