Buttermilk Banana Bread
Looking for the perfect banana bread recipe? You’ve found it! This buttermilk banana bread is delicious with its a wonderful buttery crust!
This banana bread is my all-time favorite of it’s kind.
In fact, it is the only banana bread recipe I’ve made in years.
Unlike the dark-flecked variety of banana bread (which is delicious in it’s own right), this bread is light, both in color and texture, and it has a wonderful buttery crust that is my favorite part.
I’ve played around with the recipe, messing with the amount of sugar/bananas, so check out the notes in the recipe to see what works!
Buttermilk Banana Bread
Ingredients
- ½ cup (113 g) butter, softened
- 1 ½ cups (318 g) sugar (see note)
- 2 large eggs
- 1 cup (about 226 g) mashed bananas, I use about 3 average sized bananas
- 4 tablespoons buttermilk (see note)
- ½ teaspoon vanilla
- 1 ¾ cups (249 g) flour
- 1 teaspoon baking powder
- ¼ teaspoon salt
- ⅛ teaspoon baking soda
Instructions
- Grease and flour 1 large loaf pan (9 1/4 X 5 1/4-inch) or whatever combination of pans you’d like (several commenters have said this recipe works great made into muffins or smaller loaf pans).
- In a large bowl, cream butter and sugar together. Add eggs, bananas, buttermilk and vanilla until the batter is well mixed. Add in the flour, baking powder, salt and soda. Mix until well combined. Pour batter into prepared pan and bake at 350 degrees for 50-55 minutes or until a toothpick comes out clean.
Notes
Buttermilk: here is a guide for making your own buttermilk
Sugar: oftentimes, I’ll decrease the sugar to 1 cup, increase the bananas to 1 1/2 cups and the bread still turns out extremely moist and delicious!
Serving: 1 Slice, Calories: 263kcal, Carbohydrates: 44g, Protein: 3g, Fat: 9g, Saturated Fat: 5g, Cholesterol: 52mg, Sodium: 181mg, Fiber: 1g, Sugar: 28g
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Recipe Source: from Aunt Marilyn
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351 Comments on “Buttermilk Banana Bread”
I made this banana bread yesterday, and decided to go with the option of more banana/less sugar in the Cook’s Notes. I also had buttermilk powder, so I just added 4 T of the powder to the dry ingredients and the equivalent amount of water (instructions on the buttermilk powder package says to do this).
Also, I made this in my bread machine. I thought it turned out pretty well, considering this is not really a bread machine recipe! I don’t believe anything needed to be changed for the bread machine.
Thank you so much, Mel!
Is this the same recipe as the unspeckled banana bread you posted on Instagram last February?
Yes!
Hi Mel,
This is the second time I make this banana bread and yesterday I was really careful not to over mix the dough but it turned ot very heavy very far from light moist texture. Any clue what I might doing wrong?
Hi Tina, how do you measure your flour? Do you weight it on a scale or use a measuring cup? It’s possible you might need to use less flour if the bread is turning out heavy and dense.
This is my favorite banana bread recipe, I have made it 1 million times, but the cooking time is way too low, it usually takes about an hour and five minutes.
Has anyone tried baking this recipe in mini bread pans? If so, how long did you bake them for? Love this recipe!
Yes, I do it all the time! I check them after about 24 minutes.
I always have trouble with my banana bread being raw in the middle. What am I doing wrong?
Hi Katelyn, what kind of pans are you using? Are they dark coated pans? You might try lowering the oven temp by 25 degrees and baking for longer.
This is the BEST banana bread recipe and probably the most forgiving recipe in history. Last night I was going to make a triple batch and use Bob’s Red Mill gluten-free flour in it for the first time and all of the sudden I could only find 2 (larger than standard) of my like 6 bread pans…GAH, I was scrambling! But I kept working through it and made them fit in the 2 pans nicely–the batter seemed much thicker than usual but it had been awhile since I made the recipe and just kept going. Fifteen minutes into baking, I was called near my baking area of the kitchen by chance and saw MY BOWL OF MASHED BANANAS still sitting on the counter!! I yanked the 2 pans out of the oven, poured them into the bananas, stirred well and threw them back in the oven. They came out beautifully and taste as perfect as every other time before!
Also, the best tip I ever got from Mel was for scratch buttermilk using half sour cream and half water—I use so many of her baking recipes and I share that with anyone/everyone at any chance I get!
This is the most delicious banana bread. My whole family loves it. The texture is wonderful and so is the flavor.
We do muffins, makes 12 large muffins. Baked at 350 for 25 mins.
Substituted:
3/4 c honey
4 bananas,
2 c kamut.
We love this recipe! Makes about 43 mini muffins and find they are ready in around 16 minutes.
This is my first time in 25 years of baking banana brad, seeing a pale lite colored crumb.
Did you bake in a clear glass pyrex loaf dish ? Crust is golden brown, crumb is pale like a yellow pound cake. I’m used to baking the usual coffee house molasses dark banana bread. curious , what is the difference. I’ve tried butter instead of oil and sour cream instead of butter milk. No change in dark color.
I think it has to do with the leavened. Using more baking powder and a bit of baking soda can produce a light crumb (and I’m sure the amount of acidity in the other ingredients makes a difference too). That’s just a theory but I think it might be part of it
Very tasty. Best cold, in my opinion. I will try to cutback on the sugar next time and try your suggestion of adding some more banana instead. This was a bit sweet, so more of a dessert instead of a snack for me. Mine also came out a bit wet and the top seemed to caramelize almost. Still absolutely delicious and definitely cooked through…just a damp bread for me (if that makes sense haha) so not sure what I did wrong there. Or is that the normal consistency for this recipe?
You could try adding a bit more flour, Megan – do you happen to live at high altitude?
Thanks for the help, I probably just didn’t add enough flour. I’m only 28m above sea level and I never have issues following your recipes (I’ve used many 😉 ).
This is still my fav banana bread after many years! Today I tried subbing 1 c of coconut sugar and 4 bananas. Instead of 1 1/2 c white sugar and three bananas. I also made them 12 very full muffins and they were delicious! They baked for 20 minutes and got a nice caramelized crust. Ate them when cooled completely and everyone loved them!
This banana bread is so good!
Best banana bread recipe I’ve ever had.
So good! This has been my one-and-only banana bread recipe since I found it a couple of years ago. My 9-year old son who swore he HATED banana bread even loves it. ❤️
Made this recently and doubled it because I had a lot of bananas. I liked the tip to decrease the sugar and increase the bananas. Really good
made this realey good will make it again thanks for sharing it
Yesterday, my kids insisted our overripe bananas were calling out to be made into this bread! So much so that my kids were distracted from doing their school work in the other room. So, for the sake of their education, I had to make banana bread! Haha!
After making this recipe several times, I have lightened the fat content with the following changes:
1) replace butter with applesauce and a few tablespoons olive oil
2) use half all purpose and half whole wheat
3) reduce sugar to 1 cup (if really ripe bananas, reduce sugar to 2/3 C)
Thanks Mel for an yummy recipe! My kids love the lighter no-fleck banana bread!
My family of six (four kids, 15-9) love this recipe. In fact, they insisted today that the overripe bananas were begging to be made into this bread – begging so loudly that they were distracting the kids from their schoolwork in the other room. Hahaha! Bananas are now mashed and baking in oven.
I make some pretty big alterations for health reasons:
1) substitute applesauce for butter and then add a few tablespoons of olive oil
2) use the reduced sugar amount
3) use half all purpose and half whole wheat
Despite the healthier ingredients, my kids still love it! They especially love this lighter colored banana bread without all the flecks.
Thank you for a great recipe!!
This has quickly become my favorite go-to muffin recipe to use up overripe bananas!
I should mention that I use the lesser amount of sugar that you mention in the notes…
Love your site! I have made so many great meals and today made your sour cream banana bread. It turned out perfectly. I weighed my flour and bananas as the recipe suggested and loved it. I wish you would put the weight amount for the bananas on this recipe.
Thanks,
Kendall
This recipe is nice! I love the texture, but it’s too sweet.. and I added just 1 cup of sugar.
This is our favorite banana bread! I use 1 heaping cup of sugar instead of 1 1/2 cups, use 1% milk with a bit of vinegar instead of buttermilk and never measure the bananas instead I just toss in 3 ripe bananas and it always turns out delicious! Thank you Mel!
This recipe is AMAZING! I generally am not a fan of traditional banana bread but these are different! Made them into muffins and they lasted only 2 days in my home! I was requested to make more today LOL .. thinking of adding peanut butter to a couple of the muffins . Anyone ever try adding PB? Any tips on it? How did it go?!
Update : made these into muffins and whipped up some homemade peanut butter frosting.. OH EMM GEE ! AMAZING ! I’m a sucker for the banana peanut butter combo! These will go fast!
Oh my I already have this in the oven and I wish I had checked the comments sooner! The PB sounds amazing! I’m so sad def will do that next time!
Made this today and it is so good! The only change I made was to use only 1 cup of sugar (kept all other ingredients the same, including bananas) and I think it’s plenty sweet. It’s my first time making banana bread without the usual spices and I really enjoyed the clean flavor. Plus using only 1 cup of banana made for a much fluffier bread than I’m used to – which I love! This is my new favorite and will be in rotation forever.
I have been making this bread for a while now, and we love it! This morning, I tried it as waffles as per one of the comments I read. I reduced the sugar to 3/4 cup, since the syrup is also sweet. They were perfect! We topped them with peanut butter and buttermilk syrup. Super yummy!
Haven’t tried it yet as I’m on 70 minutes of baking time and the center is still raw…
I had the same problem as Stephanie. 70 minutes of baking time and the center was still raw. Any suggestions, Mel? Change in oven temperature?
Hi Jane, what kind of baking pan are you using? Glass? Ceramic? Metal?
