Banana bread

About this recipe

Banana bread is a familiar American way to use ripe bananas in a tender, sliceable loaf. Although its name includes bread, it is made with a quick batter rather than a yeast dough. Ripe fruit contributes sweetness, moisture and a distinctive banana flavour, while brown sugar and butter give a golden crust. A small addition of real vanilla bean rounds out the aroma without turning this simple loaf into a nut or chocolate cake. Mix the dry ingredients thoroughly, then fold them into the wet ingredients only briefly so the finished crumb stays soft. Bake in a loaf tin and check the middle with a skewer: a few moist crumbs are fine, but uncooked batter is not. Rest the loaf before taking it out of the tin. Once cooled further on a rack, it slices more neatly and is enjoyable at breakfast, with coffee, or as a portable snack.