Banana bread is the best possible use for a bunch of bananas gone too far. This one lets really ripe fruit and just a little honey and muscovado do the sweetening, with real butter and a spoonful of yoghurt for a moist, tender crumb, so it comes out a proper treat rather than a sugary cake.
Two things make or break it: using bananas that are genuinely ripe, spotted to black, and folding the batter gently so the crumb stays tender. Everything you need is in the recipe below.
Easy banana bread
Makes One 2lb (900g) loaf, about 10 slices
Prep
15 min
Cook
1 hr
Total
1 hr 15 min
Makes
One 2lb (900g) loaf, about 10 slices
Ingredients
Dry
Wet
Optional
Method
- 1
Heat the oven to 150°C fan (170°C conventional, gas 3). Grease a 2lb (900g) loaf tin and line the base and long sides with a strip of baking paper.
- 2
Peel the bananas and mash them on a plate with a fork. Leave a few small lumps rather than working them to a smooth purée; they melt into the loaf as it bakes.
- 3
Melt the butter and let it cool for a minute so it won't scramble the eggs. In a large bowl, whisk the melted butter, muscovado, honey, eggs, yoghurt and vanilla together until smooth.
- 4
Stir the mashed banana through the wet mix.
- 5
In a separate bowl, stir together the wholemeal flour, bicarbonate of soda, baking powder, salt and cinnamon so the raising agents are spread evenly.
- 6
Tip the dry ingredients into the wet and fold gently with a spatula until you can no longer see any dry flour, then stop. Overmixing is what turns banana bread tough, so the moment the last streak disappears is the moment to put the spoon down. Fold in the nuts now if you are using them.
- 7
Scrape the batter into the tin and level the top. For a bakery look, split a banana lengthways and lay it on top, or scatter over a few extra nuts.
- 8
Bake for 55 to 65 minutes, until a skewer pushed into the centre comes out clean. Honey browns quickly, so if the top is colouring fast, lay a loose sheet of foil over it after about 40 minutes.
- 9
Leave the loaf in the tin for 10 minutes, then turn it out onto a wire rack and let it cool completely before slicing. It carries on setting as it cools, and cutting in too soon gives you a gummy middle.
Cook’s notes
- Ripeness is everything. Use bananas that are heavily spotted, even black; green-tinged fruit is firmer, less sweet and won't give the same flavour or moisture. In a hurry, bake the unpeeled bananas on a tray at 150°C for 15 to 20 minutes until the skins blacken, then cool before mashing.
- This is a wholesome loaf, not a sugary cake. The banana and muscovado do most of the sweetening, so resist pushing past 300g banana or 2 tbsp honey; more of either makes it wet and gummy rather than sweeter.
- White flour gives the lightest, most tender loaf, and there's nothing wrong with that. If you'd like it nuttier and a bit more wholesome, swap up to half the flour for wholemeal or spelt and add a splash more yoghurt or milk, as they drink up more liquid.
- Dairy-free: use 100ml olive oil in place of the butter, a plant yoghurt, and maple syrup instead of honey.
- Keeps wrapped or in a tin for 3 to 4 days, and the flavour deepens overnight. It freezes for up to 3 months, whole or sliced; frozen slices toast straight from the freezer.
What you’ll need
- 2lb (900g) loaf tin, about 21 x 11cm
- Wire cooling rack
- Skewer or cocktail stick, for testing the centre
Troubleshooting
There's a gummy, wet band just above the base.
Usually too much banana or honey, or the loaf came out a little early. Weigh the banana to 300g, keep the honey to 2 tbsp, and bake until a skewer comes out properly clean. A loose foil tent lets the centre catch up without the top burning.
It came out dry and heavy.
Almost always too much flour from scooping instead of weighing, or a few minutes too long in the oven. Weigh the flour, keep the yoghurt in for moisture, and start checking from 50 minutes.
The crumb is tough and chewy.
The batter was overmixed once the flour went in, which builds gluten. Fold only until the dry flour just disappears, then stop.
The middle sank as it cooled.
Either too much raising agent or the oven door was opened too early. Measure the bicarb level rather than heaped, and leave the door shut until at least 40 minutes in.
The crust is dark but the middle is still raw.
The oven is running too hot for a honey-sweetened batter, which browns fast. Stay at 150°C fan and lay foil loosely over the top from about 40 minutes.
Frequently asked questions
Kit for this job (Ad)
Amazon Basics Digital kitchen scales with LCD display (with batteries), Black and Stainless Steel, BPA free, Weighs up to 11 pounds
Check price on Amazon →
ACCUWEIGHT 201 Digital Kitchen Scales with Tempered Glass Platform (Batteries included), Electronic Weighing Food Scale with Backlit LCD, Multifunction for Office School Home Baking Cooking, 5kg/11lb
Check price on Amazon →
Amazon Basics Non-stick Rectangular Carbon Steel Bread Pan, 27x15x7 cm, 2-pack, Grey
Check price on Amazon →
Salter 1036 BKSSDR Digital Kitchen Scale – Cooking & Baking Scales for Food Weight, Stainless Steel Weighing Platform, 5KG Capacity, Tare Function, Large LCD Easy Read Display, Measure Liquids, Black
Check price on Amazon →We may earn a small commission, at no cost to you. We only list kit we'd use.
Written by
UK Homesteading Team
Editorial team
The UK Homesteading editorial team, offering UK-specific, evidence-led guidance on growing, keeping, preserving and the law.