I had this issue today using a silicone bread pan. Took me over 80 minutes to get it to bake. I had to cover the top in tin foil to keep it from burning. I think with a different pan, or made into muffins, it would be fine. I love your cream cheese banana bread, by the way! Just switching it up because I had extra buttermilk on hand.
Hi Mel!
This is my all time favorite banana bread recipe EVER! I was thinking of adding a cup of sweetened coconut because one of the women I minister to, loves anything with coconut, as do I !!!
I was wondering if you’ve ever tried it with coconut ? I can’t remember if you’re a coconut lover or not, but I would say that you are, but I can’t remember?
Thanks Mel!
Linda T.
Hey Linda! I do love coconut! I haven’t tried adding it to this bread, but I definitely think it is worth a try!
I’ll let you know how it works out with the coconut after I try it. I’ll probably get to it in a couple of weeks
I hope you and family are doing well !
I made 3 foil loaf pans today..I had to bake them an extra 35 minutes in order for the middle to get done..BUT.. THIS IS MY DEFINITE GO TO RECIPE NOW FOR BANANA BREAD!! SOOOO GOOD! Everyone loved it! Thank you!
Made muffins with this recipe today, and they are unbelievably delicious!! I’m not an experienced baker and was delighted with how well they turned out! I doubled the recipe and it filled more than two muffin tins (we did the rest in our mini muffin tin, and those we obviously had to take out earlier but they were fun and yummy too). For doubling, I put in 2 cups of sugar instead of 3, but not extra banana, and used all whole wheat flour, and it was a perfect amount of sweetness and a wonderful texture. Thank you Mel!!!
Omg, the best banana bread I have ever made it was sooo good.
Uncooked middles FIXED!! Whoot! I made
this banana bread perfectly for years from the day it was posted way back in 2008- was a major staple for years and years – often doubling recipe . Then – to my horror – about 2 years ago, it started failing me every time. -uncooked middle and burnt tops as I tried to fix the raw middle. Assumed was my oven and spent many failed batches trying to fix the temp or rack etc. Just. Figured. Out. My. Problem. Googled the problem and learned that I was adding too much banana! Often was using 3 big bananas and often eve increasing to 1.5 cups banana (eyeballed) to decrease the sugar – and often throwing in the end of a brown banana as well to not waste it- ack. Today went back to actually measuring out exactly 1 cup of mashed banana for a single recipe (soo much less than I have been using !!) and was PERFECT!!! Baked all the way through ,tops not burnt – magic!!! Clearly I needed to remember to measure and not eyeball ‘3 medium bananas’!!!! So so happy!!
Thanks for the tip!
I also eyeball my bananas and sometimes it cools great and sometimes needs way longer
This must be the reason why!
This was the first light loaf of banana bread I’ve ever made! It was delicious. Thanks!
Make these today into muffins and they were so good!! So moist and soft with strong banana flavor. Definitely gonna make it again!
Great recipe and I always use the link to the directions for making the buttermilk by adding vinegar to the milk. I usually make the banana bread into muffins and I like to add chopped up dried apricots.
The best banana bread I’ve ever eaten.
I just made this recipe. It’s in the oven now. In addition to your ingredients I added some slices, cinnamon, nutmeg, and clove. I also added chocolate chips. I used gluten free flour and vegan chocolate chips! It smells ridiculous! hope it tastes great! Thank you! Idk how the rating thing works cuz there’s no numbers so I give it a 10 out of 10 so far!
Amazing. The Best Ever Banan Bread Recipe. Perfect as is. Do not change 1 thing.
Dudes. PUT THIS IN A WAFFLE MAKER. Seriously. You’re welcome 🙂
Has anyone else tried this? I’d like to try it. Thank you!
Hi, Mel! Your recipe has been a favorite of mine for years. I just wanted to tell you that for my one year old’s birthday today I made this into a cake for her – doubled the recipe to fit into two round cake pans. Then I topped it with browned butter frosting. Such an amazing cake! Thank you for all of your incredible recipes.
Oh my gosh, this bread is delicious! It’s like a cake. Always happy with your recipes, but this is truly wonderful! I had to add a little more time, probably because I had two loaves with a double recipe
What does it look like for you when you grease and flour a dish? I use cooking spray and then just kinda chuck flour at it! It’s kind of hard to get it on the sides…. How do you get the right amount of flour to stick on your dishes?
I grease and then pour in a tablespoon or two of flour and then shake it around the bottom and up the sides.
Mix:
1 cup shorting
1/2 cup corn starch
1/2 cup all purpose flour
Mix together real good
I store this in my frigidaire, and use it all the time,it’s the greatest thing you ever used, every thing comes out,and nice and brown, perfect
Hi Mel! I’ve been reading through the comments and I saw that someone had a similar problem to mine when I made this. And from your reply I think it might be my pan. I followed the recipe as is and when I went to check it with a toothpick at 50 minutes the outside was absolutely beautiful, but the center was still jiggily batter. The only loaf pan I have is the 9×5 Wilton dark nonstick one. And my oven is a forced air oven, but usually when I am doing one of your recipes, I assume you use a conventional oven so I don’t use the forced air option and only use the bottom heat, which was the case here. When I saw that the center wasn’t done, I left it for about 20 or 30 more minutes (can’t remember which) and the center finally baked, but the outside got burnt. I had to cut off all of the sides and only serve/eat the center. How could I adjust the time and temp to fix my problem? Any ideas? Thanks for any help you can give me!!!
Hi Dalia – usually with dark, nonstick pans it helps to reduce the oven temperature by 25 degrees (you’ll need a longer baking time usually). Also, you can tent the bread with foil if it looks like it is getting too dark on the crust.
Thanks for the advice, Mel!! It turned out soooo much better the second time! More moist and delicious! Will definitely be making this again!
We made these into about 18 muffins. We sprinkled cinnamon and sugar on top before baking for 20 minutes. They are so yummy! Very sweet and fluffy. My kids spread Nutella on top and loved that too. Thanks for the lovely recipe!
I’ve made this two or three times now, following the recipe perfectly, or so I thought, but each time the middle has come out completely raw as if it was never cooked at all! What could I possibly be doing wrong?! I always have to cook it an extra half-hour or so! it still turns out tasting super yummy and it’s my favorite banana bread, I just don’t know what to do about that middle part.
Hey Kristen – so much could depend on your type of oven vs mine. Do you have convection bake? What kind of pan are you using? Really dark, nonstick pans can sometimes cook the outside and leave the inside raw (needing more time). Adding more time isn’t necessarily a problem as long as it’s not getting burned on the outside and it’s still moist.
It could be you’re using too much banana. Always measure, rather than relying on trying to figure out what “3 large bananas” mean. Hope that helps!
Delicious…. had 2 super ripe bananas and 2 fairly ripe bananas so I reduced the sugar to 1 cup, per your suggestion. How does the recipe turn out if you add nuts? I love pecans and walnuts – May throw those in next time.
A lot of people have added chopped nuts with great results!
Mel,
This is my all time favorite banana bread too, but the other day I added some cinnamon/ sugar mixture on the top before I baked it, and it was amazing! I made mini-loaves to bring to the women I minister to, and they all commented that the cinnamon/sugar put it over the top The cinnamon/ sugar and banana flavor was a perfect flavor match !!!
You should try it !!
Thanks for all the yummy recipes
Once again your recipes are the best. This banana bread is amazing. Best ever ❣️
So what makes this version of banana bread fleck-free??
I think it has to do with the baking soda/powder combo and the buttermilk.
I tried making this buttermilk fruit break and it came out amazing…A great recipe for kids as well
I made this bread on Friday and it is absolutely perfect! I did a double batch and lowered the sugar to 2 cups. I’ll be making it again soon!
This is the only recipe I’ve made since you posted it! It’s amazing!
Amazing. My family never fails to gobble it all up in one day. I use sour cream instead of buttermilk, double vanilla, and bake at 400, checking after 30 minutes. Another wonderful recipe from Mel’s kitchen!
Amazing. My family never fails to gobble it all up in one day. I use sour cream instead of buttermilk, double vanilla, and bake at 400, checking after 30 minutes. Another wonderful recipe from Mel’s kitchen!
Absolutely delicious Banana Bread. Have made it several times. Another PERFECT recipe.
I love this recipe, the banana bread came out moist and light. I cut the sugar to 1 cup and left the rest of the recipe alone. It came out sweet and very delicious.
I made this recipe as stated, using the option with more banana and less sugar. I found it to be a little bland and boring and prefer the usual dark banana bread. I made mine into cupcakes and ended up making the pineapple glaze from another recipe and sprinkling shredded coconut on top of Jazz them up. I still only really want to eat the embellished tops and not the rest of the muffin.
Amazing!!!!! This recipe for banana bread is spot on! Moist, tasty and light in color. I was afraid to try because it was light in color, however now it is my go to banana bread recipe!
Thanks for your website!
NOTES: I believe we had to cook for 1 hour in our electric oven. Also we made our own buttermilk.
This is the best banana bread ever! It tastes great and moist. 🙂
Fantastic Banana Bread! I’ve never liked the brown bits in mine and I love having a recipe without it.
Just made this the other day and I think I have FINALLY found the keeper recipe for banana bread! Moist, light and delicious!! Thank you for another great recipe to add to my collection!
I made this bread but I always like to monkey around a little with recipes. I added a sprinkle of cinnamon. In place of the four tablespoons of buttermilk I used one tablespoon of powdered buttermilk with four tablespoons of leftover juice from sweetened canned pears then decreased the sugar by 1/4 cup. Had some unrefined coconut sugar left from a Christmas recipe so sprinkled some on top of the loaf after it baked for 15 minutes. Sooo good. Light, moist and full of flavor. Thank you
Hi Mel,
Since I am the owner of a brand new Therma-Pen I would like a finished temperature instead of the old toothpick trick. I use this when baking your white bread and have never had a failure.
