This is an easy banana loaf recipe. It produces a soft moist banana loaf that comes out perfect every time. This banana bread recipe has ingredients like buttermilk and brown sugar which ensures a delicious flavour profile.

How to make banana loaf recipe (easy step by step recipe)

ingredients needed to make banana loaf:

• ripe bananas
•  vanilla essence
• large eggs
•  melted butter
• vinegar
• plain full cream yoghurt
• white sugar
• all-purpose flour
• baking soda
• salt

step one: 

Mash the two ripe bananas in a medium bowl,  the mashing doesn’t have to be perfect but just make sure that the paste does not consist of whole banana pieces.

Pro tip: if you do not have brown ripe bananas follow our banana ripening process.

 step two:

Add the rest of your wet ingredients to your the mashed bananas, namely: vanilla essence, vinegar,  butter, plain yoghurt and eggs. Mix well. 

step three:

In a separate bowl, sift the baking soda, flour, brown sugar and salt. Then fold the wet ingredients into the dry ingredients using a silicone spatula. Make sure you do not overmix, use the video as a guiding step on how to mix the batter.

step four:

Line the loaf tin with parchment paper, then place your batter into thelined  tin and bake for 40 minutes.

pro tip: always do the toothpick test before removing your banana bread from the oven

Can bananas be too-ripe for banana loaf?

The darker the banana the sweeter and more in depth the banana taste will be. So no, bananas can not be too ripe for banana bread.

Quick tip: always go for the ripest and darkest bananas when making banana bread, it just tastes better.

How to ripen bananas in the oven?

Preheat your oven to 200 degrees celcius and line your baking tray with foil.

Once your oven is heated place the two under ripe bananas directly onto the foil and bake for 15 minutes.

Once the bananas turn soft and brown remove from the oven allow them to cool down then follow the recipe.

Should I use baking soda or baking powder in banana bread?

• Banana bread dough is quite an acidic dough considering the buttermilk, ripe bananas and brown sugar used in the recipe. To balance that off baking soda is used as opposed to baking powder.so the general rule of thumb: the more the dough is, the more likely baking soda will be used.

 What is the number one mistake made when making banana bread?

• over mixing 

Overmixing is when one mixes too much to the point where excessive gluten is built. Excessive gluten makes the dough dense and very chewy.  To avoid this, mix your dough with a silicone spatula  until all your ingredients have been combined, it’s okay to have a few lumps of banana in the dough.

• under baking 

Banana bread is a batter that that takes long to bake. It often cooks from the outside in, giving the perception of a cooked loaf when raw inside. To avoid this problem, trust the process and timing of the loaf. Don’t open the oven countless times during the baking process, this instead prolongs the  process and could affect  the batters raising process.  

what to serve with banana bread

Banana bread is a versatile treat that pairs well with almost everything. Here are a few ideas you should try:

• warm custard- this will forever be a winner, especially during the colder seasons.
• warm banana bread with a generous amount of quality butter served with tea. Sometimes keeping it simple is best.
• ice cream and syrup
• Nutella
• Yoghurt and fruit- this is an excellent breakfast combo.