How to Make Banana Bread

Co-authored by wikiHow Staff

Homemade banana bread tastes superb - now you can make it at home yourself. This compilation of recipes offers you various ways to make banana bread. Why not try them all and discover your favorite?

Ingredients

Banana Bread Loaf

3 cups all-purpose flour
2 teaspoon baking soda
¼ teaspoon salt
½ cup butter
¾ cup brown sugar
4 eggs, beaten
2⅓ cups mashed overripe bananas
½ teaspoon vanilla extract
½ teaspoon banana flavoring
¼ teaspoon of cinnamon

Thin Banana Bread

2 or 3 bananas
5 tablespoon butter (melted)
1 teaspoon vanilla essence/extract
4 teaspoon baking powder
½ cup sugar
1 cup self-rising flour
¼ teaspoon of cinnamon

Old Bananas Banana Bread

3 ripe bananas (mashed)
1½ cups sugar
½ cup butter (1 stick)
1½ cups flour
2 eggs
4 tablespoons milk
1 teaspoon vanilla

Method 1

Method 1 of 4:

Banana Bread Loaf

1
Preheat oven to 350ºF/175ºC. Lightly grease a loaf pan with butter or cooking spray.
2
Combine the flour, baking soda, cinnamon and salt in a large bowl.

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3
Mix together the brown sugar and butter in a separate large bowl until you achieve a creamy texture.
4
Stir the eggs and mashed bananas into the butter/sugar mixture until well blended.
5
Add the banana mixture, vanilla extract, and banana flavoring into the flour mixture. Stir just to moisten.
6
Pour batter into loaf pan. Remember to leave room in the pan for the bread to rise as it bakes.
7
Bake in preheated oven for 60 to 65 minutes (depending on your oven type time may vary), or until a toothpick inserted into the center of the bread comes out clean.
8
Let the bread cool in pan for 10 minutes, then invert onto a cooling rack or plate.
9
Serve by itself or with any topping you like.

Method 2

Method 2 of 4:

Thin Banana Bread

1
Preheat the oven to 170ºC/325ºF.
2
Peel the bananas and mash them up into a pulp.
3
Add the melted butter and combine.
4
Add the vanilla essence/extract and combine.
5
Add the baking powder and combine.
6
Add the sugar and combine.
7
Add half of the flour and combine. Once that's well mixed, add in the other half of the flour and combine.
8
Take a square baking tin/pan and line it with the left-over melted butter (there will be some left over in the bowl), then put the mixture in, spreading evenly.
9
Put the batter into the oven. Bake for 40 to 45 minutes. Check to see if it's done.
10
If it's not done cooking, put it back in the oven for another 5 minutes. Keep doing this until cooked. If it is done cooking, bring bread out of the oven and take it out of the baking tin and put on a plate/cooking rack/tray.
11
Wait 5 to 7 minutes for bread to cool down, then serve.

Method 3

Method 3 of 4:

Old Bananas Banana Bread

This method works best with older, browned bananas.

1
Preheat the oven to 350ºF/175ºC. Grease or line a tube pan.
2
Cream the butter and sugar.
3
Add eggs and milk. Alternate with the flour, beating well.
4
Add the vanilla and mashed bananas.
5
Transfer the batter to the prepared tube pan.
6
Place in the oven and bake for 1 hour.
7
Remove when cooked. Test with a toothpick before releasing the cake.
8
Add a topping if wished––this is optional. Serve warm or cold.

Method 4

Method 4 of 4:

Additions and Substitutions

1
Get creative and add a ½ cup of nuts, sultanas, raisins or ¼ cup of chocolate chips.
2
Shortening also works well for greasing the pan.^{[1]
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3
While most basic banana bread recipes call for white granulated sugar, you can swap it for brown sugar and create a moister, denser texture.
4
You can use other liquids in your banana bread besides milk. Buttermilk, almond milk, and soy milk would all work well, but you could also substitute sour cream or yogurt for a tangier, moister bread.
5
For a spicier bread, try adding a teaspoon of cinnamon and a ¼ teaspoon of nutmeg.
6
Walnuts and pecans are ideal nuts to add to banana bread. It helps to toast them before adding them to the batter, though.
7
If you're a fan of chocolate, mix in milk, semisweet, or dark chocolate pieces. Keep in mind that regular sized chocolate chips often sink to the bottom of the bread, so use mini chips instead for more even distribution. Grated chocolate is another option.
8
Give your banana bread some tropical flavor by adding dried pineapple or shredded coconut.
9
If you want to make your banana bread a little healthier, you can swap half the white flour with whole grain flour.
10
Finished.

Community Q&A
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Question

I don't have time to make banana bread but the bananas are already overripe. How can I save them?

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You can keep the overripe bananas by freezing them; the freezing process will keep and even add to their mushiness, which is just fine for baking with! To freeze them, simply slip the overripe bananas into a resealable bag suitable for freezing. Seal it and place in the freezer. It's also fine to add more bananas to the bag in the freezer if you need to.
Question

What is the difference between banana cake and banana bread?

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There isn’t a lot of difference between banana cake and banana bread, as both are made using a batter that is able to be baked quickly. Banana bread is a "quick bread," meaning that it doesn’t have to sit around proving as a standard yeast bread does, making it just like a cake. Some of the differences can include: The cake version may use cake flour while the bread version can get away with using heavier flour, a banana bread may be less sweet than a cake, a banana bread is not meant to be iced and banana bread might be served warm while the cake should be completely cooled. Even the time the baked item is to be served can determine whether or not the baker considers it is bread or cake! Since it’s a fairly subjective interpretation, feel free to call your baked banana cake/bread as you see fit.
Question

Why is yeast not required?

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Banana bread is what is known as a "quick bread." This means that it doesn't need time to rise as standard yeast-made bread does, but can be made into a batter and baked immediately. Since yeast is a slower rising agent, it's therefore not needed when making a quick bread such as banana bread. Instead, the baking soda or baking powder do the job of rising while the banana bread is being baked.