Jim
I have made Banana bread for years, nothing beats this recipe. Excellent. Light in colour and has a lovely soft texture. My bananas were not “black and half dead” instead soft and still light in colour. So I chose to chopped them up and then added into the mixture, mixing until just combined. Family and friends loved it.
My nieces and nephew came to visit yesterday. As they were leaving one asked if I could bring them muffins, banana muffins. The others quickly chimed in their agreement. A loooong time ago I made this recipe when they were over and it resonated with them. This recipe is that good.
I made this recipe the first time and have never looked back. It’s so versatile. I mostly make it as muffins. I bake them for about 20 minutes. I always use white whole wheat flour. As Mel suggests, I use a light hand when measuring and don’t over mix. If my bananas are very ripe (have brown spots) I reduce the sugar to 1 c. In most cases I only have two bananas and I never add anything else to try and reach the 1 c of mashed bananas. My muffins are moist and perfectly baked! This recipe really is the best.
I was v careful with my measurements, used real butter, right pan, etc.. yet, my bread was still wet. It was still edible for me….aka Cookie Monster. I did cut back on the sugar, per your tip, and increased the banana. I was using a clear glass square 8 x 8 pan so I dropped heat to 325. Any suggestions on what could have gone wrong would be v appreciated. FYI, my cream cheese banana bread did the same thing 2x. HELP.
Hey Trisha, maybe I’m oversimplifying, but it sounds as though you might need to bake longer.
MEL F/U: TRISHA A. HERE… FORGOT to tell you, I am a novice baker. My “can do everythang friend”..lol, tried the above bread that I made. She let me know that it was perfect. I guess my family and I just don’t care for the super moist. She gave me tips to modify recipe. Big TY.
Hi, I know this is an old post, but I would suggest using a different baking pan instead of your glass one. I used to bake brownies in my glass pan and they never cooked all the way through. Stopped using the glass pan, problem solved!
Hi Mel. I Made this banana bread today and it came out dark not light like yours in the picture. I wonder what could have happened. I followed the recipe exactly. Maybe I mashed the bananas too early?
Hmmm, that’s odd, Mara – as it’s the combination of baking soda and other ingredients that give it a light color. Did the bananas darken quite a bit before using?
We love this so much. My toddler loves the buttery crust so much that she eats the entire outside of her piece of bread before eating the inside! 🙂 Super easy to make, I just let my kitchenaid mash the bananas for me.
I always use SUPER ripe bananas (to the point where they’re almost GROSS). I also use 1/2 Splenda and 1/2 real sugar, and I use half whole wheat flour and half white.
I do find that you have to bake this a good 5+ minutes longer, even if the bamboo skewer comes out clean, I’ve had SUPER wet bread as a result if I don’t cook it for about 60 minutes. Done as muffins, too, and loved them! (I also never have buttermilk on hand and always use the vinegar/milk trick) If I have leftover bananas, this is the ONLY thing we make with it!
Best banana recipe by far. My go to recipe. Every. time. I love it cold after it’s been in the fridge for a while.
Hands down the best banana bread ever! Search over. No need for any other banana bread recipes. Thank you for making our culinary dreams come true Mel! 🙂
I’ve made this several times within the last 6 months. Needless to say, I LOVE it.
I’m considering using the recipe to make a cake for my daughter’s birthday. Have you made a cake with this yet?
I haven’t – sorry!
I’ve fallen in love with this buttermilk banana milk. It is the most delicious banana bread I’ve eaten so far. And will continue baking them whenever I feel like eating it or as gifts to friends who loves banana bread.
This.
Perfect for gifts. And it is the only banana bread my husband will request me to make. Thank you Mel for the wonderful recipe.
I halved the sugar and thought this was delicious!!
This is the only kind of banana bread I make now! It is so good!
I don’t consider myself to be a great baker–but I was blown away by how yummy this bread was. The recipe is super easy to follow. I did have to let it cook a little longer than suggested, but it was worth the wait. I froze the loaf to have it as fresh as possible for our camping trip breakfast and it turned out perfectly. I just can’t wait to make this bread again. The recipe may lead to doubling the amount of bananas I purchase each week!
I actually HAVE ended up buying more bananas than usual just to let them get “old” so I can use them for this recipe! HAHAHA
Best banana bread recipe ever! I’ve made it multiple times and have a double batch cooling right now. Thanks for this awesome recipe!
May I sub white whole wheat flour? Should I sift a few times to get a lighter texture? Would I use the same amount as AP flour?
Please advise.
Thanks so much!
Yes, you could use white whole wheat flour. I’d probably use the same amount – just measure with a light hand (don’t pack it in the measuring cup).
Great! Thank you!
I too have been looking for a light banana bread recipe and have experimented to try to accomplish this. I am simply delighted to find this wonderful recipe from Mel’s Kitchen.
Delicious recipe – BUT – I reduced the amount of sugar to just 1 cup and thought it was quite sweet done this way. I also sprinkled the top before baking with Demerara sugar, to give that wonderful sweet crunch. AND, I used 1 cup of whole wheat flour with 3/4 cup of unbleached white flour. PLUS, I added 1 cup of toasted chopped walnut pieces. For the buttermilk, I used 1 T non-fat milk and 3 T non-fat Greek yogurt. The bread also needed more time in the oven, but that could just be my oven. Also, just a tip – when I have bananas on hand that have become overripe, I put them, unpeeled in the freezer. When I have enough for a recipe, I let them defrost, again in the skins, then cut off the top and just squeeze out the insides. Very easy!
BOO HOOOOOOO!!!
I don’t know what I’m doing wrong! 🙁 This is now the THIRD time I’ve made this, b/c I’m desperate to get it right b/c the flavor is out of this world.
But every single time I make it it comes out looking beautiful and lightly browned, the toothpick is clean, and then as it cools, it collapses, falls flat, and when I cut it it’s dense to the point of having the texture of being undercooked (when I know it’s not b/c the toothpick test!) 🙁
I usually double the recipe – is there an ingredient I should be MORE than doubling to handle a doubled recipe? I didn’t think so, but maybe I’m missing something.
I know you write “mix well to combine” so I do mix my batter a lot with my mixer after adding dry ingredients… but that wouldn’t really do it, would it? Should we be mixing it like a brownie batter? Until there’s just a few lumps? I can’t see overmixing be the reason for totally flattening it, though… if anything it would add airy bubbles, right?
Don’t get me wrong- it’s fabulous and my family gobbles it up, mushy center and all. But I wish wish wish I could get it right!
I’ve made it with splenda and with regular sugar- both flattened for me.
I use your buttermilk hack of using vinegar to regular milk – could this somehow be an issue?
Hey Jennifer – if it’s mushy in the center, that makes me think that it needs more baking time. Have you tried increasing the baking time by a few minutes? And I think you might be right about the mixing – try mixing a bit less. I usually mix until combined – right in the middle of mixing until there are no flour spots but not mixing for several minutes. Does that make sense?
I am in the same boat on this one. For the life of my I don’t know what I am doing wrong. The middle of my bread is always mushy and uncooked. If I leave it in longer to make sure the middle is done, then the rest of it is WAY over cooked and dried out. I even tried putting in less banana in case that was causing it.
What kind of pan are you using, Krissy? Glass? Metal?
Jen, How do you measure the flour? The way the flour is measured can affect the way your baked goods turn out (dense & heavy).
If you don’t have a scale and want to use a standard measuring cup, make sure your flour is very aerated. This is similar to sifting flour.
During storage, flour settles. You want to aerate to make it very light. So, either shake your container, or take a spoon and mix up the flour.
Never stick your measuring cup into the bag or container of flour and “scoop up a cup. To properly measure flour using a measuring cup, use a spoon and sprinkle the flour into the measuring cup. That will get you pretty close to the actual weight measurement of a cup of flour (125 grams). Continue sprinkling in the flour, until your measuring cup is full. The flour will be light and airy and look very similar to sifted flour. Using a Butter Knife, run the knife across the measuring cup and level the excess flour back into the container or bag of flour.
Hope this helps you. Happy baking!!
I usually make banana bread with very ripe bananas (almost completely black, it is how my mother taught me!) But I was wondering if with this recipe you use very ripe bananas as well, or just bananas that are soft enough to be mashable? The extremely ripe black bananas kind of gross me out, I would like to try something else! Thanks!
I often use bananas when they are all yellow (no green at all) or just starting to get spots on them.
Do you use salted or unsalted butter?
Thanks!
Salted. 🙂
Well Mel, THIS IS A FIRST! 1] I’ve never cared for banana bread 2.] I’ve never made a recipe a 2nd time without changing something. Well, both of those have gone by the wayside. I LOVE this banana bread and I made it true to your recipe the 1st and 2nd time without any change whatever. What’s this world coming to anyway??
Haha, so glad you loved it!
I’ve been making this bread about twice a month for the last few months and it turns out awesome every single time. Thank you for another amazing recipe!!
I am hoping that you can solve a mystery that’s driving me crazy. How come this banana bread comes out so light with no dark spots of banana like “traditional” banana breads? Even your recipe with sour cream looks darker in the photos, but this turns out lovely and golden every time, even with similar ingredients. I don’t know enough baking science to figure it out! Help!
I’m pretty certain (although not positive) it has to do with the fact that there is baking powder AND baking soda in the recipe (unlike the sour cream banana bread recipe that only has baking soda). From what I’ve read, it has something to do with the chemical reaction. But..I could be way off, too. It’s my best guess after having looking into the issue myself years ago. 🙂
My loaf has cooled and I dug in for the taste…it’s good. No, mines did not dome but it did not sink either. Turned out golden brown, nice and moist. Thank you Mel for sharing your recipe. I will make this again.
