Banana Bread
Banana bread is oh-so-simple... yet like many simple recipes, requires a few out of the ordinary ingredients to bring it from potentially boring to memorable. A hint of spice, honey for sweetness and moist texture, and one final touch—a few spoonfuls of jam—distinguish this tasty bread from run-of-the-mill versions.
- Prep time
- 20 min
- Cook time
- 1 hr 10 min
- Yield
- 18 servings
- Difficulty
- HARD
Ingredients
Quantities are shown as originally provided.
- 8 tablespoons (113g) unsalted butter, at cool room temperature
- 2/3 cup (142g) light brown sugar or dark brown sugar, packed
- 1 teaspoon King Arthur Pure Vanilla Extract
- 1 teaspoon cinnamon
- 1/4 teaspoon nutmeg
- 1 teaspoon baking soda
- 1 teaspoon baking powder
- 1 teaspoon table salt
- 1 1/2 cups (340g) bananas, mashed
- 3 tablespoons (64g) apricot jam or orange marmalade, optional but tasty
- 1/4 cup (85g) honey
- 2 large eggs
- 2 1/4 cups (270g) King Arthur Unbleached All-Purpose Flour
- 1/2 cup (57g) chopped walnuts, optional
Instructions
- 1
Preheat the oven to 325°F. Lightly grease a 9" x 5" loaf pan; or a 12" x 4" tea loaf pan.
- 2
In a large bowl, combine the butter, sugar, vanilla, cinnamon, nutmeg, baking soda, baking powder, and salt, beating until smooth.
- 3
Add the mashed bananas, jam, honey, and eggs, again beating until smooth.
- 4
Add the flour, then the walnuts, stirring just until smooth.
- 5
Spoon the batter into the prepared loaf pan, smoothing the top. Let it rest at room temperature for 10 minutes.
- 6
Bake the bread for 45 minutes, then gently lay a piece of aluminum foil across the top, to prevent over-browning.
- 7
Bake for an additional 25 minutes (20 minutes if you're baking in a tea loaf pan). Remove the bread from the oven; a long toothpick or cake tester inserted into the center should come out clean, with a few wet crumbs clinging to it. The tester shouldn't show any sign of uncooked batter. If it does, bake the bread an additional 5 minutes, or until it tests done.
- 8
Allow the bread to cool for 10 minutes in the pan. Remove it from the pan, and cool it completely on a rack.