Moist Banana Bread Recipe

Are you craving moist banana bread?

I’ve found the recipe for you.

It is from a cookbook called, The Weekend Baker: Irresistible Recipes, Simple Techniques, and Stress-Free Strategies for Busy People by Abigail Johnson Dodge, a contributing Editor at Fine Cooking.

I grew up eating dry banana bread and have been experimenting with various recipes for years in search of a consistently moist banana bread that isn’t too full of fat.

If you add enough butter and/or sour cream to any banana bread recipe it will be moist; but I like to eat banana bread relatively often, not as a special occasion dessert.

Imagine my delight when I happened across a recipe for supermoist banana-nut muffins in The Weekend Baker the other day.

Most muffin recipes are easily convertible to quick breads if you have a loaf pan and the extra time required to bake them. In The Weekend Baker, Abby provides the exact details.

In the introduction to her recipe she gives her secrets for baking up super moist banana bread or banana muffins – canola (or corn) oil and super-ripe bananas.

She explains that the banana peels should be black, not just lightly speckled, for the best banana flavor.

I could barely contain my excitement. I happened upon a recipe for super moist banana bread that isn’t full of butter and sour cream.

What can I say? I’m a woman of simple pleasures.

The whole recipe calls for just 1/3 cup of oil. With way overripe bananas on the kitchen counter, I was in business. The results were as promised – a moist banana bread recipe.

Moist Banana Bread Recipe

Never one to be able to leave a recipe alone, I used 1 1/4 cups all-purpose flour and 1/2 cup white wheat flour for a little nutritional boost and nutty flavor. I also added chocolate chips and coconut. (See the variation below.)

1 3/4 cups all-purpose flour
2 teaspoons baking powder
1/4 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
3 medium very, very ripe bananas, peeled
3/4 cup firmly packed light brown sugar
1/3 cup canola or corn oil
2 large eggs
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
2/3 cup coarsely chopped walnuts

1. Position an oven rack on the middle rung. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Lightly grease and flour an 8 1/2 x 4 1/2-inch loaf pan.
2. In a medium bowl, whisk together the flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt until well blended. In a large bowl, combine the bananas, brown sugar, oil, eggs and vanilla. Beat with an electric mixer on medium speed until well blended with only small bits of banana visible. Pour in the dry ingredients and gently stir with a rubber spatula just until blended. If using the nuts, add them when the flour is almost blended and stir to incorporate.
3. Scrape the batter into the prepared baking pan and smooth the top. Bake until the top is golden brown and a toothpick or cake tester inserted in the center comes out clean, 55 to 60 minutes. Transfer the pan to a rack to cool for 15 minutes. Using a thin knife, gently loosen the bread from the sides of the pan and slip it out of the pan. Tip the loaf on its side and let cool on the rack until warm or at room temperature.

Wrap the cooled loaf of moist banana bread with plastic wrap and store at room temperature for up to 3 days.

Makes 1 loaf of moist banana bread

Favorite Moist Banana Bread Recipe Variations

• Chocolate Chip Coconut Moist Banana Bread: Add 1/2 cup semi-sweet chocolate chips and/or 1/2 cup coconut instead of the nuts.
• Moist Banana Bread with Pineapple: Add 1/2 cup well drained crushed pineapple into the banana mixture and replace the walnuts with pecans or macadamia nuts.

This moist banana bread recipe comes from The Weekend Baker: Irresistible Recipes, Simple Techniques, and Stress-Free Strategies for Busy People
by Abigail Johnson Dodge. This is a great cookbook for people who want to bake but have minimal time. The recipes are organized according to the time they take to make. It is not full of pictures, but instead offers short ingredient lists, big type, and easy to follow instructions.

Kitchen Tip: Do you have over ripe bananas languishing on the counter and no time to turn them into banana bread? Pop them into a heavy-duty freezer bag, either peeled or un-peeled and freeze them until you do. Let them thaw for about 5 minutes at room temperature and they should be ready to use to make super moist banana bread, or any other recipe calling for very ripe bananas that suits your fancy.

Tagged as: Banana