I’ve made this a few times and it is fabulous! I’m thinking of making it for our girls camp to go along with yogurt parfaits. I’m feeding 145 people. How many loaves would you suggest? I hope to make them all up ahead of time and freeze them. camp is just a month away now.
I usually get about 10 slices so, I’d count on about 15 loaves? You could cut thinner slices and maybe get by with 14.
So good! I didn’t have a large bread pan, so I made 1.5 of the recipe to make two-8×4 inch pan loaves. 350 degrees for 45 minutes. I also took your advice to decrease the sugar and increase the banana. Perfect! Thanks for this recipe!
I made this again today and it was just as good as the first time! For those interested, I made muffins this time. Oven temp is the same at 350. I made 20 muffins (filling 2 1/2 muffin tins 1/2 way with batter) and baked for 18 min. Perfect!
Made these yesterday as muffins, as I didn’t have the right pan to bake the bread in. They where delicious, it made about 20 muffins that turned out super moist, buttery and I loved how light in colour they were, not at all dark-flecked…
Also, making them as muffins cut down quite a bit on baking time, it only took about 25mins for them to bake…we ate them hot from the oven with and without Nutella spread on top, and they were delish either way ! Thanks a lot Mel for another winner, I’ll be making these again for all the family !
This turned out great! I followed the recipe except I cut the sugar by 1/2 and doubled the vanilla. It was perfectly sweet and full of flavor. I let it sit overnight and just had a slice for breakfast. It’s the best banana bread I’ve ever made. I’m at 7,000 feet so I’m happy anytime a baked good turns out well. This was a perfect use for my leftover buttermilk.
After making this dozens of times, I just had to say thanks! 4x-ed the recipe this morning! We love it. {We love all your recipes really!}
This is the BEST banana bread of all time! I did cut the sugar down to 1 cup and I added 1 cup of raisins. I bake this in four little pans and the results are gorgeous.
Mel, could you please supply the Nutritional analysis for this recipe?
Many thanks.
Hi Carol – glad you like the bread! I don’t have the nutritional info but you can google online nutritional calculators to help you figure it out.
Hi Mel, I’ve made this bread before and it’s delicious! I just made a double batch and after I put them in the oven realized that I used 2 one pound loaf pans rather than a 9×5. Do you think this will affect how the bread turns out? I know it will probably need more time to cook but I’m hoping it doesn’t overflow.
They were 10 minutes into cooking and looked dangerously close to overflow so I removed enough from each pan to fit into a mini loaf pan. I hope it doesn’t ruin the final outcome of the bread.
This is by far the best banana bread I have ever made! I can always count on your recipes to be a hit! Thanks for making me a great cook Mel!!
I just made this and love the taste and texture of this bread. I used bananas that were just a day past regular ripeness, as the older ones are just too sweet for me. I also split the recipe between two smaller loaf pans and added pecans, that we candied with a little brown sugar and butter to one, and left the other without. They turned out fantastic! Thank you for a much lighter tasting recipe than most I’ve found.
Hands down, my new favorite banana bread recipe. I usually at least double the batch so I can freeze a loaf or two. I slice the loaf, place about 4 slices in a sandwich bag, then place multiple filled sandwich bags in a larger bag, and freeze them. It makes for easy snacks or breakfasts. Thanks for providing such trustworthy recipes!
i made it yesterday…and it is really delicious..this going to be on my favorite banana recipes collection ^^ , thank you so much Mel for sharing it
Hi, Mel! I’ve recently found your blog and it’s AMAZING! Recipes are so easy to follow yet sooooooo tasty! THANKS FOR ALL OF THEM!
The only thing is I live in Spain and we don’t use the cups measuring -and it is completely unknown here… So, could you please post any measures aquivalences or tell me a trustful site so that I can convert them myself? THANKS!
Hi Francella – I’m not an expert at converting cups into weight measures (although I do sometimes include ounce measurements in recipes here and there). I haven’t used an online source but you might try googling a conversion calculator – I know there are several out there. Good luck! Sorry I’m not more help.
As I have said before, I love this site and you are awesome!!!
So this is not meant to be critical in any way… Just FYI
this page:
http://www.melskitchencafe.com/buttermilk-banana-bread/
has two links:
http://www.melskitchencafe.com/my-favorite-cheesecakeever
and
http://melskichencafe.com/2008/01/my-moms-fabulous-lasagna.html
that do not work.
Thanks for letting me know Barry! I took those links out.
Mel this is such an amazing banana bread recipe – I made this for brunch for myself and my partner and, as usual when it comes to your recipes, I am just wowed. I followed your directions to the T and the bread turned out perfectly – moist and slightly golden. Better than any banana bread I’ve ever had before.
Thank you so much for sharing your wonderful recipes with us – I can honestly say your blog is the reason I love to cook and bake!
Thanks, Hayley!
I’ve been making this bread for awhile now and it gets amazing reviews. I decided to doctor it up a bit and used half brown sugar and threw in some chocolate chips with a drop or two of vanilla bean paste. It was awesome!
This banana bread was one of the best recipes I’ve ever tried!
Hi Mel, I have just made your banana bread. I got 6 muffins, a small loaf, and a bigger loaf. I just tasted a muffin while HOT and it is very moist and love the texture. It is different from any I have ever made. I just was never much for the dark banana bread for some reason.
I was also looking at your whole wheat bread recipe. I grind my own wheat too. I don’t use wheat gluten. Would dough enhancer work similar to the gluten? I need some vitamin C also.
Charlotte Moore – I don’t use dough enhancer and so I don’t know anything about it – it might be worth looking around online to see if gluten and dough enhancer can be used interchangeably.
My family *loves* banana bread; we are lucky if a loaf lasts 24 hours. I was out of the yogurt needed to make our standard loaf, and remembered I had pinned this recipe. I didn’t have buttermilk, so used a milk/vinegar sub. It is absolutely delicious! My son has a school pal over, and they are devouring it! Hoping there is some left, because I have a feeling it will taste even better tomorrow morning.
Thanks for a great recipe!
HI Mel,
I came to your site for a tried and tested banana recipe. I have a little tip for sweet breads. Did you know that if you spray a loaf with cooking spray, then sprinkle granulated sugar into it (similar to the flour, tap it around to cover the surface) then you get a wonderful crust with a bit of a caramelized sugar coating it? Mmmmmm. Try it sometime, I think you’ll like it. I use it especially with banana bread. Thanks for the recipe!
Hi Mel,
Love, love this banana bread recipe and have made it before so I don’t know why I just noticed this now. The recipe says it makes one large loaf but at the end of the recipe, it says to divide the batter? Thanks for clarifying.
Linda
Linda Turco – Thank you for bringing that to my attention. It is fixed now. I think the original recipe I got from my Aunt made two smaller loaf pans but I don’t have that size of loaf pan so I make it in one large.
Yum! Had to bake for an extra 30 mins and ended up turning off the oven and just letting it sit in there for 10 mins after the extra 30. Maybe I’ll try in two pans next time. But I love the beautiful brown loaf look! Added chocolate chips and subbed milk with a few squirts of lemon juice instead of buttermilk. So tasty!
Hey Mel – I’m a big fan of your site! Almost all of our recipes have been from you in the last four months or so – and it has been so encouraging to me to know that we have SO MANY more options for dinners in our home since I was in a dinner-RUT. I’ve also taken a liking to your menu plan template and it has saved us HUNDREDS of $$$! I know this because The last two weeks I didn’t make a plan (too busy!) and ended up spending 3x as much as normal at the grocery store AND we still ended up ordering pizza and chinese takeout because of no plan. *sigh*
Anyway, Just wanted to drop a note saying I made this last night, but didn’t have buttermilk – instead used Whole Milk, and I added about 1/2 cup of Semi-Sweet Chocolate Chips. It was aaaahhhh-mazing!
I promise I’ll try it next time I buy buttermilk, and leave out the chocolate chips – but I am positive this is the only recipe I’ll be using for banana bread!!
Hi Amy – thanks for the comment! I’m so happy the menus are helping you out and glad the bread worked out (yum on the chocolate chip factor!).
Just made this, subbing coconut oil off the butter. Would NOT recommend it! Apparently some other commenters have had success with this, but mine turned out lacking. It needed more salt, due to lack of salted butter. The texture was weird and chewy and it definitely took longer to cook. It’s still edible, but I say, if you’re going to make this recipe, stick with butter my friends!
I made this and the cream cheese banana bread and it was just amazing. All your recipes rock I can’t wait for the gluten free one-we are going gluten free because of my child’s medical needs. But I had one more question, I tend to throw away 95% of my buttermilk because it spoils and it’s not cheap. Can you freeze buttermilk and thaw it later to use?
Cearrow – Unfortunately I don’t have a gluten-free banana bread recipe. Sorry! As for the buttermilk. Yes, you can freeze buttermilk.
This recipe converts to gluten free wonderfully! Just do a direct swap of the flour for rice (brown or white) flour. It works amazingly! And gluten eaters are never the wiser!
I used all purpose and it turned out great!! BUT… I had to leave while it was cooking and I had someone watch it, instructed to check it with a toothpick and take it out after 50 minutes, my oven runs hot and every recipe so far of yours I cook on the shorter end of baking time. She said every toothpick came out with stuff on it and cooked it for an hour 20 minutes and it was great but slightly over done. Since your other recipes cook quicker in my oven I’m wondering how moist should this be when it’s done? I’ve never made banana bread so I have no idea how to tell.
Self rising or all purpose flour? If you don’t specify does it matter which
Cearrow – I never use self-rising flour and will definitely specify in a post if the flour called for is different than all-purpose. They are very different – self-rising already has baking powder and other ingredients added to it so yes, it definitely will make a difference if you use one over the other (following the recipe is the best bet). As for the banana bread, I usually check for doneness by inserting a toothpick and if it comes out with moist crumbs, it’s good to go. Runny batter on the toothpick = not done. I always keep checking about every 3-5 minutes if I’m consistently getting runny batter after about 50-55 minutes of baking.
