LovaCook
Desserts

Ultimate Banana Bread Loaf

Moist, buttery, unapologetically banana. A one-bowl loaf that needs no mixer.

By LovaCook Editorial Team

Prep: 10 minCook: 55 minTotal: 1 hr 5 minYield: 10 slicesDifficulty: Easy
A banana bread loaf on a wooden board with a cracked domed top and two cut slices showing the moist crumb.

Banana bread is one of those recipes everyone thinks they've cracked. This version uses brown butter for depth, sour cream for tenderness, and enough bananas that the flavor actually comes through.

It's a close cousin of the banana walnut muffins — fans of one will likely enjoy the other.

Ingredients

  • ½ cup (115g) butter
  • 3 very ripe bananas, mashed (about 1½ cups)
  • ¾ cup (150g) brown sugar
  • 2 large eggs
  • ⅓ cup (80g) sour cream or Greek yogurt
  • 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
  • 1¾ cups (220g) all-purpose flour
  • 1 teaspoon baking soda
  • ½ teaspoon salt
  • ½ teaspoon cinnamon

Instructions

  1. Heat the oven to 175°C (350°F). Line a 9x5-inch loaf tin with parchment.
  2. Melt the butter in a small pan, then keep cooking until it turns golden brown and smells nutty. Cool 5 minutes.
  3. Whisk the mashed bananas, brown butter, sugar, eggs, sour cream and vanilla in a large bowl.
  4. Sprinkle over the flour, baking soda, salt and cinnamon. Fold gently until just combined.
  5. Scrape into the tin. Bake 50–55 minutes until a skewer in the middle comes out with moist crumbs.
  6. Cool in the tin 15 minutes, then transfer to a rack.

Cooking tips

  • Blackened, sad-looking bananas are perfect for this. The riper, the better.
  • Brown butter is 4 extra minutes of work for enormous flavour payoff.
  • Freezes for 2 months — wrap slices individually and defrost as needed.

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