Deliciously Moist Banana Bread Recipe

Plus, it’s the perfect recipe for when you have bananas that are just a little too ripe. In fact, the riper they are, the better your banana bread will turn out! Spread some butter on top, pour a cup of coffee, and you’ll have the perfect weekend treat.

How to Make Moist Banana Bread

Here are some tips & tricks for making the best banana bread.

The bananas have to be over-ripe. When it comes to banana bread, the blacker the peel, the better. These mushy bananas give off a much sweeter flavor, making them perfect for baking banana bread. Previously frozen ripe bananas work great as well!

Mash the bananas thoroughly. To do so, you can use a fork, a potato masher or hand mixer. This is particularly important for those who do not like munching on slimy and mushy banana bits.

When combining dry and wet ingredients, fold them very gently with a spatula. This will result in extra tender bread.

I know this recipe calls for 60 minutes of cook time, but check it as early as 55 minutes in. You’ll know it’s done when you see some moist bread sticking to your tester toothpick. Remove from the oven right away!

Pecans are great, but walnuts also go really well with banana bread. The hint of bitterness in these nuts gives a nice balance to the sweetness of the banana.

Make sure to take the banana bread out of the loaf pan as soon as possible, about 10 minutes after it’s out of the oven. Don’t leave it in there for too long – doing so will result in a soggy bottom.

Ingredients

To make the best banana bread, you’ll need:

ButterSugarEggsVanilla ExtractLemon JuiceAll-purpose flourBaking sodaBaking powderSaltChopped WalnutsRipe Bananas

How to Ripen Bananas

To make the best banana bread, you’ll want to use bananas that are overly ripe, but sometimes you just won’t have ripe bananas on hand. There are a couple of easy ways to ripen green bananas. First, you can leave them sitting out on the counter for a day or two. But if you’re short on time, you can always pop them in the oven and bake for approximately 15-20 minutes at 250 degrees Fahrenheit.

How to Store Banana Bread

Even when you follow all the recipe tips mentioned above, banana bread tends to dry out when storing it overnight. Here are some storage tips to keep your banana bread moist and delicious:

Allow your bread to cool on a wire rack or a plate before refrigerating it. Slice your bread in thick and even slices. Eat to your heart’s content. In the unlikely event of leftovers, pack the remaining slices in plastic wrap while it’s still a little warm. This will prevent it from going dry. Tin foils and airtight containers also work well at preserving the quality of the bread. Make sure that it is wrapped nice and tightly.Place the wrapped slices inside a freezer bag. Press the bag to get rid of excess air, and gently close the seal completely.

How to Freeze Banana Bread

If you leave your banana bread wrapped in plastic on the countertop, it will stay good for about 3 to 4 days. If you wrap and refrigerate it properly, your bread could last for up to seven days. But, if you need to store it for an even longer period, freezing it is also an option. Doing so will make your banana bread last for 3 whole months! Just make sure that the bread is completely cooled before you fridge or freeze it. To serve, simply thaw it out in the fridge or at room temperature until it softens.

Tips & Tricks

Here are more ways to make your banana bread even better!

Measure properly. When you make banana bread, be sure to measure ingredients accurately. Do not pack your measuring cup because you might end up with too much. Use a spoon to place your dry ingredients into the measuring cup, and use the back of a knife to level it.Use an electric mixer to thoroughly mash the bananas. Just rinse and dry it well before using it again to cream the butter and sugar!

And, in case your banana bread doesn’t turn out the way you wanted, here are some things to check for.

The banana bread didn’t rise.

There are several possible explanations behind this. You may have added too much or too little baking soda to the recipe, or maybe your baking soda has already gone bad. Baking is an exact science, so little mishaps like this could be detrimental to your bread! Another possibility is that you’ve mixed the mixture way too much. Apart from resulting in a dry loaf, over-mixing can also cause your bread to be flat. The key is to fold the batter very gently to mix the ingredients together. Lastly, you also could have added too much of the wet ingredients. The wet ingredients in the recipe tend to weigh your bread down, resulting in flat banana bread.

The middle part of the bread has sunk.

If you find that your banana bread has sunk at the center, it most likely means that it wasn’t cooked all the way through yet when you took it out of the oven. While it may have looked done on the outside, it needs at least 50 minutes to cook. When your bread starts to turn brown, it’s completely understandable to want to take it out right away. After all, no one wants burned bread. But that doesn’t mean you should take it out prematurely. Your batter of flour and mashed bananas will need plenty of time to cook completely. To avoid this from happening again, a good trick is to leave it in the open for a good 2-3 minutes after it’s cooked. Don’t forget to leave the oven door wide open, too! Doing so will give your bread time to tighten up as it settles.