How Long Does It Take To Bake Banana Bread

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Ingredients For This Recipe

How To Bake Banana Bread

To make this easy banana bread youll start out by gathering your ingredients. For this recipe well be using:

  • Unsalted Butter: Some banana bread recipes use oil, but I find that butter works best in this recipe. It also provides more flavor than using just oil.
  • Sugar: I use a mix of brown sugar and granulated sugar in this recipe. The brown sugar adds extra moisture to the banana bread as well.
  • Eggs & Vanilla Extract: Youll be using a couple of eggs to bind everything together and some pure vanilla extract.
  • Mashed Bananas: Theres two cups of mashed bananas in this recipe for maximum banana flavor. The mashed bananas also help to keep this banana bread incredibly moist.
  • All-Purpose Flour: This provides the structure for the banana bread. Just be sure to spoon and level your flour when youre measuring it so you dont end up with too much.
  • Baking Soda & Baking Powder: Theres a combination of baking soda and baking powder in this banana bread to give it the perfect amount of lift.
  • Cinnamon & Salt: The cinnamon is optional here, but it adds a beautiful flavor to the the banana bread. The salt helps to balance out the sweetness too.
  • Walnuts: As always, the chopped walnuts are completely optional. I love adding some to this recipe, but feel free to leave them out!

How To Check If It’s Baked Enough

Loaf cakes in general can be tricky to check if they are baked through and done. Here are some clues you can use to check if your cake is done baking :

  • the edges should be a deep golden-brown and pulling away from the sides
  • the edges of the cake should be pulling away from the sides
  • the cake should bounce back when pressed gently with your finger tips
  • a cake tester inserted into the centre of the cake should come out clean
  • a thermometer inserted into the middle of the cake should read around 100 ºC
  • How To Check If Banana Bread Is Done

    There are diverse ways to check the doneness of your banana bread. It is important that your banana bread, is soft, has moist, and flavorful. All this would be lost if your bread dish isnt properly or fully baked. The end result of banana bread should be soft and moist on top with a nice brown crunch on the sides.

    It is important, that you do not try to cut open the center or heart of the bread to check if the bread is baked properly, that might ruin the progress of the banana bread.

    Instead, you can insert a skewer to the center of the baking dough, and remove it after its baked to check, if the skewer comes out clean or with little crumbs attached to it, your banana bread is ready.

    There is also the famous toothpick method which is applied and checked, the same way the skewer method is applied and checked. You can simply put a thin-bladed knife in the center of your bread too and if it comes out also clean or with 1 or 2 crumbs sticking to it, then its done.

    Ensure to carefully repeat this process at least 2-3 times to be convinced your banana bread is indeed done on the inside. If the knife, skewer or toothpick comes out wet, carefully place it back into the bread batter and oven it for about 10 to 15 minutes.

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    The Mixing Methods Vary

    Some recipes will use the muffin mixing method to make banana bread: all wet ingredients are whisked together in one bowl, and all dry ingredients are whisked together in another bowl. In the muffin method, the wet ingredients are added to the dry, and slowly mixed in, just enough to make a cohesive batter without overworking it. Usually, cakes made with the muffin method call for either neutral vegetable oil , melted coconut oil, or melted butter, and these are incorporated with the liquid ingredients.

    Others will use the creaming method, which is the most common mixing method for cakes and helps you mechanically incorporate more air into the batter before the cake goes in the oven. To make a banana bread using the creaming method: the butter and sugar are whipped together until light and fluffy , then the eggs are mixed in, one at a time, followed by the mashed banana, and finally the dry ingredients.

    The banana bread recipes and methods are straightforward, and yet a lot can go wrong. Here’s a deep-dive into all the problems that you may encounter while make banana bread, what you can do now to make your banana bread better.

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    We love sweetbreads because they are easy to make and are such a treat, especially when you top them with Honey Butter! Dont miss these reader favorites:

    If you make this recipe, Id love to see pics of your creations on Instagram, Facebook and Twitter! Hashtag them #natashaskitchen

    This banana bread recipe was first published in 2009 one of the very first recipes on our blog! It has been a reader and family favorite ever since.

