Banana bread is a sweet made from ripe bananas, perfect as a breakfast treat or a snack. This dessert originated in the United States in the 1930s to find a way to use and recover overly ripe bananas. Over time, it became a classic American homemade dessert, and its variations have increased, enriched with chocolate chips, walnuts, hazelnuts, other nuts, or spices like cinnamon and nutmeg.
There are actually many versions of this dessert, which can also be prepared with natural sweeteners (such as stevia or erythritol) or flours different from the classic all-purpose flour.
To be honest, banana bread has always been my Achilles’ heel in the kitchen. Since I started blogging, I’ve always wanted to publish it among my recipes. Over the years, I must have tried countless recipes, and none fully satisfied me; to be honest, in some cases, the final result was a complete disaster. Do you ever have a recipe that just doesn’t work for you? Well, banana bread was my recipe. I was sure I was doing something wrong, but I couldn’t figure out what. Sometimes it was the flavor that didn’t convince me entirely, other times it remained too moist and didn’t cook well. In short, I gave up for a while.
Finally, I found this banana bread recipe that I loved right from the start. Among the many versions, I probably chose the less dietary one because I couldn’t resist my beloved chocolate chips and toasted hazelnuts, which I adore. This version was also very popular with my daughters, who snacked on this delicious dessert for a few days.
The recipe is not very difficult. You can prepare the banana bread with the Bimby or any other kitchen robot. Electric whisks and a bowl are also fine. In the procedure, you’ll find both the banana bread with the Bimby and the traditional method.
Well, that said, let’s get straight to the recipe and see how to prepare the banana bread with 3 bananas, which I chose to enrich with chocolate chips and hazelnuts.
- Difficulty: Easy
- Cost: Cheap
- Preparation time: 20 Minutes
- Portions: 6People
- Cooking methods: Oven
- Cuisine: Italian
- Seasonality: All seasons
- Energy 562.88 (Kcal)
- Carbohydrates 70.96 (g) of which sugars 35.68 (g)
- Proteins 10.14 (g)
- Fat 28.79 (g) of which saturated 11.01 (g)of which unsaturated 10.28 (g)
- Fibers 3.24 (g)
- Sodium 257.56 (mg)
Indicative values for a portion of 161 g processed in an automated way starting from the nutritional information available on the CREA* and FoodData Central** databases. It is not food and / or nutritional advice.
* CREATES Food and Nutrition Research Center: https://www.crea.gov.it/alimenti-e-nutrizione https://www.alimentinutrizione.it ** U.S. Department of Agriculture, Agricultural Research Service. FoodData Central, 2019. https://fdc.nal.usda.gov
Ingredients for banana bread
- 3 bananas (medium-sized and ripe)
- 2 cups all-purpose flour (or cake flour)
- 3/4 cup sugar
- 1/2 cup butter (or 1/3 cup of vegetable oil)
- 2 eggs
- 1 packet vanillin
- lemon zest (grated from 1 lemon)
- 1 packet baking powder
- 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
- 1/2 cup chocolate chips
- 1/3 cup toasted hazelnuts
- 1/4 cup hazelnut granules
Tools for preparing banana bread
- Loaf pan 12 inches
- Electric whisks
- Bowls
- Cutting board
- Knife
- Spatula
Steps to prepare banana bread
Let’s see together how to prepare banana bread. I’ll put the procedure with the classic electric whisks first and then I’ll put down below the procedure for making banana bread with the Bimby.
First of all, take the ingredients out of the fridge so you can use them at room temperature.
Also, toast the hazelnuts in the oven or air fryer for 10 minutes at 302°F. Let them cool, chop them very coarsely, and set aside.
In a bowl, mash the bananas with a fork until they become a puree. I advise against using a blender because they would become too liquid.
In another bowl, place the softened butter at room temperature with the sugar, vanillin, and grated lemon zest. Work with electric whisks at medium speed until you have a creamy consistency.
Add the first egg and incorporate it with the whisks into the mixture. Once done, add the second egg and work again at medium-high speed.
