MAKES: 16 servings TESTED BY: Colleen W.
019 Banana Bread
TASTING COMMENTS:
We discovered that roasting the bananas turns the natural sugars in the fruit into a caramelly syrup, which adds rich flavor to banana bread. There’s no need to mash, either—the roasted bananas blend right into the batter.—CW
prep 25 minutes roast 15 minutes at 350°F bake 55 minutes at 350°F cool 10 minutes stand overnight
- 5 whole bananas
- 2 cups all-purpose flour
- 1½ tsp. baking powder
- ½ tsp. baking soda
- ½ tsp. ground cinnamon
- ¼ tsp. salt
- ¼ tsp. ground nutmeg
- ⅛ tsp. ground ginger
- 2 eggs, lightly beaten
- 1 cup granulated sugar
- ½ cup vegetable oil or melted butter
- ¼ cup chopped walnuts
- 1 recipe Streusel-Nut Topping (optional)
Ripe bananas—those that are soft to the touch with brown spots on the peel—are usually called on for banana bread. But when you roast bananas first, it doesn’t matter how ripe they are before baking.
1. Preheat oven to 350°F. Line a 15×10-inch baking pan with foil; arrange bananas in the pan. Prick banana skins with a fork at 1-inch intervals. Roast 15 minutes. Cool bananas on baking pan. Grease bottom and ½ inch up the sides of one 9×5×3-inch or two 7½×3½×2-inch loaf pans. Set pan(s) aside.
2. In a large bowl combine the next seven ingredients (through ginger). Make a well in the center of flour mixture; set aside.
3. In a medium bowl stir together eggs, sugar, and oil; set aside. Using a small sharp knife, split banana peels. Measure 1½ cups of the roasted bananas (gently press roasted bananas into a measuring cup). Stir into egg mixture. Add egg mixture all at once to flour mixture. Stir just until moistened (batter should be lumpy). Fold in walnuts. Spoon batter into prepared pan(s). If desired, sprinkle Streusel-Nut Topping over batter.
4. Bake 55 to 60 minutes for the 9×5-inch pan or 45 to 55 minutes for the 7½×3½ loaves or until a toothpick inserted near center(s) comes out clean. If necessary to prevent overbrowning, cover loosely with foil the last 15 minutes of baking. Cool in pan(s) on a wire rack 10 minutes. Remove from pan(s). Cool completely on rack. Wrap and store overnight before slicing. (The bread’s texture will be more evenly moist and less crumbly after standing.)
Per serving 220 cal., 9 g fat (1 g sat. fat), 23 mg chol., 119 mg sodium, 33 g carb., 2 g fiber, 17 g sugars, 3 g pro.
Streusel-Nut Topping In a small bowl combine 3 Tbsp. packed brown sugar and 2 Tbsp. all-purpose flour. Using a pastry blender, cut in 4 tsp. butter by repeatedly pushing down through the butter until mixture resembles coarse crumbs (rotate the pastry blender and bowl to cut in uniformly). Stir in ¼ cup chopped walnuts.
TESTING NOTES
1. After roasting, the bananas become dark and ugly but wonderfully sweet! Roasting caramelizes their natural sugars, giving them a rich sweetness and making them soft enough to stir into the batter without mashing.
2. Grease the bottom of the pan and just ½ inch up the sides for a uniform loaf with a slightly rounded top. If you grease all the way up the sides of the pan, the loaf will have a flat top.
PB&J Banana Bread Use 9×5-inch pan. Add ¼ cup peanut butter with bananas; replace walnuts with ¼ cup chopped dry-roasted peanuts. Swirl ¼ cup strawberry preserves in batter in pan. If using Streusel-Nut Topping, replace walnuts with ¼ cup chopped dry-roasted peanuts. Bake 70 minutes. After bread stands, microwave 2 Tbsp. strawberry preserves 15 seconds or until melted, snipping any large pieces of fruit. Drizzle melted preserves over top of bread.
Blueberry-Coconut Banana Bread Toss ½ cup fresh or frozen blueberries in 1 Tbsp. all-purpose flour; fold into the batter with the walnuts. Sprinkle an additional ¼ cup fresh or frozen blueberries on top of batter in pan(s). If using the Streusel-Nut Topping, add ¼ cup flaked coconut.
Dark Chocolate-Raspberry Banana Bread Stir ½ cup dark chocolate pieces into the batter with walnuts. Swirl ¼ cup raspberry preserves into batter in pan(s). After baked bread stands, combine ⅓ cup dark chocolate pieces and ½ tsp. shortening. Microwave on 70% power 20 seconds; stir. Microwave until smooth, stirring every 15 seconds. Drizzle over bread. Microwave ¼ cup raspberry preserves on high 20 to 30 seconds or until melted, snipping any large pieces of fruit. Drizzle preserves on bread.
Mango-Ginger Banana Bread Use 9×5-inch pan. Omit cinnamon and nutmeg, increase ginger to 1 tsp., and substitute ¼ cup snipped pitted dates for the chopped walnuts. Toss ½ cup chopped fresh mango with 1 Tbsp. all-purpose flour; fold into the batter with the dates. If using the Streusel-Nut Topping, omit walnuts and add ¼ cup chopped pistachio nuts and 1 Tbsp. chopped crystallized ginger. Bake 70 minutes or until a toothpick inserted near center comes out clean.