Today I will show you how to cook the Banana Nut Bread recipe from Pioneer Woman!
There are two types of people in this world. One buys bananas enthusiastically by the dozen.
They stand patiently on the counter, getting browner each day. After the initial excitement in the grocery store, they don’t feel like having one bite of banana. After two weeks, a batch of sad, now almost black bananas awaits their final fate.
The other person buys just enough to eat one each morning for the next week. They are not particularly enthusiastic but steadily consume this sticky fruit and never have one black rotting banana on their counter.
The latter ones might have a harder time making banana nut bread, as you’ll need almost “useless” black ones to get the best loaf of your life. What’s even better is that they taste better the second day.
What is the Pioneer Woman’s banana bread recipe?
When you go searching, you’ll find a plethora of banana bread recipes online. For each taste and style, there is one.
However, this one is a delicate dish, needing many factors to be perfect. You can’t just fix up a flawless banana bread on a whim without knowing what you’re doing or having a good dose of sheer luck.
Hence, why should we turn to established professionals? The Pioneer Woman is the true essence of comfort and southern cuisine. You simply can’t go wrong with them.
How long does it take to make this bread?
While banana bread can be made on the spur of the moment, creating a perfect loaf takes time, preparation, and culinary knowledge. Everything can be learned quickly. Or, now and then, you might get lucky with a quickly mixed batter that turns out perfectly.
Preparation, pre-draining and boiling bananas making the batter, and cooking can all take nearly 1.5-2 hours.
After a few bakes, you’ll quickly become a seasoned banana bread maker, and the entire process will become easier and faster. A seasoned chef who has made several loaves can whip up a good banana bread in 50-60 minutes.
What do I need for this recipe?
On special occasions, or when you feel like going out of your way to bake something extra, you might pick up selected ingredients and strictly follow elevated recipes.
Both will turn out excellent if you follow proper methods like mixing wet and dry ingredients separately, reducing the liquid from the bananas beforehand, and not overmixing the batter.
Banana bread can be tricky to bake, as these mawkish fruits have varying moisture content, making it hard to create consistent baked goods from the same amount of ingredients.
Professional bakers boil down the liquid from the bananas for this very reason, also resulting in a heightened banana flavor.
Banana Nut Bread Pioneer Woman
Equipment
- Loaf pan
Ingredients
- 2 sticks Butter, melted (at room temperature)
- ½ cup Sugar + 2 tbsp
- 5 tbsp Maple syrup
- 1 tbsp Vanilla extract
- ½ teaspoon Salt
- 3 Whole eggs, lightly beaten (at room temperature)
- ½ cup Sour cream
- 1 teaspoon Baking soda
- 2 teaspoon Baking powder
- 2 cups Mashed ripe bananas
- 1 cup Nut mix: walnuts, almonds, peanuts, pecans
- 4 cups Flour + 2 tbsp
- 1 tbsp Lemon zest
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350° F.
- Spray, or grease, and flour a loaf pan.
- To avoid a so-called “wet log” (a moist and uncooked block forming in the bottom of the loaf due to high-moisture bananas), mix the mashed bananas and sugar thoroughly for 5-7 minutes, and cook them in a pan.
- Simmer them on medium heat for 10 minutes to reduce moisture and caramelize the bananas, and get a much bolder banana flavor in your loaf. Let it cool down to room temperature before proceeding.
- Bring eggs, melted butter, and the banana-sugar mash to room temperature.
- To avoid a mushy or undercooked texture, we have to mix the wet and dry ingredients separately, avoiding overmixing the batter.
- Beat the eggs, and gradually add the butter, sugar-banana mix, vanilla extract, maple syrup, sour cream, and lemon zest.
- Add each ingredient, one-by-one, whisking for a few seconds after each.
- Alternatively, you can whisk the wet ingredients in a mixer.
- In a separate bowl, combine all the dry ingredients well, sifting the flour.
- Gently fold the wet ingredients into the dry mixture with a spatula. Stop the gentle mixing as soon as it is evenly distributed, to avoid overmixing.
