Banana bread should never be dense and gray. Instead, the most delicious banana bread should be light, fluffy, velvety goodness. This version is the best!
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One time when I was visiting San Francisco with my husband, we were eating brunch at a delightful little restaurant when I saw something potentially life-changing on the menu: banana bread french toast. It seemed like a dream come true. I think I was envisioning a brioche-textured french toast with some bananas and a caramel drizzle on top or something like that. Heavenly, right?
Wrong.
When the plate arrived, I almost laughed to myself. Silly me. They literally meant french toast made with banana bread.
Which wouldn’t necessarily be a bad thing. I mean, a good piece of banana bread battered and fried, then topped with syrup? Yes, please, and thank you.
Except that wasn’t the case here. You know how some banana bread is really dense and almost grayish in color? That’s sort of how this was. A piece of thick, dense and gray banana bread that had been dipped in eggs and then cooked.
It wasn’t horrible by any means, but it definitely wasn’t the deliciousness I had expected. It was just…”meh.”
If you ask me, banana bread shouldn’t be dense. And it should never be gray.
Banana bread should be soft, fluffy, and light in color. Just like this perfect version that I make on the regular. This recipe for the most delicious banana bread has been my go-to for years now, and it always gets rave reviews.
The original recipe comes from Two Peas and Their Pod (who, if you don’t already follow, you definitely should! SO MANY amazing recipes!), but I make a simple adaptation of using sour cream instead of buttermilk, simply because I never actually have store-bought buttermilk on hand. I used to mix my own buttermilk for this recipe by combining milk and vinegar or milk and sour cream, but then I got lazy one day and just stirred plain sour cream into the batter. And I haven’t looked back. 🙂
I have been known to buy extra bananas just so that I can let some get over-ripe so I’ll have an excuse to make this banana bread. My kids can practically inhale it, and who can blame them? It really is the most delicious banana bread. Seriously.
Now, I’ll admit that I’ve never made french toast with it. But I can definitely say that its creamy color and velvety softness not only make it the perfect breakfast, but also a fantastic snack or dessert.
Because let’s be honest–life is too short to be disappointed by sub-par banana bread, friends.
Recommended Equipment:
- Loaf pan (I use a 9″x5″ pan)
- Pastry blender or potato masher for mashing bananas (you can also use a plain ol’ fork, but I think these tools speed up the process a bit)
How to Make the Most Delicious Banana Bread
This light and fluffy banana bread is a far cry from the dark, dense loaves you may have tried before. It's perfectly moist and delicious, as the best banana bread should be!
Ingredients
- 1/2 cup butter, softened
- 1 cup white sugar
- 2 eggs
- 4 Tbs sour cream
- 2 large or 3 medium bananas, mashed well (approx. 1 cup mashed)
- 1 3/4 cups all purpose flour
- 1 tsp baking powder
- 1/4 tsp salt
- 1/8 tsp baking soda
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350. Grease and flour a 9x5" loaf pan.
- Add butter and sugar to the bowl of a stand mixer and cream together.
- Add eggs and sour cream, mixing well to combine and scraping down the sides of the bowl as needed.
- In a separate bowl, combine flour, baking powder, salt, and baking soda.
- Alternate adding mashed bananas and flour mixture, beginning and ending with flour mixture (1/3 of flour mixture, 1/2 of mashed bananas, 1/3 of flour mixture, remaining bananas, remaining 1/3 of flour mixture).
- Pour batter into prepared pan.
- Bake for 50-55 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean.
Notes
Did you make it and love it? I appareciate your 5-Star review!
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Recipe slightly adapted from Two Peas and Their Pod
Nutrition Information:
Yield:
10Serving Size:
1Amount Per Serving: Calories: 295 Total Fat: 12g Saturated Fat: 7g Trans Fat: 0g Unsaturated Fat: 4g Cholesterol: 65mg Sodium: 212mg Carbohydrates: 45g Fiber: 2g Sugar: 25g Protein: 4g
Meemz says
atHello,
Do you know what the total amount of mashed bananas is in cups? Also, is there a reason you alternate dry and wet ingredients? most recipes call for adding the dry at the very end and just folding until almost fully incorporated to keep the bread moist and not dense. Your method is very interesting.
Chrysti Benner says
atHi Meemz! Those are great questions. The mashed bananas usually ends up being about 1 cup. I’ll add that to the recipe to clarify. Sometimes, adding all of the dry ingredients at once causes the batter to be pretty thick, which can lead to overmixing and results in bread that is tougher. That’s why I like to alternate adding the wet and dry, because I find that method makes it easier to incorporate the dry ingredients without mixing too much. I hope that helps! 🙂
Meemz says
atThank you very much for your reply. I was wondering does beating eggs until light and fluffy helps with an airier texture?
Chrysti Benner says
atI haven’t tried beating the eggs separately before adding them with this recipe. I do cream the butter and sugar together until light and fluffy, which helps to aerate the batter, then I add the eggs afterward. You could certainly try beating the eggs first before adding them to the butter and sugar–it may help it be even lighter! If you do try it that way, I’d love to hear how it turns out! 🙂
Meemz says
atAnd also does beating eggs until light and fluffy helps with an airier texture?
Susan G. says
atI love banana bread but have never been a fan of the dense brick-like recipes I’ve tasted over and over. I have constantly been searching for a light textured recipe for banana bread and hallelujah I’ve found it. This is an amazing recipe, so much so that after baking the first loaf, I baked another one (how I tracked more ripe bananas to make this loaf is another story) and took it to work. People went nuts over this bread because it was so different.
The only addition was a teaspoon of vanilla which I personally think makes it even richer.
So thanks for a great recipe!!!
Chrysti Benner says
atHi Susan! Thank you so much for your kind words–I’m thrilled to hear you’ve finally found a banana bread recipe that you love! Like you, I much prefer the lighter texture to the denser loaves. Your coworkers are a lucky bunch to receive such a tasty treat! And your addition of vanilla sounds delicious–I’ll have to try that next time I make it! 🙂