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Banana Bread

Apr 15, 2020

Wrapping bananas with plastic wrap is believed to keep a bunch fresher longer, but if you want your bananas to last as long as possible, the real key is to separate them. Not only do the bananas benefit from social distancing but so do your other fruits. Bananas emit a lot of ethylene gas and will cause their bunch and other nearby fruit to spoil more quickly. Of course, you can also use this to your advantage: Have some pears that you want to ripen quicker? Place them in a paper bag with ripe bananas overnight.

When your bananas do get to the tipping point, there are so many recipes you can turn to. We love frozen chocolate covered bananas, banana chips made in the dehydrator, and very ripe bananas we’ve already popped in the freezer are perfect for a chocolate chia smoothie.

Some food historians believe banana bread was a byproduct of the Great Depression as resourceful housewives didn’t want to throw away overripe bananas. With many of us trying to reduce our grocery shopping and elongate the life of our produce, banana bread has become a trending recipe on social media. There have been so many iterations including banana raisin bread, banana nut bread, and chocolate chip banana bread. Our favorite is the classic, and it’s not so much the ingredients that make this recipe unique, but rather how you handle them. Moist, with a robust banana flavor, and gooey bananas on top—here is our family recipe.

Recipe Ingredients

1 ½ cups very ripe bananas (about 3 medium bananas), 1-2 more as topping

1/3 cup unsalted or lightly salted melted butter, more for greasing pan

1 teaspoon baking soda

¼ teaspoon salt

¾ cup sugar

1 large egg, at room temperature, beaten

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

¼ teaspoon cinnamon

1 ½ cups all-purpose flour

Recipe Instructions

Heat oven to 350°F. Lightly grease a 9-by-5-inch loaf pan. In a large bowl, using a fork, mash the ripe bananas until smooth. Whisk the butter into the mashed bananas and combine until smooth and fluffy.

Add the baking soda, salt, and sugar and whisk together for 2 minutes more. Stream the egg into the mixture and continue to combine, then add the vanilla extract and cinnamon. Whisk in the flour and mix just until combined and smooth. Pour into the prepared pan.

Slice reserved bananas lengthwise and place on top of batter, sliced side up.

Bake about 45 to 50 minutes, until a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean. Let cool in the pan for 10 minutes, then turn out onto a wire rack and let cool before serving or wrapping tightly for storage.

If you make this recipe, be sure to snap a picture and share it on Instagram with the #anniefalk so we can all see it!

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