How Do I Make Delicious Homemade Banana Bread

Bananas lend a wonderful flavor into the bread, which can be eaten as a side dish or a dessert.

Cooking your own banana bread from home is a relatively straightforward thing to do, although it does require a couple of moderately advanced techniques such as creaming butter by hand and folding ingredients together. BBC Food states that you can prepare your banana bread in under 30 minutes, while cooking time lasts between 30 minutes to an hour in order to produce a delicious loaf of homemade banana bread.

Things You'll Need

• 1 1/4 cups plain flour
• 1 tbsp. bicarbonate of soda
• 1/2 tsp. salt
• Sieve
• 2 mixing bowls
• 1/2 cup unsalted butter
• 1 cup caster sugar
• Wooden spoon
• 2 free range eggs
• 4 ripe bananas
• Chopping board
• Potato masher
• 1/3 cup buttermilk
• 1 tsp. vanilla extract
• Large metal spoon
• 8-by-5 inch loaf tin
• Wire rack

Instructions

1. Preheat the oven to 350 F.

2. Sift your flour, bicarbonate of soda and salt through a sieve and into one of the two mixing bowls, ensuring that you eliminate all clumps and are left with a fine powder in the bowl.

3. Allow your butter to reach room temperature before creaming the butter and sugar together in the other mixing bowl. Swirl the wooden spoon in a circular motion to beat the butter and sugar into one another for at least a minute. The creaming process is finished once you are left with a light and fluffy, even mixture.

4. Crack open both eggs and add them into the creamed butter and sugar. Peel all four bananas and lay them flat on a chopping board before mashing them into a pulp using the potato masher. Add the mashed banana into the mixing bowl along with the buttermilk and vanilla. Mix these ingredients together using the wooden spoon before adding the flour, bicarbonate of soda and salt from the other mixing bowl. Fold the contents of the bowl using the large metal spoon. Many chefs use a figure of eight movement, cutting through the surface of the liquid with the leading edge of the spoon --- remember that the objective is to keep a much air in the mixture as possible, so you should look to turn over the spoon as you complete figure of eight motions, thus replicating a folding motion.

5. Grease the loaf tin using a small amount of butter or oil, as this will prevent your banana bread from sticking to the tin after you have baked it. Pour in the ingredients from the mixing bowl, taking care not to spill any or make a mess. Wait for the liquid to level off so you have a flat, even surface and insert into the oven to bake for approximately 1 hour.

6. Remove your banana bread from the oven when it has risen and turned a golden brown color. Allow the bread to cool in the tin for 2 minutes before turning it out onto a wire rack and allowing to stand until cool.

Tips & Warnings

• Once you have mastered the technique for regular banana bread, experiment by adding different flavors into the mix. Some recipes call for adding a shot of espresso into the bowl as you mix together your ingredients, while 1/2 a measured cup of lemon or lime juice can add a zesty boost to your banana bread.

References

• Food Reference: History and Facts About Banana Bread
• BBC Food: Banana Bread; John Barrowman; 2007
• Simply Recipes: Banana Bread Recipe; June 2006

Resources

• BBC Food: Creaming Butter by Hand
• BBC Food: Folding