Mine turned out darker too, I used glass pan. I think next time I’ll use a metal pan and see how it turns out. I did have to bake an extra twenty minutes. Next time I’ll try to smaller loaves, which might take less time. It’s definitely a keeper though.
I commented a few years ago, but just wanted to pop in and say that using brown or white rice flour in place of regular flour works great in this recipe. Light, fluffy, delicious, and gluten free! I’ve made it for gluten eaters (without revealing my secret), and they still rave! No one is the wiser! 🙂
Thanks for the many delicious recipes!
so great to know – just rice flour not better batter or another blend?
Just rice flour! No blends necessary! I don’t even add xanthan gum! And they really are just delicious, moist, and hold together amazingly!
Shauntel, thank you so much for that info!
FYI…been making this fabulous recipe for a couple years now. Thank you for a killer staple!
Excellent recipe! Thanks for sharing.
This is absolutely the best banana bread ever! It gets rave reviews everywhere I take it! My pans are dark, so I bake it at 325 and never have a problem with it over-browning. I want to make it into mini loaves, but I have no idea how many pans I need. I’m guessing three??? Thanks again for another all-time-favorite recipe!
Bethany – like, how mini are we talking here? I think if we are talking about the same mini loaf pans, you might need four, but I guess you’ll just have to experiment and see. Good luck!
I am sorry! ok I believe my loaf pan is the 9×5 pan, that is what it measures out to be when I use a ruler. and I made 12 mini muffins with the extra batter I had taken out. My muffins came out perfectly. But the loaf was so heavy, felt like a brick was in the pan. I’m not good in the kitchen so I didn’t know if I didn’t cook it enough, cooked it too long. I will try again cause I really loved the recipe and the muffins were gone in minutes. Thanks for your help.
Hello, I am still waiting for a response/help to my comment above from Oct. I really want to make the recipe again because it was so good in the muffin form but don’t want my loaf to turn out the way it did last time. We ended up throwing it away cause it was so moist and heavy. Thanks for your help.
Just made this tonight. “The. Best. Banana. Bread. EVER!” Those are words from my husband. I agree with him too! This is absolutely wonderful and will be the only recipe I use for banana bread. Thanks for another great recipe! I love your site and all the delicious dishes I’ve made from it!
Thanks for getting back so soon! Ill try with a wooden spoon next time.
Hi Mel, i tried this last night but my turned out dense. im sure i did something wrong.would i have overmixed? i used a mixer up until adding flour then changed to wooden spoon. any thoughts? thanks! i do wanr to try again. your photos looks amazing
Laura – I honestly don’t know what happened but you might try mixing start to finish with a wooden spoon. That’s usually how I make it and I try not to overmix and only stir together until just combined.
When I put the batter into my loaf pan it just looked like too much so I took some out and made muffins. My muffins came out perfect, so light and yummy!! The bread tasted good but looks awful. It sank in the middle and it is so heavy, feels like a brick in the loaf pan. The bottom of the loaf was gooey so I think it needed to cook more but don’t know why it was so heavy.Maybe I don’t have a big enough loaf pan? I might just keep making it in the muffin pans since that turned out perfectly.
Hi Katie – I didn’t realize you were looking for a response since your question wasn’t direct. Sorry! What size is your bread pan? The full amount of batter fits perfectly in a 9X5-inch bread pan. If you took some out for muffins (I’m not sure how much batter you took out), the rest of the batter may fit into a smaller loaf pan but I’m having a hard time knowing exactly how much batter you took out and what size of bread pan you used. When I make the recipe as written and bake it in a 9X5-inch pan, it comes out great so you may want to try that and see how it works making the recipe as posted. Good luck!
Hi there! I love this bread, it is soo good and it is now my go-to banana bread. I added it to my blog here: http://fromkatrinaskitchen.wordpress.com/2013/08/20/buttermilk-banana-bread/ and linked it back to yours so everyone can and should try it!
Mel- made this yesterday and i’m eating the buttermilk banana bread right now, it turned out great! you are right- its different from “normal” banana bread but its still really good and a keeper recipe! i had two large bananas in the freezer that i wanted to use and most recipes call for more so i was trying to find a recipe with less bananas.. since yours had the three i was like.. worth a try- i used them straight out of the freezer and creamed them with the 1 cup sugar/butter etc.. i added walnuts too.. spot on mel! love your recipes 🙂 this really turned out excellent and will be enjoying it for breakfast Thank you!
Hi Mel! I made your buttermilk banana bread yesterday and I have to say it was a hit! It’s so different from regular bread with it’s pound cake texture. It’s so moist. I upped the bananas and added 4 and cut back on the sugar (as I usually do) and it was the perfect fit for us! Thanks again!
Oh I meant without the dark flecks..
What is the secret to making this bread with the dark flecks? I hate when that happens. But I love how this one doesn’t have any.
Jean – I don’t really know for sure – perhaps the buttermilk? I just know that it always turns out light and golden instead of dark like other banana breads.
What a great recipe! I have one that is similar but I decided to try yours and this is my new favorite! I love the flavor and the texture. It was a little sweet for me so I did cut back on the sugar significantly, by about 1/2 cup. I thought I would add that the more ripe the bananas are, the sweeter they are going to be– just something to keep in mind in case others thought this was a little on the sweet side too. Thanks for the recipe! I will make this again and again.
So they turned out incredibly delicious with coconut oil. I felt like I could taste coconut a little, which I loved. Also, there was a crispiness to the outer shell of the muffin which I found to be amazing:)!!! Because I’ve never made the recipe the “Mel” way, they may have that crispiness either way, but man, they were GOOD!
You sound as familiar with it as I am! This is my first jar that I’ve purchased. This coconut oil thing seems to be taking over and I’m going to try to get on board. I’ll let you know the outcome with the bread!
Mel, I’ve just started experimenting with coconut oil. So, I’m wondering if you’re at all familiar with it and if I’d be able to substitute that for the butter? I can’t imagine it would taste bad!
Carolyn – I’m only vaguely familiar with coconut oil although I have a jar I’m going to use in some muffins this week. 🙂 I think you could probably use it in this recipe…I just can’t guarantee results since I haven’t tried it myself. Good luck if you decide to experiment!
Oh my! This is sooo good!! I am also one that does not care for the heavy, dark, rotten-banana flavored breads. This one is not like that at all! It will most definitely be my go-to recipe to make when I have bananas around. Only changes I made were to use 1/2 whole wheat flour, 1/2 regular, added 1 tsp. cinnamon, and added chopped pecans. I also made them as muffins (only have a dark bread pan and didn’t want the outside too dark like some other commenters said) and they were perfect! Thanks for the yummy recipe!! 🙂
Can i add chocolate chips to the mix to make the cake? 🙂
Bea – I think other commenters have added chocolate chips to this.
Mel,
Why are there no brown flecks of banana in it? My bananas were older and usually when I’ve used other recipes there are dark flecks throughout the bread. Is this because of the buttermilk? It was delicious but I’m just curious. Thanks!
Heidi – I think it has something to do with the buttermilk but I’m not 100% sure.
I usually leave the heel for my husband. I cut off the heel and ate the next piece and a groan escaped my lips. The crust was so good that I quickly returned to snag the heel before anyone else noticed that I had cut it. The only change I made was to add a handful of semi-sweet chocolate chips. It needs nothing and would be great even without the chips. Go get that 5 year old again and tell him to hug you AND pat you on the back. Well done! We are heading out to dinner, but I think my dinner will be ruined by then.
Teresa – I don’t freeze bread in tin foil (I usually wrap in plastic wrap and then put in a ziploc bag) so I don’t know if it was due to that or not. I know when I’ve defrosted this banana bread, the top tends to be slightly sticky but not so much that it is inedible. Perhaps it is just the bread recipe that makes it that way.
I made this banana bread recently and it was so delicious. One question…I made mini loaves and froze what we did not eat. I froze them in tin foil, individually, then put them in ziploc bags. This is how I freeze all my quick breads and have no problem. However, when I defrosted this bread, the top was very wet and sticky. I wonder if you know what the problem could be, thanks.
turned them into muffins and they were greaaaaaaaaaat~ the top wasn’t as brown as I expected them to be but still~ it was moist and soft. I’ll try adding chocolate chips and almonds next time. :))
Ok, I made a version of this bread this morning, and it took me a while to get this together without coffee in me (I was trying to wait for my coffee to drink with – so glad I waited). I followed as closely as I could. I made this with 1/2 whole wheat and 1/2 unbleached white flour (a homemade mix). I love nuts, so I had to add some walnuts to the last portion of the batter for muffins. Both ways, with or without nuts were delicious. The muffins didn’t come out as light as the pic, but I am pretty positive it is the 1/2 whole wheat flour. They were so fluffy and light even with the ww flour. The batter made 17 muffins and there’s only one left for tomorrow’s coffee (hopefully I can get to it before my husband). Thanks for this delicious treat. (Oh, by the way it only took about 13 minutes for the muffins to come out on my 12 muffin tin and almost 20 minutes for the 5 in my stoneware, baked separately).
This was delicious! I am a true connoisseur of banana bread and have tried countless recipes…this may be the best I’ve tasted! I reduced the sugar to one cup and increased the bananas…I think that was the key. Super moist with just a subtle sweetness. Thanks so much!
This is good. Definately on the sweeter end of banana bread.
Also nearly burnt it in my stone loaf pan.
Made this today, turned out great. I did alter it to make it GF , tho.
Thanks for recipe.
