Do you want to bake the best banana bread ever but lack all the fancy equipment? Have I got a recipe for you. Or I should say, Julie Irwin has the recipe for you. Julie is my daughter Sara’s mother-in-law. She and her husband Jim hosted Ralph and I two Christmases ago. Julie served this banana bread as part of her gorgeous brunch. She kindly shared her recipe and I’ve been wanting to share the recipe with you ever since.
No fancy equipment needed – just a bowl and a spoon.
Ripening bananas to perfection is simple and will elevate your baking game. If you’re craving a banana bread but your bananas aren’t ripe enough here’s a couple of hacks to speed things up. First, place the bananas in a paper bag, which traps ethylene gas, the natural ripening agent produced by the fruit. Adding an apple or a ripe banana to the bag can speed up the process even more. Another trick is to place the bananas in a warm spot, such as near a sunny window or on top a warm appliance like the refrigerator. Within a day or two, you’ll have perfectly ripe bananas ready for you to make the best banana bread ever.
The fastest way to ripen bananas is in the freezer. Throw them in overnight and they’ll be ready the next morning once they thaw.
Over the years, I’ve shared several banana bread recipes. They’re all good but this one is the most delicious and the simplest. I think thats what appeals to me most.
The recipe from start to finish including clean-up takes ten minutes.
I used three different sized quick bread pans. 3 1/2 x 7 inches, 4 x 8 inches and 4 1/2 x 8 1/2 inches, to see which size I preferred. Julie recommended using the standard 4 x 8 inch size. I concur.
I had a lot of bananas – lol!
Storing banana bread properly ensures it stays fresh and moist until you need it.. Once cooled completely, wrap the bread tightly in plastic wrap to prevent it from drying out. If you plan to eat it within a few days, storing it at room temperature is perfectly fine. However, if you want to keep it for longer, storing it in the refrigerator will extend its shelf life.
Before serving, allow the refrigerated banana bread to come to room temperature or gently warm it in the oven wrapped in aluminium foil to restore its soft texture and delicious flavor.
With proper storage, your banana bread will stay irresistible for days to come. You can also freeze it.
Honestly, it probably won’t last a day!
Thanks for reading. xo
Ingredients
- 5 ripe bananas, smashed
- 1/3 cup melted butter
- 1 cup sugar
- 1 egg, beaten
- 1 teaspoon vanilla
- 1 teaspoon baking soda
- Pinch of salt
- 1 1/2 cup all purpose flour
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350°F.
- Place over-ripe bananas in large mixing bowl and mash.
- Using a wooden spoon, mix melted butter into the mashed bananas.
- Mix in the sugar, egg, and vanilla.
- Sprinkle the baking soda and salt over the mixture and mix in.
- Add the flour last, mix well.
- Pour mixture into a buttered 4x8 inch loaf pan.
- Bake for 1 hour, test with cake testing pin.
- Cool on a rack.
- Remove from pan and slice to serve.
Notes
THE LOVE: I throw my ripe bananas in the freezer until I have enough to make a bread.
