Have you guys ever seen a banana tree in real life? They’re kind of freaky looking. I think I’ve seen them before when I was a kid visiting Thailand with my parents, but I must have put them out of my mind because of how strange they look. I saw a bunch of banana trees recently in Hawaii, and even here in LA and they’re just as scary as my five-year-old self thought they were.
I can’t imagine who saw bananas and thought they would be good to eat. I’m guessing we can thanks our monkey friends for figuring that one out. Speaking of monkeys, do you know that they like to peel them from the “bottom” end – opposite the stem? I forgot who taught me how to do that, but it’s the only way I open bananas now. I like the built in handle that you can hold on to and when you open them from the “bottom” end, which is actually the top, if you’ve ever seen a banana tree, the fruit inside doesn’t end up mushy or bruised.
Then again, sometimes all you want are mushy old bananas. Especially when you’re going to make banana bread. I’ve written quite a few posts about banana bread – apparently I’m pretty passionate about it – and if you’ve read any of them you know that I’m on a quest for the ultimate banana bread.
I’m forever asking people what their favorite banana breads are so I can test them out. Alana gave me a heads up for this recipe and I couldn’t wait to give it a go. I thought it would make a sweet gift for one of my close friends – she’s a banana sweets fiend (her fave is banana cheesecake from The Cheesecake Factory) and she just had an adorable baby boy named Oliver.
This loaf was almost everything I dreamed. The flavor was intensely banana-y and the crumb was small, tender and moist. The only thing missing was a domed top. To me, flat top loaves just don’t have that same appeal. If I could figure a way out to dome this baby it would be the ultimate. In any case, it’s still my current top banana bread and that’s saying a lot, coming from me!
PS – Fun fact and also a little bit of insight into my crazy brain: another friend had gifted a loaf of banana bread and I couldn’t resist asking Amy which bread was better. She very sweetly said “yours, of course.” I’m not sure if I believe her though…
Flour Bakery's Famous Banana Bread
Ingredients
- 1 2/3 cups all purpose flour 210 grams
- 1 tsp baking soda
- 1/4 tsp ground cinnamon
- 1/2 tsp kosher salt
- 1 cup plus 2 tablespoons sugar 230 grams
- 2 large eggs
- 1/2 cup canola or other flavorless oil 100 grams
- 3 1/2 very ripe bananas, peeled and mashed about 1.5 cups or 340 grams
- 2 tbsp sour cream
- 1 tsp vanilla extract
Instructions
- With the rack in the center of the oven, preheat to 325°F. Lightly butter and flour pan(s) of choice. You can use a standard 9x5 loaf pan or three 6x3 mini loaf pans
- Sift together the flour, baking soda, cinnamon and salt in a bowl and set aside.
- With a stand mixer fitted with the whip attachment, beat together the sugar and eggs on medium speed until light and fluffy, about 5 minutes.
- Switch to low speed and slowly drizzle in the oil, taking your time.
- Add the bananas, sour cream, and vanilla, and continue to mix on low speed just until combined.
- Use a rubber spatula to fold in the flour mixture until thoroughly combined. No flour streaks should be visible.
- Pour the batter into the prepared loaf pan(s) and bake for 1 to 1 1/4 hours for a 9x5-inch loaf, and about 50 minutes for three 6x3-inch loaves. The loaves should be golden brown on top and the cake will spring back when you press it.
- Let cool in the pan on a wire rack for 30 minutes, remove from the pan and let cool completely on the wire rack. Enjoy!
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-Steph & Mike
Hi, If you haven’t tried Stella Parks’ recipe, I would highly recommend: https://www.seriouseats.com/recipes/2016/09/classic-banana-bread-recipe.html
Also be sure to check out the accompanying article which provides an awesome list of banana bread recipe “upgrades” (including a particularly brilliant tip on how to instantly ripen your bananas!):
https://www.seriouseats.com/2016/09/how-to-make-the-best-banana-bread.html
Thanks so much for the banana chantilly tip!
Flour Bakery’s banana bread is the one I have been baking ever since I found it on the internet. It is by far the best. I reduce the amount of sugar to slightly less than 3/4 of a cup… I also add some ground cloves and pinch of freshly ground nutmeg to the dry ingredients. Every now and then, I like to add rum-soaked dried cranberries and chopped cashew nuts to the mix and, instead of sour cream, I use creme frêche. Also ocassionally, I like to us halved fresh grapes that I throw in with the mashed bananas. This is an incredibly versatile, wonderful recipe…
This is almost exactly my recipe and i get a big dome top. I use 3/4 c. Brown sugar. I use 1 stick of real butter instead of oil and i use 2 cups of flour. Yougurt works well if u dont have sour cream. Dont forget walnuts.
O and i bake at 350° for 65 minutes
Hmmmm , I don’t ever have a problem with a sunken loaf but then again I use my own homemade recipe, much different than this one but also much better, but I don’t give out my secrets , keeps everyone guessing to why it’s so good , if that’s considered famous then I guess my recipe would be considered beyond famous because this recipe doesn’t compare, not my thoughts but everyone else’s.
DELICIOUS! and by far, the best recipe I’ve tried… and I have tried many! I modified the recipe a little to make it dairy-free (2 tbsp full fat coconut milk + 3/4 tSp lemon juice in place of 2tbsp sir cream) and used coconut oil instead of ‘flavorless oil’. I was told that this mimics the amazing banana bread that’s my friend grew up eating in Hawaii.
DELICIOUS! and by far, the best recipe I’ve tried… and I have tried many! I modified the recipe a little to make it dairy-free (2 tbsp full fat coconut milk + 3/4 tSp lemon juice in place of 2tbsp sir cream) and used coconut oil instead of ‘flavorless oil’. I was told that this mimics the amazing banana bread that’s my friend grew up eating in Hawaii. BTW … with the mods… i baked for 75 mins, it was perfect and had a domed top.