- [Narrator] Banana bread is the queen
when it comes to classic, quick bread recipes.
It's sweet, thick, tender, customizable,
and dare we say, moist.
Banana bread is relatively simple,
and easy to make.
But surprisingly,
a lot of factors can take your recipe
in different directions.
There are hundreds,
if not thousands of banana bread recipes
out there.
So we tested a ton of variations
to bring you Tasty's Ultimate Banana Bread.
(chalkboard writing)
(upbeat instrumental music)
We're gonna start with preparing
a nine by five inch Loaf Pan .
Spray it with some non-stick cooking spray,
line it with parchment paper,
and then spray it again.
We'll set that aside,
and move on to browning our butter.
Add the butter to a non-stick pan
over medium high heat,
cook and stir occasionally
until the butter turns Amber Brown,
and smells nutty.
The process will take about three
to four minutes,
but make sure you're watching carefully,
so the butter doesn't burn.
Quick tip.
Brown your butter in light colored pan,
so you can see the butter brown more clearly.
Once you have that nice Amber Brown color,
remove the pot from the heat,
and set aside to cool for about 10 to 15 minutes.
Now that our butter has cooled,
we'll add that to a large bowl,
along with our brown sugar.
Using brown sugar instead of white sugar,
will add more of a caramel flavor,
and moistness to your banana bread.
We're adding one cup here.
Quick tip.
If your bananas aren't extremely ripe,
just add another quarter cup of sugar.
We'll use a hand mixer to beat
until evenly combined, about one minute.
Next we'll add one egg,
and whip it with a hand mixer.
This will help leaven,
and lighten the texture of the banana bread.
We're only whipping for about three
to four minutes,
because we only want a little bit of air.
If we whip it too much,
the bread will rise and then fall
because it's too dense.
Now it wouldn't be banana bread without bananas.
For ultra delicious banana bread,
you want those bananas to be mostly brown,
and slightly over it.
Like these.
Brown bananas are sweeter,
and have a more pronounced banana flavor.
They're also easier to mash,
and will better incorporate into your batter.
We tested a couple of different ways
to ripen bananas more quickly
if you're ever in a time crunch.
We bake them in the oven
at 350 degrees Fahrenheit for 15 minutes.
While the bananas did soften,
they lost that caramelized banana flavor
you get when you let them ripen naturally.
They were also a lot less sweet,
leaving the loaf tasting like it was
missing something.
We also tried them in a brown bag
with an apple and it did nothing.
In fact, only the apple ripened.
The next day,
we took the apple out,
and just let the banana sit in the bag.
They didn't ripen any faster
than the ones we let sit on the counter.
Simply put,
the best way to ripen bananas
is the old fashioned way.
Time.
And trust us when we say it is worth the wait.
For this recipe,
we're using two cups of mashed bananas.
We found that it's best to measure bananas
in cups because they differ in size one.
One person's four bananas, might equal two cups,
while another person's bananas,
might only equal one cup.
A fork is probably the most popular
mashing method.
It takes a little more effort,
but it works great.
If you're looking for something easier,
try using a potato masher.
If you're looking for a little less mess,
you can actually mash banana inside
the banana peel.
Like this.
Add the mashed bananas to a medium bowl
along with some full fat sour cream,
emphasis on the full.
The reason we're using sour cream
instead of milk, Crème fraîche,
or Greek yogurt,
is because sour cream adds moisture
with a little bit of tang.
The acidic properties of sour cream
also help tenderize the load,
to give it that soft texture.
Let's add a little vanilla extract,
and fold to combine.
Let's move on to our dry ingredients.
To another mixing bowl,
we're gonna add, All-Purpose Flour,
Kosher Salt, Baking Soda and Cinnamon.
There are a lot of spice options
you could add to banana bread,
Cinnamon, Nutmeg, Cloves, Allspice,
Cardamom and even Ginger.
But Cinnamon is gonna pair best
with the dark chocolate we'll add
to the batter later.
Now that our dry ingredients are well combined.
We're gonna alternate pouring
the flour and mashed bananas
into our cream mixture.
We want to start and end with our dry ingredients
to avoid getting a dense loaf.
We'll mix everything until just incorporated.
We don't want to over mix.
The batter won't be perfectly smooth,
and that's okay.
There's some debate out there
about whether to add chocolate
or nuts to banana bread.
But at Tasty, we are Team Chocolate.
For obvious reasons.
We love using dark chocolate chips
because they compliment
the sweetness of the loaf.
Pour the batter into the prepared Loaf Pan,
and we are ready to bake.
Okay.
We lied.
We have one final step.
We're gonna sprinkle some Turbinado Sugar on top.
This step is totally optional,
but it's going to give our loaf
a little crunch and texture.
Drooling yet?
Because we sure are.
Now we can pop our banana bread in the oven.
We're gonna bake it at 350 degrees Fahrenheit
for about 60 to 70 minutes.
You'll know it's done when you insert
a toothpick in the center and it comes out clean.
Check out that golden brown goodness.
If only you could smell this through your screen,
wow!
We're gonna set the loaf on a wire rack
to cool for at least one hour.
Then it is time to dig in.
We like to serve our banana bread,
hot, room temperature,
or even toasted the next day.
Enjoy it for breakfast,
for dessert or as a snack.
However you wish to savor it.
Slathering on some salted butter is a must.
Remember, when life gives you bananas,
make banana bread.
We can't wait for you to make our recipe.
Let us know what you think.
You can find this,
and more banana bread inspired dishes on Tasty.co
Thanks for watching.
We hope you found this appealing. (laughs)
(Crew members laughing)
- [Crew Member] And cut and done.
(upbeat instrumental music)