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    How To Bake Bread

    For the last six months or so Ive been learning how to bake bread. I have always had issues with bread adding too much flour, not adding enough, kneading problems, not baking it long enough, etc.The only way Ive been able to do it perfectly every time before now has been to use Jim Laheys No Knead Bread recipe, which is great but it takes forever! Plus, it creates a chewier, more artisan style bread that has a very open crumb not always the best for sandwiches or for storing for a few days it can get really tough!After I decided I wanted to make quicker bread, I started using Jamie Olivers basic bread recipe from his book The Naked Chef which got me pretty close, but I have started using that recipe only as a pizza dough. It makes really excellent pizza dough. :DI also dabbled on the King Arthur Flour website and tried various recipes from around the internets, and finally thought I should check Instructables!I came across craftknowitalls whole wheat bread recipe and decided to try it. I didnt have everything and decided to modify it slightly but Ive made it several times this month, and I now Im cranking out perfect bread! The bread this recipe makes is perfect sandwich bread.In this instructable Ill try to explain all the things Ive figured out that no one told me. I hope it will be a help to any of you other bread noobs out there.

    • 1 tablespoon oil
    • 1 tablespoon honey or white sugar
    • 1 teaspoon salt

    How To Store And Freeze Banana Bread

    Banana bread can keep at room temperature for up to four days. If youre just going to store it overnight, you can keep it directly in the loaf pan and just throw a clean kitchen towel over it. If youd like, you can put it in an airtight container.

    Can you freeze banana bread? ABSOLUTELY! You can store it in slices, half loaves, or whole loaves. To find out more, check out our step by step guide: How to Store and Freeze Banana Bread.

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    Not Baking Your Banana Bread At The Right Temp

    As important as it is to bake your banana bread long enough, its also important to pop your loaf in the oven at the correct temperature. And if youre baking a loaf that, quite literally, seems to be taking forever to bake, and you decide to crank up the heat to make things go faster, youll only end up ruining your loaf.

    Trust your recipe from the very beginning when it comes to oven temperatures, and make sure your oven is clocking in at the correct temp. The majority of banana bread recipes call for a baking temperature of 350 degrees, and youll want to make sure you keep it at that temp the whole way through.

    Its also important to remember that we preheat ovens for a reason. Dont put your loaf in right when you turn on the oven, because it wont get proper heat for the right amount of time. Check to make sure your oven is up to temp before your loaf goes in to achieve the ideal bake.

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    HOW TO BAKE : BANANA BREAD

    Banana bread is a quick bread, meaning that it is leavened with baking powder and/or baking soda rather than yeast. Banana bread baked in a traditional loaf pan measuring 9 by 5 by 3 inches takes about 55 to 60 minutes to bake. Small loaf pans or mini-loaf pans require less time to bake. Small banana bread loaves have many uses and are the perfect size for bake sales or holiday gifts.

    Preheat the oven to the temperature suggested in your recipe.

    Grease the bottom and sides of two 7½- by 3½- by 2-inch small loaf pans, or four 5½- by 3- by 2½-inch mini-loaf pans. Some recipes suggest greasing the sides of the pans only one-half inch up from the bottom.

    Mash the bananas before beginning to make the bread. Carefully measure the amount of mashed banana called for in the bread — dont add extra banana just to use up ripe fruit, because it can cause your loaf to turn out heavy and soft in the middle.

    Combine the dry ingredients in the recipe, stirring to mix well.

    Combine wet ingredients in another bowl.

    Make a well in the center of the dry ingredients, then add the wet ingredients all at once. Use a large spoon to stir the mixture only until all ingredients are combined. The batter should appear lumpy. Stirring until the batter is completely smooth may result in a tough bread.

    Turn the batter into prepared baking pans filling pans two-thirds full.

    Stagger the pans in the oven so that air can circulate around them.

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    How Ripe Should Your Bananas Be

    The best kind of bananas for this recipe are ones that are overripe with a lot of speckles. If your bananas are still green or just yellow, then I suggest waiting a little longer.

    If you need to speed up the process and ripen your bananas quicker, simply place them in a brown paper bag for 1-3 days. The ethylene gas will build up in the bag and circulate around the bananas, speeding up the ripening process.

    You Don’t Allow It To Cool

    You should remove the bread from the pan fairly soon after it comes out of the oven. The longer it sits in the pan, the soggier the bottom will become. Allow the bread to cool completely on a cooling rack before wrapping it in plastic wrap or transferring it to an airtight container. Warm bread wrapped in plastic wrap leads to condensation which leads to mold. Also, cooling the bread firms up the structure and makes for cleaner slices. If you love eating warm bread you can always heat up your slice a bit in the oven.

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    Not Baking Your Banana Bread Long Enough

    Most baked goods dont really take that long to bake. Cookies? Typically youll leave them in for 10-12 minutes. Cupcakes? 20 minutes give or take. But banana bread? It takes a wildly long time, and you dont want to skip out on that bake time.

    Most banana bread recipes, such as The Kitchns, requires banana bread to be baked at 350 degrees for 50 to 65 minutes. And while that may seem like a huge range, theres a reason for it. According to The Kitchn, your bake time will depend on how moist your bananas are and the sugar content of them. Often, if you make banana bread and cut into it only to find a gooey, underbaked center, thats the reason. Its thanks to those bananas not having enough time.