Add the banana puree and blend it into the batter with the whisks at the lowest speed.
Then add the flour in stages, the baking soda, and the baking powder.
Leave the whisks and continue with a spatula. Add most of the chocolate chips (you’ll use the remaining ones to sprinkle on the surface) and the coarsely chopped toasted hazelnuts. Gently mix from bottom to top to distribute them evenly throughout the banana bread batter.
Butter and flour a loaf pan and pour the batter. Level the surface with the spatula and then sprinkle it with the remaining chocolate chips and hazelnut granules.
Preheat the oven to 375°F static, and when it reaches temperature, bake the banana bread and cook for about 15 minutes. Then lower the temperature to 356°F and continue baking for another 25 minutes.
The times are indicative. After the 40 minutes of baking, do the toothpick test. If it’s still moist, cover the surface with a sheet of aluminum foil and continue baking for another 5-10 minutes, until the toothpick comes out dry.
Once ready, let it cool completely and then unmold it, place it on a serving plate, and serve it in slices.
Now let’s see together how to prepare banana bread with the Bimby.
Mash the bananas with a fork in a bowl until they become a puree. Set aside.
Toast the hazelnuts at 302°F for 10 minutes in the oven or air fryer. Let them cool, then put them in the Bimby bowl: 2-3 Turbo hits. Set aside and clean the bowl as best as possible.
Put the sugar, vanillin, and lemon zest in the bowl: 10 sec speed 10. Gather at the bottom with the spatula.
Insert the butterfly. Add the softened butter in pieces and work at speed 4 for 2 minutes.
With the blades moving at speed 4, from the lid opening, put the first egg, let it incorporate into the rest of the ingredients, and add the second egg. Let it incorporate into the batter as well.
Lower the speed to 2 and add the banana puree. Work for 30 sec.
Remove the butterfly and add the flour, sifted baking powder, and baking soda. Work 1 minute speed 3.
Add part of the chocolate chips and the coarsely chopped toasted hazelnuts: 30 sec. speed 1 Reverse.
Butter and flour a large loaf pan, pour the batter, level the surface, and sprinkle it with the remaining chocolate chips and hazelnut granules.
Preheat the oven to 375°F static, bake the Bimby banana bread, and cook for 15 minutes. Without opening the oven, lower the temperature to 356°F and continue baking for another 25 minutes. Since the times are indicative, before taking the banana bread out of the oven, do the toothpick test. If it’s still moist, cover the surface with a sheet of aluminum foil and continue baking for another 5-10 minutes, until the toothpick comes out dry.
Storage and variations
– Banana bread keeps for 2-3 days in a well-sealed container. If you make it in the summer, I recommend putting it in the fridge.
– You can also slice it and freeze it.
– You can enrich your banana bread with a teaspoon of cinnamon or nutmeg. Conversely, if you prefer a simpler dessert, you can omit the nuts or chocolate chips. You can choose spices and nuts based on your tastes.
– You can replace hazelnuts with almonds, walnuts, or other nuts you like. You can also serve it by spreading a thin layer of peanut butter.
FAQ (Frequently Asked Questions)
How ripe should the bananas be for banana bread?
Basically, excluding green bananas and those with completely black pulp, all bananas are fine. Very ripe ones, speckled with black or those with black skin but still yellow and ripe pulp, are preferable because they are the sweetest and most fragrant, giving the characteristic flavor to banana bread. If you don’t have ripe bananas, you can solve the problem by putting them in the oven for 10 minutes at 302°F.
Can I use whole wheat or oat flour in banana bread?
Yes, but since whole flours absorb more liquids, the recipe may become unbalanced. I recommend using half whole wheat or oat flour and half all-purpose flour instead.
Can I replace sugar with other sweeteners?
Of course, you can use honey in the same quantity, or for a lighter result, you can use stevia (about 50 g) or erythritol (about 150-160 g). Anyway, if the bananas used are very sweet and ripe, you can also reduce the sugar to 120 g or less.
What size should the bananas be for banana bread?
I used 3 medium-sized bananas. If they are large, 2 are enough.
