Best Banana Bread

Oh Banana bread!!! If there is one baked good that everyone makes for their first attempt at baking – I think it is Banana Bread. There is just something so comforting about this loaf. So homey and just plain delicious. Sometimes though Banana breads can turn out dry or bland so we are always on the lookout for a recipe that does not fail – something that will produce a moist and flavorful loaf.

After trying several recipes and tweaking them I have finally settled on one that I truly love. I’ve had this recipe for many years now but I haven’t had the chance to take some decent photos of it until lately – I think it’s because it gets eaten so quickly there’s nothing more to take a photo of! 🙂

I prepared this one time for a guest in our house who is very particular about his food. We brought him to a park and had a little picnic. I brought this banana bread for our morning snack. I was scared he wouldn’t like it….He never said much at first. None at all. I thought he didn’t like it so I left it at that. Then before the day ended – he came to me and asked if he could have another slice or two of the Banana bread….I was surprised…he said he really liked it and would like some more…. Unfortunately, he kept it too late and by that time it was all gone. 🙁 But I was happy that he enjoyed it – ’cause for me that is a compliment knowing how picky he is.

Freshly squeezed lemon or orange juice is the secret ingredient that adds flavor and moisture to this super-yummy banana bread. It's simply the best!

Now, there is a secret ingredient that makes this truly excellent. Can you guess what it is? Nope… it’s not the butter though it surely adds moistness….Give up?… It’s the Lemon Juice (or Orange Juice)!!! Yes, just a little bit of freshly squeezed juice gives this bread such tenderness and truly yummy flavor. I think that hint of citrus (very slight yet also noticeable) gives this Banana bread a delicious twist. Hope you can try this Banana bread and enjoy it as much as we do! 🙂


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Ingredients

1 ½ cups flour

1 teaspoon Baking Soda
1 teaspoon Baking Powder

1/2 teaspoon Salt

1 cup Sugar

1 stick Butter, softened*

2 Eggs, room temperature

3 very ripe Bananas

2 Tablespoons freshly squeezed Lemon or Orange juice

Grated zest of one Lemon or Orange

1/2 cup Pecans or Walnuts

*To soften the butter, take it out of the fridge and bring it to room temperature about an hour before you need it.  In case that’s not possible here’s a good  link on how to soften a butter quickly.

Procedure

Preheat the oven to 350F. Grease a loaf pan or  you can use parchment paper to line your loaf pan, too. Sift together the flour, baking soda and salt. Set aside.

Beat the softened butter and sugar until whipped-creamy roughly 5-6 minutes. A stand mixer would be quite handy with this.

Peel and mash the bananas. If you wish you can put the bananas in a food processor to hasten the process and make sure it’s smooth. Do this while the mixer is beating the butter and sugar.

Add the eggs to the butter and sugar mixture one at a time. Add the mashed bananas and continue to beat until smooth and no more lumps appear. Pour in the lemon or orange juice and the grated zest. Beat just until combined.

Fold in the dry ingredients (flour mixture). Gently fold in the nuts. Pour into a lined loaf pan or a bundt pan and bake for about 45-55 minutes or until a tester comes out clean. When I used a smaller bundt pan it takes me about 45 minutes to bake the bread. In a loaf pan it takes a little longer to bake – almost up to an hour.

If browning too much at 45 minutes – just cover with foil and continue to bake until fully cooked.

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Last updated on October 1st, 2019 at 01:22 pm

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12 Comments

  1. June 13, 2013 / 6:26 pm

    Your banana bread looks so incredible! I love it!

    • June 13, 2013 / 6:36 pm

      Awww.Thank you so much. So very kind of you to say that!

  2. June 18, 2013 / 5:21 am

    Hah! Banana Bread was really my first best bake creation. It's really easy and yummy! I will try this twist and it might just surprise me too. =)

    • August 8, 2013 / 7:19 am

      Try it and please let us know. Thanks, Micole!

  3. December 11, 2013 / 4:42 am

    Love your Recipes<3. I'm baking on sunday and going to bake a few of your bread recipes.I will let you know how they turn out. I know they will be Delicious!

    • December 12, 2013 / 3:43 am

      Please enjoy it Sallie. Thanks for stopping by.

  4. February 4, 2014 / 7:34 am

    It's what's baking in my oven right now…excited to taste it later with a cup of hot water though it's now beginning to feel warm back here in the Phils. Love your recipes.

    • February 5, 2014 / 1:50 am

      Thanks for stopping by Amylette! Hope you enjoyed it and I wish I have the warm weather of the Philippines right now as it's often below zero here. 🙂

  5. April 3, 2014 / 12:04 am

    I just had my first bite of this bread. It was really good. The only change I made was halved the sugar and it's still yummy! thanks for this <3

    • April 3, 2014 / 2:48 pm

      I am so delighted to know that! Thank you for trying the recipe and giving us a feedback. Much appreciated.

  6. April 3, 2014 / 12:15 am

    Saw this recipe and went ahead and tried it since we had lots of bananas about to go bad. The bread was lovely, even with the sugar halved. Thanks for sharing!!

    • April 3, 2014 / 2:49 pm

      Wonderful, so happy to know you loved it! Thanks for stopping by.

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