This is in my oven right now and the smell is so intoxicating, I wish I could bottle it! I’m making it for a friend who just had a baby, but I kinda wanna keep it for myself and stop at the store and buy her a package of Oreos for desert! Just kidding. Kind of. Actually, the whole meal is from your site! I’m taking the best sloppy joes (they really are) and French bread rolls! bthanks for your amazing-ness!
I am excited about this recipe and have it in the oven now! The batter is heavenly. Can’t wait to try the finished product.
Hi just had to post a comment…FABULOUS! My son was coming down to see me and said mmm would love some Banana bread…and so came here …The BEST recipe for Banana bread I have EVER made…..it even looked the same!
I was bummed because this was the first recipe I haven’t like on this site, and I LOVE and make a lot of things off this site. My whole family thought the flavor was lacking…it’s not like I left anything out, or that I’m a beginner at baking. The bananas were perfectly ripe…I can’t put my finger on it. It was moist and had a great color, but the flavor just wasn’t there. Maybe it’s one of those breads that needs to set out for a couple of hours before you eat it? We seriously put gobs of nutella on it to help the flavor.
Best banana bread ever!! Cant tell you how much I love your blog…you have a ton of great stuff and have helped turn me into a better cook. Best wishes to you and your growing family.
I’ve made this a BUNCH of times! It’s so yummy! Thanks for sharing!
Ashley – I’ve never made it as a cake but it’s probably worth a try. Sorry I can’t offer much advice on pan size or baking time. I’ve subbed half whole wheat flour before and it works out great.
I made this as a cake can’t fault it delishous!
Have you tried making this as a cake? I am looking for a recipe I can use for a first birthday cake. Also, have you tried using whole wheat? Thanks!!
I added 1/2 cup chopped dates and touch of Cinnamon and yummmy…..i actually wanted to make 2 different cakes but ….combined instead for a success !
Thanks, Mel. The bread tastes great, but I’ll try a lighter pan next time.
Hi Susannah – yes, the pan can definitely make a difference with the final look of the bread. Chances are your bread will bake up just fine in the dark pan (and additional time may not be a bad thing based on your oven temperature, pan, etc.) but I always use a very light-colored aluminum pan which is probably why the crust is lighter on mine. I hope you liked the finished result – let me know if you have any other questions for me!
Hi Mel, I’m making this bread tonight in a non-stick dark 9×5 loaf pan. I followed the directions exactly, but I’m going on an additional 10 minutes cooking time. The middle is still jiggly and raw in side. Not sure what I’m doing wrong. Do I need to use a different pan? Also, the top is getting really brown/overcooked. There must be something I’m missing here. I’ll pull it out in a bit and check. I’m sure the inside will still taste okay, but it definitely doesn’t look as good and light as your photos. Thanks for your help!
Sarah – I always use storebought buttermilk but I know others have used the 1 cup of milk mixed with 1 tablespoon lemon juice or white vinegar method (spooning out what is needed for this recipe after the lemon juice/milk mixture has rested for a few minutes). It’s worth a try!
I made my buttermilk with 1/2 c. of half and half, and a 1/2 tsp of white vinegar. It was so good that I drank what I didn’t use in the bread.
This recipe worked very well for me, beginning to end. The only teeny alteration I made was to add a 1/2 tsp of molasses, because we like the flavor around here. The loaves were perfectly brown, the inside a lovely white, very pretty, and the bread had a great banana flavor. Thank you.
If I don’t have store bought buttermilk can I fake it some how? Will it taste as good?
I maybe buy bananas and let them sit on my counter for a while JUST so I can make this bread. It is amazzzzing! I love a slice warm spread with peanut butter and nutella. Oh my goodness. So yummy. I don’t think I can ever go back to the darker version of banana bread again! Thanks for the recipe!
We do the nuetella on banana bread as well… It’s equally good on pumpkin bread.
Adrienne – I freeze the baked bread all the time so I’m guessing the muffins should freeze just fine!
Have you tried freezing the finished product? I am planning on making muffins and freezing them for a brunch next week. That is if they last that long… judging by all the comments I think may be making a second batch!
Had some bananas that were getting very ripe so I was looking for a good banana bread. Remembered to check your site first and found this recipe. Absolutely loved it! The texture and taste is a little different from traditional banana bread, which I preferred. My pan is dark so the edges browned a bit (and made sort of a crust), but the taste was incredible! Guess I get to shop for new loaf pans now! Thanks again for another great recipe!
I made this tonight fora Bible study that my husband and I host and it was really delicious! I read the comment about sugaring the pan instead of flouring it and it was a huge bust for the regular loaf size pan. The sugar melted and burned the whole outside if one side of the bread, but I also made a tiny loaf and the sugaring worked great on it because there was lesser cook time I guess. The recipe itself was amazing andmy dough rose nice and dome like when cooked. I added 3 bananas but 4 wouldn’t hurt the bread either. I’m going to try remaking this.. Maybe using some applesauce instead of some of all that butter and definitely for the pan..w won’t be trying the sugaring again!
I dust the pans with cinnamon sugar. So delicious.
Susannah – yes, the Baker’s Joy is right next to all the other cooking sprays/oils. Good luck!
Thanks, Mel! I will be trying this VERY SOON! 🙂 Can’t wait! Do you just get the Baker’s Joy spray in the baking section at the grocery store?
Susannah – I usually take the easy way out and use the Baker’s Joy spray that has grease and flour combined. It is a beautiful thing. If I don’t have that then I simply coat the pan with cooking spray, tap some flour in and around (tapping out the excess) and call it good. As for the bananas, I use any banana that doesn’t have green on it, preferably with a few brown specks. I’m not overly particular and I’ve never browned my own bananas – I just use what I have (as long as they aren’t green!).
This will seem like a silly question, but how do you grease and flour your pans? Also, do the bananas need to really, really ripe? I’ve read other recipes in the past that call for browning bananas. Thanks, Mel!
I made these as muffins and my 15 month old daughter has been enjoying one every day for breakfast…Thanks!!!
Shron – sure! I think nuts would be great.
would you be able to add nuts to this?
I’m with you on the buttery crust – that was my favorite part, too! I made this a couple of days ago – it took several minutes more than yours & it was not a pretty blond color like yours. It was a little too brown around the edges. After reading through the comments I think the issue might be my pan – stoneware? I think I’ll try glass or aluminum next time & see what happens.
Regardless of that, my husband doesn’t care for bananas or banana bread, but he has not stopped raving about this bread! He ate most of the loaf & enjoyed every bite! I don’t know that I’ve ever seen him quite so unexpectedly impressed with a recipe. Made my day! Thanks once again, Mel!
Very good! I have a banana bread recipe that I have been using for years and this one is far better! I like how light and fluffy this bread is!
This was good – but a bit too sweet for my taste. Has anyone tried using some whole wheat or cutting down on the sugar?
I just made the lower sugar/higher banana modification. It turned out great! It’s not too sweet and it is sooo moist. I can’t wait for my kids to come home from school to try it. I think they’ll like the way it looks better than the regular, darker banana breads. This will definitely be my new banana bread recipe to use. Thank you!
Hi there! I’m looking for a banana bread recipe that I can add peanut butter and reese’s cups to. I’m wondering if that work with yours? this recipe sounds great!
Naomi – I’ve never tried that but I think it’s definitely worth attempting. You’ll have to play around with amounts but I’m guessing it should work just fine. Sounds delicious!
This is awesome! I decreased the sugar to one cup and made them as muffins. I got 24 muffins, but I wished I had made them a tad bigger….I had just cleaned my oven and didn’t want them to spill over so I filled them half full…probably 2/3 full is better. They were really moist and yummy. I like the lighter color for a change. Thanks for another winner!
Oh p.s. I swirled a big ‘ole glob of melted chocolate in it…..hmmm I wonder if that’s why is was so crazy delish…. 🙂
I just made this bread the other day and I have to say it is the absolute BEST recipe for banana bread I have ever used!!! I have never been much of a fan and am very particualr about bananas, but it was seriously amazing! I love your blog so much and use your recipes ALL the time!
Oh my, best banana bread I’ve ever made. Its light, buttery and moist! So glad I tried this! I subbed half and half with a tsp of vinegar for the buttermilk. Worked out great!
Wow Mel (and thank you Aunt Marilyn). I wish that I had made two loaves! I had three bananas which were a little too ripe to eat and thought I’d make some bread. Knew that I loved your breads so I came looking here for a recipe and wow, was it delicious! That loaf was rationed out and lasted all of ten minutes (amongst those at my mom’s for Sunday dinner). Better than cake was one comment…and I loved how the top became a little crusty and just perfect–the end piece was so delicious (unlike some breads!) All I know is that I bought more bananas today at the store so that I could make some more since two little slices weren’t enough to satisfy me! Thanks for another great recipe!!! 🙂
Best banana bread ever!!! I’m glad my husband isn’t a fan of banana bread, now I don’t have to share. 🙂
Are you using powder buttermilk or liquid? I have powdered buttermilk and I’m not sure if I should use 4 table spoons of powered or 4 of it converted into liquid…
Ioana – I always use fresh buttermilk. If you use powdered buttermilk, convert it into liquid before using.
Wow, this recipe is so good that eating bananas by themselves seems like a waste. It never seems like bananas last long enough…but now, it’ll feel like they last too long. So yummy! Thanks for the recipe.
I made this this week for my son’s class as mini muffins and made double the recipe so we had some for home too. Figured they’d be around a while since I made a lot but my son who is pretty picky gobbled them down. Love the recipe. Thanks!
The bread is in the oven now. The batter is SO DELICIOUS I can’t wait to taste the actual bread! Thank you so much for the recipe.
Love this recipe. Never used buttermilk in my banana bread and chance would have it that there were both *ripe* bananas and buttermilk in the kitchen. Wonderful results tho mine came out with a darker crust. Probably my pan/oven combo. I mixed it up a little and added a peanut butter cream ribbon on the inside and candied peanuts on the top. Would not have worked without your terrific recipe as a basis. Thanks Melanie!
