Classic Banana Bread

Where there were three, now there are two.

We all know what happens.  You see ripened bananas on the kitchen counter and think “what am I going to do with those?  They won’t last much longer”.  Then the vision of banana bread pops into your mind.  “Oh yes, banana bread”.

Well, I mentioned making banana bread when there were three ripened bananas on the counter.  By the time I assembled the ingredients and looked over, there were two bananas.  Hmph!  I decided to call “dibs” on the remaining bananas, just in case.  Can I also call dibs on the banana bread itself?  Just kidding.

As luck would have it, my two large bananas were perfect because the recipe calls for 1 and 1/2 cups of mashed bananas.  Thank you universe!

You will love this classic recipe and will probably have most ingredients on hand.  I have made a few changes/adjustments to the recipe and the banana bread came out splendid.

Recipe adapted from Cooking Light.

Ingredients:

1 cup whole wheat flour

1 cup unbleached white flour

3/4 teaspoon baking soda

1/2 teaspoon salt

1/2 cup brown sugar

1/2 cup sugar

1/4 cup butter, softened

2 large eggs

1 and 1/2 cups mashed ripe bananas (in my case 2 large bananas)

1/3 cup plain low-fat yogurt (I used vanilla, zero fat that I had on hand)

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Cooking spray

Preparation:

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.  Prepare your loaf pan by spraying with the cooking spray.  I usually use a canola oil spray from Trader Joes for this task.

Assemble all of your ingredients

In medium sized bowl, combine flour, baking soda and salt with a whisk.

Oh, and here is the yogurt I used.

2 large bananas ended up being 1 and 1/2 cups mashed.

Next, cream the sugar and butter in a mixing bowl and beat until smooth and creamy, about one minute.

Sugars and butter combined

Add each egg, beating and combining thoroughly.  Then, add the banana, yogurt and vanilla and mix until combined.

Next, add the flour mixture, beating on the lowest setting on your electric mixer.  When it comes time to add flour to any baking recipe, I am on high alert to just mix until combined.  This way the mixture should stay light and fluffy.

Scoop batter into your prepared standard loaf pan (8 1/2 x 4 1/2 inches).

Here is the batter ready to go in to the oven. I always like to put the loaf pan on a baking pan in the oven. It just seems easier to handle for me.

Bake at 350 degrees for approximately one hour, until a toothpick or knife inserted into the center of the bread comes out clean.  Since all oven temperatures are different, I would start checking at 50 minutes.  Once done, cool your bread in the pan for 10 minutes.

Here is the banana bread out of the oven and in the cooling. Your banana bread should have a crack in the center (mine is a little off center). This means the baking soda has done its job.

Then remove the bread and continue cooling on a wire rack until completely cool.  I know it’s hard to wait!  Once cool, slice and enjoy.

Cooling on wire rack

5 from 1 vote

Print

Classic Banana Bread

Prep Time

25 mins

Cook Time

1 hr

Total Time

1 hr 25 mins

 

This is a great classic banana bread.

Course: Bread, Breakfast, Snack

Cuisine: American, Dessert

Servings: 8

Calories: 308 kcal

Author: Christine Galvani

Ingredients

• 1 cup whole wheat flour
• 1 cup unbleached white flour
• 3/4 teaspoon baking soda
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1/2 cup brown sugar
• 1/2 cup sugar
• 1/4 cup butter softened
• 2 large eggs
• 1 cups and 1/2 mashed ripe bananas I used 2 large
• 1/3 cup plain low-fat yogurt I used vanilla zero fat
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• Cooking spray

Instructions

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Prepare your loaf pan by spraying with cooking spray. Set aside.
2. In medium sized bowl, combine flour, baking soda and salt.
3. In electric mixing bowl fitted with paddle attachment, cream sugars and butter (approximately one minute).
4. To this mixture, add eggs, one at a time, completely combining after each one.
5. Next, add bananas, yogurt and vanilla, beating until blended.
6. Add the flour mixture and beat until just combined. Do not over beat.
7. Pour batter into prepared loaf pan (8 1/2 x 4 1/2 inches - standard loaf pan).
8. Bake at 350 degrees for approximately 60 minutes. I would start checking at 50 minutes, as all oven temperatures vary. It is done when toothpick inserted in center of bread comes out clean.
9. Cool in pan for 10 minutes.
10. Remove from pan and cool on wire rack until completely cool.
11. Slice and serve.

Nutrition Facts

Classic Banana Bread

Amount Per Serving

Calories 308 Calories from Fat 63

% Daily Value*

Total Fat 7g 11%

Saturated Fat 4g 20%

Cholesterol 56mg 19%

Sodium 322mg 13%

Potassium 205mg 6%

Total Carbohydrates 55g 18%

Dietary Fiber 2g 8%

Sugars 29g

Protein 6g 12%

Vitamin A 5.1%

Vitamin C 3%

Calcium 3.9%

Iron 9%

* Percent Daily Values are based on a 2000 calorie diet.