Intro
Banana bread is the bake I come back to whenever there are three sad, spotty bananas going soft in the bowl — and the browner they are, the sweeter and more banana-y the loaf. This is a simple, buttery version: cream, mix, mash, fold, bake. The one trick worth knowing is a scrunched sheet ofdamp baking paper laid over the top partway through — it shields the crust so the middle can finish baking without the top catching. The bananas do most of the work; you just turn the oven on.
At a glance
- Makes: 1 loaf, about 10 slices(base for the scaler) — or split between two small loaf tins
- Prep: 15 min ·Bake: 55–60 min(check from 40 min)
- Difficulty: Easy
- Pillar: The Bake → Quick Bakes
- Themes (dietary): nut-free · contains gluten, dairy, egg
Ingredients
- 85g butter, softened(unsalted)
- 170g caster sugar
- 2 medium eggs, at room temperature
- 380g ripe bananas, peeled(about 3–4 spotty bananas)
- 230g plain flour
- 3 tsp baking powder
- ½ tsp salt
Method
- Heat the oven to160°C / 140°C fan / gas 3 / 325°F. Line your loaf tin(s) with baking paper, leaving a little overhang so you can lift the loaf out later.
- Cream the butter and caster sugar until pale and fluffy — a couple of minutes by hand or machine.This is what gives a light crumb.
- Beat in the eggs one at a time. if it looks curdled, add a spoonful of the flour and it will come back together.
- Mash the bananas well and mix them in — a few small lumps are fine.
- Add the flour, baking powder and salt, and fold in gently untiljust combined. Don’t overmix, or the loaf can turn dense.
- Scrape the batter into the tin(s) and level the top.
- Bake for about1 hour, checking from40 minutes. If the top is browning too quickly, take a sheet of baking paper, scrunch it into a ball, soak it in water, gently squeeze out the excess, then open it out and lay it damp over the loaf. It shields the top without steaming the crust. ovens vary — a smaller loaf will be ready sooner.
- It’s done when a skewer in the centre comes out clean and the top springs back. Cool in the tin for 10 minutes, then lift out on the paper to cool fully.
Allergens & swaps
- Contains: gluten (plain flour), milk (butter), egg.
- Nut-free as written — a nice one for the nut-free theme page. Add 60g chopped walnuts if you’d like, but then it’s no longer nut-free.
- Dairy-free: swap the butter for a firm plant butter block, like-for-like.
- Gluten-free: use a plain gluten-free flour blend (one that already contains xanthan gum); expect a slightly closer crumb.
Baker’s notes
Really ripe, freckled bananas make all the difference — they’re sweeter and mash smoother, so use the sorriest-looking ones you have. The wet-paper trick in step 7 is worth remembering for any loaf that browns before the middle is done. Banana bread keeps well wrapped for 3–4 days and freezes beautifully in slices; like most loaves, it’s even better the day after baking.