Martha Stewart’s Banana Bread

I’ve never met anyone that didn’t like banana bread. Banana bread is a staple around here for breakfasts and snacks. You can add nuts and chocolate chips to bananas and it’s always going to be a winner. However, this recipe you don’t need neither and it will still be a hit. This is an easy banana bread recipe!

The key to a good banana bread are over ripe bananas. You have to have brown spots on the skin! These bananas up above could still get a little more brown for this recipe.

First, you cream the room temperature butter and sugar together.

Next, cream the vanilla and eggs.

Add the sour cream and mashed bananas.

In a separate bowl, stir the flour, salt, and baking soda. Why a separate bowl? Once I didn’t do this, and when I took a big bite of the banana bread and it tasted like pure salt! It. Was. Awful! After that, I made sure to mix my dry ingredients separately in a different bowl.

Mix the wet and dry ingredients together.

Grease a bread pan or line with parchment paper. With a rubber spatula, pour the mixture into the pan. On 350, on the 3rd rack level, bake for 30 minutes.

At the 30 minute mark, flip the bread around half way. Cover the top with aluminum foil to prevent it from getting too dark. Make sure the aluminum foil doesn’t touch the bread batter. Bake another 40 minutes.

Try to resist, but let it sit in the pan for 10 minutes, then a cooling rack to cool before slicing it open.

Servings: 1 loaf

Course: Breakfast, snack

Prep time: 15 minutes

Bake time: 1 hr 10 minutes

Ingredients:

• 1 c. white granulated sugar
• 1/2 c. unsalted butter (1 stick), room temperature
• 1 c. mashed bananas (3 small, or 2 large bananas)
• 1/2 c. sour cream (or plain Greek yogurt)
• 2 eggs
• 1 tsp. vanilla extract
• 1 1/2 c. unbleached all purpose flour
• 1 tsp. baking soda
• 1 tsp. kosher salt
• 1/2 c. chopped walnuts (optional)

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Grease a bread pan or line with parchment paper.
2. With an electric hand mixer, cream the butter and sugar.
3. Next, add the vanilla, sour cream, eggs, and mashed bananas.
4. In a separate bowl, add the salt, baking soda and flour and mix well.
5. Add dry ingredients to the wet ingredients and mix. (If you are using nuts, add the nuts in here.)
6. Pour batter into greased or parchment lined bread pan.
7. Set the oven rack to the third level, and bake bread for 30 minutes.
8. After 30 minutes, bring bread out and cover lightly with aluminum foil to prevent the bread from getting too dark. Put the bread back in the oven, and bake for another 40 minutes.
9. When timer goes off, test with a toothpick to make sure it’s cooked. If it is, let it sit in the bread pan for 10 minutes. Then, take the bread out and let it cool on a cooling rack.

Recipe adapted from the Queen herself, Martha Stewart.

For more banana recipes, check out my banana muffin recipe.

I hope you love this easy banana bread recipe as much as we do!