- Immediately pour the batter into the greased, floured pan. Don’t shake or bang the pan, as it releases the air from the batter, and you might get a flat, gummy-textured loaf.
- Bake the banana bread in the preheated oven for 55-70 minutes.
- After 50 minutes, start checking the loaf by inserting a toothpick in the middle, and see if it comes out clean. Repeat every 10 minutes, after the 50-minute benchmark, until the banana bread is ready.
- After the bread is ready and cooked just well, let it sit and cool for 15-20 minutes before cutting.
- It has to solidify some more. By cutting it oven-warm, you risk getting crumbly and dry banana bread.
Tips and tricks for a better bread recipe
The death of banana bread occurs when the batter is whisked vigorously. Overmixing it leads to gluten growing, creating a chewy, dense, rubbery bread. Using too many bananas, especially without reducing the liquids in them, can give you a heavy, undercooked loaf.
Stick to the recipes and the delicate balance between wet and dry ingredients.
Using too much flour can lead to a piece of crumbly banana bread.
Salt seems skippable at first glance, but it has a very powerful role. It activates baking powder and baking soda. Without it, your loaf won’t rise.
Another very easily forgotten trick is to bring each ingredient to the same temperature before mixing them. Many recipes call for resting the batter before proceeding to bake it. With banana bread, that’s counterproductive. It has to go straight into the oven!
Should I use ripe bananas?
Ripe bananas were invented for making banana bread, and you can’t convince me otherwise.
Ripe, almost black, borderline disgusting-looking bananas are the very soul of a banana loaf. Each time you have some extra ripe ones just sitting there patiently in your kitchen, waiting to slowly wither away, freeze them in a plastic bag or container.
They will serve well in cakes and bakes.
Some people are built differently, and you might never have ripe bananas at home for a variety of reasons. There’s still hope.
Simply, oven-bake them at 300 degrees Fahrenheit until they are black on the outside.
You will still have to reduce the moisture manually in a pan. There’s only one case when you should throw out those mushy, brown bananas; if you find some mold on them, don’t hesitate to throw them away.
Can I add or replace some ingredients?
Most recipes can be molded as you wish, resulting in mainly the same dish even with major shifts. Banana bread’s delicacy relies solely on the methods and kitchen practices used, not the ingredients. With smart swaps, you can even make a much better recipe.
One instance is when adding nut flours, such as peanut or almond flour, instead of a regular, all-purpose one.
These choices, just like additions like fruits or chocolates, affect taste foremost.
Other replacements, such as cornstarch, milk, yogurt, sour cream, or buttermilk, can have a strong effect on texture and overall appearance as well.
Banana bread can be fluffy or dense. There are two methods for creating a super light texture. One is to add a few beaten egg whites, gently folding them into the batter.
The other is to incorporate baking soda, baking powder, and a splash of citrus zest, as these elements enhance each other’s effects in elevating the loaf.
Can I add some chocolate chips?
This delicious baked good is very adaptable to a variety of ingredients. Chocolate chip is simply one of them.
Chocolate and bananas go hand-in-hand together, especially with some nuts like peanuts or cashews.
For a regular-sized banana bread, add around 1-2 cups of chocolate chips.
Ideally, the chips should be proportionate in size to the loaf. For a small bread, don’t use huge chocolate chips. Dark or milk chocolate can also make a huge difference.
Final Words
Baking a fine banana bread can be challenging. Don’t beat yourself up if it’s not perfect. Some days, you don’t feel like making it a whole hassle to bake something delicious. Try it both ways.
Try many different spices, and see what sticks with you; cinnamon, nutmeg, ginger, lime, orange, cardamom, and allspice.
Don’t be sad about brown bananas on your kitchen counter. Freeze them in ziplock bags or containers, and use them for your next banana loaf. This delicacy can pair well with many flavors. Just to mention some surprising ones: matcha, almond butter, pear, and mint.
Similar Pioneer Woman’s Recipes:
