I wish I knew how many different Banana Bread recipes I’ve tried over the years! A lot! I have always gone back to my original recipe that I started making in 1977 and have shared a million times with friends and family. I have never found a recipe that I liked as much as mine – UNTIL NOW! I purchased the Flour cookbook, a collection of recipes from Boston’s Flour Bakery & Cafe and noticed their claim of Flour’s “Famous” Banana Bread. Famous, huh? Famous? Okay, I’m intrigued. So, I tried it and, between you and me, never thought that it would rival my recipe; but alas 1977, you have competition! I now have two Banana Bread recipes that I love! This is the ultimate banana bread and it is well deserving of the “famous” title. Kudos to you Flour Bakery! If ever I come to Boston, I’ll be stopping by to get some of your banana bread!
The recipe calls for one large 9 x 5 loaf pan, however, I’ve made this bread in 4 small loaf pans and also in cupcake pans using paper liners. The small loaves take about 35 to 40 minutes to bake, and the cupcake size takes about 20 to 21 minutes.
Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Butter a 9 x 5 loaf pan or 4 small loaf pans. You can also use cupcake papers and make this bread as muffins in cupcake tins.
Begin by roasting the nuts in a dry pan until lightly browned and fragrant; set aside. Mash the bananas; set aside.
Combine the dry ingredients (flour, baking soda, salt, and cinnamon) in a small bowl and set aside.
Using an electric mixer, combine the eggs and sugar and beat on medium speed for 5 minutes. Slowly drizzle the oil into the beaten egg mixture. It should take about 1 minute to add the oil, as you do not want to deflate the air you’ve already beaten into the egg mixture.
Add the vanilla
Add the sour cream.
Add the mashed bananas and mix only until blended.
Add the flour mixture with a rubber spatula and fold until all the flour disappears. Add the nuts and pour into the prepared pan(s). Bake as indicated above, depending on size of pan(s).
- 1½ cup all-purpose flour
- 1 teaspoon baking soda
- 1 teaspoon cinnamon (the original recipe calls for ¼ teaspoon)
- ½ teaspoon salt
- 1 cup plus 2 Tablespoons sugar
- 2 large eggs
- ½ cup canola oil
- 3½ bananas, very ripe, mashed (approx. 1⅓ cups)
- 2 Tablespoons creme fraiche or sour cream
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- ¾ cup walnuts, toasted and chopped
- Heat oven to 350 degrees. Butter a 9 by 5-inch loaf pan. In a bowl, sift together the flour, baking soda, cinnamon, and salt. Set aside.
- Using a stand mixer fitted with the whip attachments (or a handheld mixer) beat together the sugar and eggs on medium speed for about 5 minutes or fluffy (if you use a handheld mixer, this same step will take about 8 minutes).
- On low speed, slowly drizzle in the oil. Don't pour the oil in all at once. Add it slowly so it has time to incorporate into the eggs and doesn't deflate the air you have just beaten into the batter. Adding it should take about 1 minute. Add the mashed bananas, creme fraiche or sour cream and vanilla. Mix on low speed until blended.
- Using a rubber spatula fold in the flour and the nuts just until thoroughly combined. No flour streaks should be visible and the nuts should be evenly distributed. Pour the batter into the prepared loaf pan (or pans) and smooth the top.
- Bake for 1¼ hours, or until golden brown on top and the center springs back when you press it. If you finger sinks when you poke the bread, it needs to bake a little longer. Let cool in the pan on a wire rack for at least 30 minutes and then pop it out of the pan to finish cooling.
- The banana bread can be stored tightly wrapped in plastic wrap at room temperature for us to 3 days. Or, it can be well wrapped in plastic wrap and frozen for up to 2 weeks; thaw overnight at room temperature for serving.
- Personal Note/Changes: I increased the cinnamon to 1 teaspoon, baked the loaves in mini loaf pans and kept in the freezer for a full month. If making muffins, the batter will make 16 large muffins - baking time 25 minutes. If making mini loaves, recipe produces 6 small loaves, baking time approx. 30 minutes.