WOW!!! Just found this site through Two Peas and Their Pod. Love the recipes and will be adding you to my favorties. Paulette
Oh. My. Heavens. These are so delicious! They are sweeter than my regular banana bread recipe (which I love). I also enjoyed the texture and buttery flavor. I made 24 muffins (baking for 30 minutes) and my kids downed them all in minutes! 🙂
This was fantastic. We really enjoyed it.
Okay, so I have been wanting to make this banana bread for awhile now. I was quite nervous when after 5o minutes it was still “wiggly” in the middle. It did take about 10-15 more minutes for it to be done for me. Then, I was anxious to take it out of the pan and it ended up falling apart a bit for me. That was totally my fault, though. I didn’t let it cool enough. So, I put it back together and it looks fine. I just tasted it and boy, is it delicious! I can’t wait for my hubby to come home to taste it! He’s gonna love me….well he already does, but he’ll love me even more!
Mel, can you use thawed bananas from the freezer in this recipe? I always freeze them when they start to get dark, then they get a little watery, interested in how to adjust for that, while still utilizing my fruit!
Brandi – I’ve never used bananas from the freezer that have been thawed in this but I’m guessing it should work just fine and is definitely worth a try! If, after thawing, they have liquid pooling on the plate or wherever they are sitting, I would drain that before smashing them and using them in the recipe.
Thanks for sharing this recipe. I linked back to you when I posted it and I wanted to stop back and tell you how awesome it is. We can’t get enough!
Thanks, Michelle!
I’ve made this recipe several times and it is always perfection. No other banana bread compares. I’ve even subbed in white whole wheat flour, brown sugar, and an egg white for one of the eggs and it’s still come out FABULOUSLY.
I think I love you for introducing me to this recipe.
I recently started my own food blog (inspired by bloggers like you!) and posted this recipe tonight, in muffin form. Check it out if you like! And thank you so much for this recipe!!
http://bakingwithbuttermilk.wordpress.com/2010/11/09/go-to-banana-bread-muffin-recipe/
Thanks, Caroline! I’m so glad that you love this recipe. Thanks for including some of the variations you’ve tried!
BEST banana bread recipe…hands down. I made the banana muffins, cooking for roughly 40 minutes and they were delic. Not only is this recipe great but the effort involved was so minimal. Can’t wait to try the next MEL recipe.
Thanks, Amy! I love that this recipe works so great as muffins. Thanks for letting me know!
This banana bread has become almost a staple treat at our house. We really love this recipe! I have tried a couple of different things with it.
First when I had a half of a loaf that didn’t get eaten in time, I used it in bread pudding. I cubed up the bread just like I would have french bread and let it soak for awhile, maybe 15-20 min? It made a really good banana bread pudding!
Most recently, I have been getting the mood for fall which always means PUMPKIN bread. I made this same recipe and substituted pumpkin in the place of banana and man was it awesome! Now this is my go to banana bread and pumpkin bread recipe.
Thanks Mel, keep the incredible recipes coming!
Thanks, Summer! Love the idea of a banana bread pudding…
My sister made this bread for me & then gave me a link to your website. THANKS for all the hard work you put into this site. I love it!
This is THE BEST banana bread ever for sure.
Thanks, Susanna – it’s so sweet of you to comment and let me know. Tell your sister thanks for me. 🙂
Made your banana bread yesterday and when my daughter got home from school she had two slices – after the first bite she said “Wow, full of flavor – yet soft and chewy” I was cracking up – it was indeed full of flavor and wonderfully moist! Thanks for the great recipe – definitely beats my old betty crocker banana bread recipe!
Sue E – that is a hilarious (and quite intuitive) comment from your daughter. She should be a guest judge on Iron Chef America or something! So glad this bread was a hit!
Best Banana Bread EVER!!!
Thanks, Ruth!
this looks so delicious!
have a nice time!
Paula
I am in love with your website! I use it almost everyday! I made this the other day and it is the best banana bread I have ever tasted!! seriously!.. I will be making this again soon.
Thanks, Brooke!
This is happening tomorrow!
This looks so delicious. I’ve seen such boring banana bread,however this looks more like a moist cake. I could totally see this as a cupcake recipe and top it off with cream cheese frosting. YUM! Very nice blog.
My bread turned out awesome! I love it! Thanks!
Cheryl – I’m thrilled to hear that! Thanks for checking back in.
Mel–check Cheryl’s page (The Southern Cookbook)–she posted a pic of your bread that gives me banana bread jealousy! It looks so perfect it’s about to kill me. I think my baking powder may not be very good b/c mine didn’t look anything like that.
I am making your banana bread tomorrow. I heard so many good reviews from Kim and Veronica, that I have to try it. My bananas are ready!!! I will get back to you with the results. I am sure I will love it 🙂
Thanks for the tip. 🙂 I appreciapte you writing back to me.
Veronica.. i used 1 teaspoon for each batch and mine wasn’t fallen in. It was flat. I’d say, perfecto!
Kim F. – thanks for checking back again to let me know this was delicious the second day, too! As for the baking soda issue, yes, Veronica, you are right…baking soda is used whenever there is an acid present. It neutralizes the acids and provides a bit of leavening, as well as tenderness, too. A “dash” is kind of an ambiguous term but I’m glad you found a workaround that helped your bread turn out, Kim. I will probably edit the recipe to state 1/8 teaspoon, although it sounds like your 1 teaspoon worked fine, too!
I had to come back. I know it is always better the next day, but i am seriously keeping this recipe forever. My family just devoured the last loaf after lunch. Looks like i need to get more bananas!
Regarding Kim’s doubt about the dash of baking soda–I think that’s there b/c of the buttermilk. Whenever an acid is present in a recipe, there’s usually baking soda because they react with one another and I think it helps the rising. And I think it’s only a dash b/c of the small amount of buttermilk. I think in a recipe I used 1 cup of buttermilk, the baking soda was like 1/2 teaspoon. Do I have it right, Mel?
Ok, i made it. Love the flavor, it is exceptionally moist, it is a sweeter than usual banana bread, but we all love the sweetness ( now i don’t have to make desert tonight) Mine was a bit darker, but not much, it did start sinking at first but then rose up, did not dome, but thats ok. I had to sub lemon juice and milk ( no buttermilk on hand and i had to make it RIGHT NOW< LOL) I appreciate the recipe, def. a keeper 🙂
Well, i came by from a request from Veronica. The only thing that threw me off was the “dash” of baking soda. I doubled the recipe and the loaves are about to go in the oven. By tasting the batter, i can tell it is superb in flavor. Thank you so much, i will drop back by when they are done!
Woah, This looks perfect! I am making this, this weekend! Thanks for the post.
Don’t worry, I was too busy stuffing my face with it to cry over not being able to use it–LOL! It’s soooooo incredible. I think I will try again because I may have overmeasured the buttermilk or something. Even if it falls again, I will have no problem eating the mistake again–haha.
I made this today and it really is the BEST banana bread! The only thing I don’t like is that it doesn’t dome at all, in fact in sunk just the slightest bit in the middle. I think this is due to the “sad cake” phenomenon when your fat & liquid to dry ratios are off (too much fat & liquid) but in this case, I wouldn’t want to add more flour or change anything just to get a pretty bread. However, I can’t use this recipe for the fair b/c they won’t even taste something if is sunk in the middle b/c they assume it is underdone. 🙁 So I’ll have to use another stupid recipe that won’t be as good. BTW, what loaf pans do you use? Mine turn the outside so much darker than yours.
Veronica – I’ve never had this sink in the middle! And I’m bummed it did for you so that you can’t use it for the fair. As for the pans, I use a really old pan my mom gave me and it doesn’t have a brand name on it. It is a really light (both in color and durability) aluminum. That may be why mine turns out so light.
I made this recipe today but I made it in muffin pans instead of loaves. I live by myself so grabbing a single muffin on the way out the door in the morning is just easier, and I can freeze some, so they don’t go bad on me.
I followed the recipe exactly and ended up getting 16 muffins out of it. I baked them for 20 minutes, and they were lightly browned.
Great recipe, I’ve got a few other ones bookmarked now! Thanks 🙂
Hi Vanessa – thanks for the review on this recipe and information on baking them as muffins. I’m so glad you liked the end result!
Hiya! So I doubled this recipe and made two large loaves today. I had to let them cook an additional 2o minutes like some of the other people did. Only problem was that the outside of the bread is overcooked, while the inside is just perfect. Not really sure how to solve this problem without splitting them into smaller loaf pans.
Also, my loaves are really crumbly. Yummy, but break apart when slicing. Do you know why this might happen? I followed the recipe to a T. I’ve had this happen once before with a different banana bread recipe and don’t know what causes it. Anyway… thanks for the recipe as always and here’s to making it even better the next go around! 🙂
Hi Anissa! If your bread is getting overcooked on the outside, I would definitely use smaller bread pans, like you mentioned. There can be variances in oven temperature and pans (based on what the pan is made of) and that can all make a difference in how a baked good turns out. I’m not sure why it would be crumbly, though. I’ve never had that happen. The only thing I can think of is wondering if your butter wasn’t softened enough…but again, I’m not sure if that would be the problem.
Mel, this is by far the best banana bread recipe I’ve ever had! I had no buttermilk in the house and the only bananas to be had were whole, frozen black and stuck to the bottom of my freezer. I used the bananas and subed whole milk and lemon juice for the buttermilk and they were still fantastic. Your recipes have impressed me more than a couple of times. Thank you so much for making my life so much easier in the kitchen. BTW, I just mixed up your recipe for Oatmeal Pancake Mix…I’m sure I’ll be posting a raving review tomorrow 🙂
Amy – thanks for such a sweet comment! I’m thrilled this banana bread was such a hit – even with your creative adaptations.
