Trust us, this is the best banana bread you’ll ever make. It uses the surprising (and mysteriously effective) technique of “marinating” the bananas in a buttermilk and baking soda blend to deliver a moist, buttery, sweet loaf that’s chock-full of banana flavour.
HANDS-ON TIME 15 minutes
TOTAL TIME 1¼ hours
MAKES 1 loaf, 12 to 16 slices
INGREDIENTS
3 ripe bananas, mashed
½ cup buttermilk
1½ tsp baking soda
2¼ cups all-purpose flour
1½ tsp baking powder
¼ tsp salt
¾ cup unsalted butter, softened
1 cup packed brown sugar
1 egg
1 tsp vanilla
DIRECTIONS
Stir together bananas, buttermilk and baking soda. Let stand for 5 minutes.
Meanwhile, whisk together flour, baking powder and salt; set aside.
In large bowl, beat butter with brown sugar until combined; beat in egg, vanilla and banana mixture. Stir in flour mixture until combined; scrape into greased 9- x 5-inch (2 L) loaf pan.
Bake in 350°F (180°C) oven until cake tester inserted in centre comes out clean, 60 to 70 minutes.
Let cool in pan for 15 minutes. Turn out onto rack; let cool completely.
NUTRITIONAL INFORMATION, PER EACH OF 16 SLICES: about 220 cal, 3 g pro, 10 g total fat (6 g sat. fat), 32 g carb, 1 g fibre, 35 mg chol, 200 mg sodium, 133 mg potassium. % RDI: 4% calcium, 8% iron, 8% vit A, 2% vit C, 14% folate.
VARIATIONS
CHOCOLATE CHIP BANANA BREAD
Stir 1 cup semisweet chocolate chips into flour mixture.
CINNAMON BANANA BREAD
Whisk ½ tsp cinnamon into flour mixture.
TIP FROM THE TEST KITCHEN
As much as we love the taste of butter in the Test Kitchen, we don’t use it to grease pans. The milk solids cause it to burn quickly. Instead, choose an oil or fat with a higher smoke point for best results.
