This is an all-in-one recipe–meaning you dump all the ingredients in the mixer and pour into the prepared pans. Traditionally, the bananas are smashed before going into the mixer but I found putting in the bananas whole and mixing a little longer resulted in a lighter banana bread. I also bake them longer at a lower temperature.
Why low and slow?
Traditionally, or at least according to my mom and grandma, banana bread was baked at 350 degrees Fahrenheit for one hour. The method makes a denser loaf with a dark exterior. There is nothing wrong with this method! However, I love the result when I bake banana bread at 300 degrees Fahrenheit for 90-120 minutes. The exterior is golden and crispy, and the interior is soft and light.
Other Add ins
Growing up, my mom put nuts in her banana bread and I hated it! I don’t mind it much now as an adult but I prefer nuts on top rather than running throughout the loaf. It wasn’t until I was dating my husband that I found out you could put chocolate chips in banana bread, which of course, makes perfect sense. I don’t know why I never thought of it before! So, feel free to add chocolate, nuts, or dried fruit to your variation.
Will the all-in-one method result in lumps?
No, there shouldn’t be lumps in your mixture. If there are lumps of bananas, mix on a higher speed until the lumps are gone. Also make sure you’re using very ripe bananas. You can use bananas that are entirely brown. If you’re bananas are perfectly yellow and you want banana bread, wait a couple days for your bananas to be just right.
Banana Bread
Ingredients
- 3 bananas
- 2 c. flour
- 2 eggs
- 1 tsp. baking soda
- 1/2 tsp. salt
- 1 c. sugar
- 1 tsp. vanilla
- 1/2 c. shortening or butter
- 1 small bag of chocolate chunks
Instructions
Preheat oven to 300 degrees Fahrenheit. Grease a 9×5 loaf pan and fold in piece of parchment paper. I don’t measure the parchment paper but it’s around 9×18. This doesn’t have to be exact as long as the parchment paper is poking out the top of the pan enough so you can grip it to pull out the loaf when it’s done baking.
Mix all the ingredients, except chocolate chips, in a mixer on low speed until combined.
Turn up the speed to medium high speed for 1-2 minutes. You’ll see the batter become much lighter.
Turn off the mixer and add chocolate chips. You can mix this on low or by hand.
Pour into the prepared pan and bake for 90-120 minutes*.
Remove from pan immediately and cool on a wire rack for at least 1 hour. The longer it cools, the easier it will be to slice.
Notes
*When is it done baking? I wait until the top of the loaf has cracked quite a but. I also feel the top of the loaf to see how done it is. It should spring back and feel slightly firm.
Leave a Reply