I have previously made the sour cream banana bread (which was excellent), but this time I had bananas and buttermilk on hand so I decided to try this recipe.
This was also excellent! It was light and sweet and the crust gets nice and crunchy when I put it on the toaster oven. I only had two bananas but otherwise followed the recipe exactly.
Top it with a little pat of butter when it’s still warm, and you have a very yummy treat!
Ruchita – glad you liked this version! It is definitely one of my favorites.
This is the best banana bread recipe that I have tasted! It was an absolute hit with my family. I added another banana and it made it moister. The absolute bomb is sugaring the pan instead of flouring it. We used to fight over the top, but now we fight over the bottom! You are awesome!!
kristen – thanks for your comment on this recipe! I’m so glad this is a hit for you and the fam. I love the sugaring idea, too!
I made this today and it really was the best banana bread I’ve ever made. It was actually the test drive for my new metallic bread pan (that you recommended). I actually reduced the sugar by 1/2 cup since I was planning on using it for breakfast. It is delicious, but I think it would be delicious with the full amount of sugar as well!! I only had 2 black bananas so I used applesauce to total the 1 cup of bananas. Worked perfectly for us since my husband isn’t huge into the banana flavor of banana bread. I did have to bake it about 20 min. longer, but I’m sure it’s because I used the entire amount of batter in one pan rather than having some in mini pans.
Aunt Marilyn’s the best! =)
Celia – thanks for your detailed comment! I’m so glad that you liked this recipe. And yes, I agree, Aunt Marilyn IS the best.
Just made these for my husband and two sons this morning. What a hit! Absolutely the best banana bread I’ve ever had…I don’t miss the dark bits at all (they always kind of bothered me, anyway). Thanks so much to you and your Auntie. This will be my new standby recipe for banana bread. Awesome!
Christie – thanks for the compliments on this recipe. I’ll forever be grateful to my aunt for giving it to me! I’m so glad you liked it.
I think this is the first recipe that I have made of yours that I did not adore. I thought it was good, but I have other recipes that I love more than this. Also, I used the stoneware breadpan to make it and it needed to be cooked 20 more minutes additionally to your 50 minutes.
Emily – sorry you didn’t like this banana bread! It must be a matter of preference…but thanks for letting me know either way.
Mel – I’ve made this recipe twice and revised it each time.
First, I used half the amount of butter, then substituted applesauce for the other half. I had to bake a little longer, but it turned out fabulous.
The second time I made it, I substituted brown sugar for half of the white sugar; then I also substituted applesauce for half of the eggs [I ran out of eggs & refused to go to the grocery store for an egg]. Once again, it turned out fabulous!
I agree – this is by far THE BEST banana bread recipe EVER!
Thanks for your input on this recipe, Melissa! I can’t wait to try it and reduce the butter…and I love the addition of brown sugar. I bet it is delicious that way!
Lisa – so glad you liked this, thanks for letting me know!
I had ripe bananas yesterday and wanted to make banana bread. I jumped right onto your blog, sure that you would have a great recipe. We tried this one and WOW – how yummy! We all loved it! Thanks!
Shauntel – you are so nice…and your comment made me smile (about the wishful thinking on the ripening bananas!). I'm glad that you like this recipe and love the note about the muffin conversion and white wheat substitution. Definitely trying that!
Just wanted to thank you for this banana bread – we make it on a regular basis and really can't get enough. Sometimes I often secretly hope that my bananas will get overly ripe so I can make it!As a sidenote – this recipe makes amazing muffins too. And I often do half white flour, half white wheat flour. It still tastes great, and my husband is none the wiser! 🙂
Abby – you make me laugh! Thanks for your great comment. I'm so glad you liked the banana bread and your addition of the caramelized onions on the steak sounds FANTASTIC. Now I'm off to see if my five year old will pat my back for me. Doubt it.
Melanie! This is the BEST banana bread I’ve ever had in my LIFE!! Ahhhh!!! Exclamtion pointsss!! Listen, I love me some banana bread..but I LOVEEEE me some of *this* banana bread even more. My go to recipe from now on. See, I told you you never let me down! (oh, and ps..I totally made succulent steak for Valentine’s day..but I added a caramelized onion sauce to the top. To die for. But I had one leftover uncooked steak..so I let it continue marinading in your marinade for like another day and then I cooked it up, sliced it down, and melted some cheese on it before sliding it into hoagie rolls. OH MY GOSH! YUUMMMMM!!!)
You are the greatest. Get someone to pat you on the back for me. 🙂
Anonymous – I use regular unbleached all purpose flour for this recipe.
Am i to use self-raising or plain flour for this recipe??
Anonymous – I’m guessing that even though the loaf looked browned, it probably needed a few more minutes in the oven. But I’m glad that you liked it despite that one hiccup. Thanks for letting me know!
This is officially the best banana bread the has ever seen. My only complaint is that when I make it…I cannot stop eating it. Mind you, I still make it often. It is moist, cake-like, and the first time I had it my husband and I ate half a loaf in one day.
Anonymous – I’ve been making this bread for years with nothing but rave reviews so I’m sorry that yours didn’t turn out. You shouldn’t apologize for not liking a recipe. Everyone is entitled to their own opinion. My guess is that if your slices weren’t holding together, the bread may have needed to be baked longer because this does produce a sturdy loaf. Sorry it didn’t work out for you!
I have to disagree with the raves for this recipe. I found it overly sweet, almost sickeningly so, and that’s saying something because I love my sugar. I can’t imagine adding to it with a vanilla glaze. The banana flavor was negligible. Moist it was, yes, but that too was a problem because almost none of my slices held together whether I cut them thick or thin. Sorry, but I doubt I’ll be making this again.
Have some older bananas to use and I want to try this!
Another great recipe! I’m a big fan of banana bread, but have never really liked the darker variety, so this one was a nice change. Thanks!
Hi Amber – for my banana bread, I just use a really basic nonstick 9X5 pan that I think I got at Walmart. It is definitely nothing special. What kind of pan did you use?
That sounds yummy! I love banana bread…I’ll have to try this one!
This bread is different from the recipes I’ve tried but is SO yummy and sweet!! I love the buttermilk in it. Thanks for your fantastic recipe and website!
Hey Jen – I’m flattered that you have made this and like it! I actually have a banana bread recipe with sour cream (I think it is almost identical to the one in your file) that I want to try because I’ve heard it is super moist!
Evelyn – I agree with you, I’ve always been a fan of lighter banana breads and I am so glad you liked this recipe! Thanks for letting me know.
Mmmm…buttery flavored crust, I’ll have to give this one a try!
Anonymous – I agree on the cookbook thing but I haven’t talked my aunt into it yet! Glad you liked this variation of banana bread. There are so many varieties out there, it’s always fun to try a new one!
Such a light colored banana bread! What a surprise! I love it!
Melanie,I think you’ve convinced me to try this banana bread recipe. It looks and sounds great. I love using buttermilk in my baking as much as I can. Yumm!
Carrie – I agree, this banana bread is different from many others. I’m glad you liked it! Thanks for letting me know.
Wow, this bread sounds and looks amazing! I am going to try this very soon, because I have some bananas just waiting to be mashed and used as bread! 🙂 Thanks for the nice comment on my blog, I love your blog too!!!
Hey Mel! This bread sounds so good. I was just thinking about banana bread this weekend too! FYI – I made your rolls again and I’m posting about them with a link to your recipe. They are so awesome! Thanks again!
Another great banana bread recipe to try! Sounds heavenly!
Anonymous – glad you liked this, although it is interesting on the baking time. I wonder if our altitudes make a difference (depending on where you live)?
I have been using buttermilk more and more in things, and this banana bread sounds wonderful!
I made this today and it was yummy. Jed really liked it! It was really moist too. For some reason my edges were WAY more browned than yours – I’m convinced it’s my bread pans because all of my sweet breads do that. I’ll have to ask you what kind of pans you use. 🙂 Anyway, thanks for the recipe!
Wow–I have never seen such a light colored banana bread. I too love buttermilk in baking and use it all the time. I still trying to figure out why the usual recipe is so dark and flecked?? I am definetly gong to make this up! Thanks for sharing!
You should submit this recipe to the Moist Banana Bread Contest:http://www.squidoo.com/moist-banana-bread-recipeWinner gets a $50 gift card to Sur La Table!!blessings,Shauna
I’ve made your banana bread recipe a couple of times now and we really like it! Last night I put a glaze on it while it was hot in the pan and then let it sit for about 5 minutes or so before dumping it onto a cooling rack. Yummy! I used the glaze from your buttermilk cookie recipe (powdered sugar, buttermilk, vanilla) only I didn’t measure anything, just stirred it up until it looked right. Everyone loved the banana bread glazed. Our other favorite banana bread recipe is in the recipe file I sent to you and is very similar to yours only it uses sour cream instead of buttermilk. It’s also very moist. I love it with milk chocolate chips stirred into it before baking.
Hi, I know this is an old post but I just found it via google. I tried this bread last week and my family loved it. My bread was a bit darker than yours and I’m wondering what type of bread pan you use? Thanks again for a great recipe.Amber
Hi, love the recipe. Mine took much longer to cook, 20 min longer, and came out quite dark.
Hi Melanie, thanks for your response. I used the same thing…basic nonstick bread pan. Mine did come out a bit darker than yours but it’s definately the best banana bread we’ve had and I make it every other week now. THanks again, I’ll be checking for other recipes on your blog! Cheers,Amber
Your Aunt should make a book! this was a really good “lighter” banana bread. My old standby is a darker one…it’s good but different than this. My time also took about 20 minutes longer but I blamed it on my stoneware pan. Sure is good though!!