Banana Bread
Heavily speckled, overripe bananas mashed into a quick bread leavened with baking soda rather than yeast, a defining American home-baking staple. Popularized specifically during the Great Depression as a resourceful way to avoid wasting overripe bananas, its rise coinciding with the newly widespread commercial availability of baking soda and baking powder in the 1920s and 30s; the first known published recipe appeared in Pillsbury's 1933 Balanced Recipes cookbook.
DessertVegetarian
⚠ Contains: Dairy, Egg, Gluten, Tree Nut. Always check your own ingredients — this isn't a guarantee for severe allergies.
Ingredients
- 3 very ripe bananas, mashed
- 1/3 cup melted butter
- 3/4 cup sugar
- 1 egg, beaten
- 1 tsp vanilla extract
- 1 tsp baking soda
- Pinch of salt
- 1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
- 1/2 cup chopped walnuts or pecans, optional
Steps
- Preheat the oven to 175C/350F and grease a loaf pan.
- Mix the melted butter into the mashed bananas in a large bowl.
- Stir in the sugar, beaten egg, and vanilla.
- Sprinkle the baking soda and salt over the mixture and stir in.
- Add the flour and mix just until combined, a few lumps are fine, then fold in the nuts if using.
- Pour the batter into the prepared loaf pan.
- Bake 55-65 minutes, until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean.
- Cool in the pan 10 minutes, then turn out onto a rack to cool completely before slicing.