    Its best to begin checking your banana bread sooner rather than later, but dont pull it out of the oven until youve checked that its fully baked. The top and sides will be a caramel, dark brown, with a yellow bread color in the center, but check it with a toothpick to be sure its done. Insert a toothpick into the middle to check if it comes out clean. If its clean, or there are only a few crumbs, its ready to pull out.

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    Storing And Freezing Instructions:

    How Long To Bake Banana Bread In Mini Loaf Pans

    Banana bread will keep at room temperature for 3-5 days.

    To freeze, allow it to cool completely and then store in an airtight container or freezer safe bag for up to 3 months. Allow to thaw to room temperature before serving.

    Other Banana Bread Variations:

    Banana Nut Bread: Simply chop your favorite nuts and gently stir them in the batter at the very end.

    Chocolate Chip Banana Bread: Stir in a cup or more of chocolate chips to the batter at the end of preparation.

    Healthy Banana Bread: I often make a healthy banana bread with a few small changes including cutting the sugar in half. Check out my Skinny Banana Bread or Skinny Banana Bread Muffins.

    More ways to use ripe bananas:

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    How to Tell if Bananas Are Ripe for Baking

    Banana ripeness in terms of BAKING!

    For this recipe youll want to use very overripe bananas. They should be very soft and covered with dark brown speckles. This will provide both the best sweet flavor and the best texture.

    To speed up ripening, place them in a paper bag in a warm area for a day or two. The peels create ethylene gas, which fills up the bag and helps them ripen faster.

    To ripen bananas today, place whole unpeeled bananas on a baking sheet in a 300°F oven for about 30 to 40 minutes, or until the skins are darkened and the fruit is soft.

    If you have more overripe bananas than you need for this recipe, you can always peel and freeze them for later.

    How to Mash Bananas for Baking

    Mash the bananas very well by hand with a fork or potato masher. I find mashing with an electric mixer makes the batter too thin to rise well, often leading to bread thats slightly mushy in the center or even slightly sunken in the center.

    How to Make Banana Bread MOIST

    I experimented with using melted butter vs. oil in banana bread and found an even mixture of both led to the best results. You get the rich flavor from the butter, but the sensation of moistness from the vegetable oil.

    Oil is a liquid at room temperature, so it feels moist on the palate even though it has no water.

    Brown sugar and plain yogurt are the other key ingredients that help make the banana bread moist, tender, and flavorful.

    The CORRECT Pan to use for Banana Bread

    How To Store Banana Bread

    You can store banana bread at room temperature for several days. Its a great bake to keep on hand for snacks and breakfast. If you dont think that you can eat the bread within a week, pop it in an airtight container or wrap in plastic and stash in the freezer. It will keep for several months.

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    How To Freeze Banana Bread

    Ive received a lot of questions about freezing banana bread since I published the recipe, so let me share what works. You can freeze banana bread using these instructions to preserve its fresh flavor and texture for months!

  • Cool baked banana bread completely.
  • Tightly wrap the loaf or slices in 2-3 layers of plastic wrap or aluminum foil.
  • Place wrapped banana bread in a large freezer-friendly storage bag or reusable container.
  • Date the bag and freeze for up to 3-4 months. Thaw wrapped or unwrapped in the refrigerator or at room temperature. All methods work like a charm!
  • I like to freeze banana bread in slices because the slices thaw much quicker even by lunchtime!

    Overall, this is an easy recipe for classic banana bread. The batter takes about 10 minutes to throw together, the bread stays moist for days, and nothing beats the smell of fresh banana bread in the oven.

    You Mix Your Banana Bread Ingredients In The Wrong Order

    How To Cook: Banana Bread

    Have you ever started a recipe, following the directions to mix all of the dry ingredients in a separate bowl and all of the wet in another bowl, and wondered why in the world that matters? Who needs the extra dishes?

    Baking truly is an art form, but there is quite a bit of science to it as well, and if certain ingredients aren’t introduced in the right order, they work differently with the other ingredients.

    With a banana bread recipe, it doesn’t work to just throw everything into a bowl, add in some mashed bananas, and cross your fingers. Much like baking a cake, baking banana bread requires a specific order of operations. Adding the dry ingredients to the wet ingredients allows for better introduction and incorporation. According to Cook’s Illustrated, that order is actually crucial. If you were to instead add the wet ingredients to the dry bowl, you end up with pockets of flour rather than a smooth distribution. Plus, it’s easier to fully mix things together without over-mixing, which can definitely hamper your banana bread’s texture.

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