Brown Butter Banana Bread
A cozy and fragrant banana bread made with browned butter for a rich, nutty flavor and moist crumb.
Ingredients
Wet Ingredients
- 1/2 cup unsalted butter, browned and cooled to warm
- 3 pieces very ripe bananas, mashed well, about 1 and 1/4 cups
- 3/4 cup light brown sugar, packed
- 2 tablespoons granulated sugar
- 2 large eggs, room temperature
- 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
- 1/3 cup plain Greek yogurt or sour cream
Dry Ingredients
- 1 and 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
- 1 teaspoon baking soda
- 1/2 teaspoon fine salt
- 1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon, optional
Optional Add-ins
- 1/2 cup chopped toasted walnuts or chocolate chips, optional
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Instructions
Preparation
- Preheat your oven to 350°F (175°C). Grease a 9x5 loaf pan and line it with a sling of parchment.
- Brown the butter over medium heat, stirring often. When it turns golden with brown spots and smells nutty, remove it from heat and let it cool slightly, scraping the browned bits into your bowl.
- In a large bowl, whisk the mashed bananas with brown sugar and granulated sugar until glossy and well combined.
- Add the eggs, vanilla, and yogurt. Whisk until smooth. Pour in the browned butter while whisking to emulsify.
- In another bowl, combine flour, baking soda, salt, and optional cinnamon. Stir to blend.
- Fold the dry ingredients gently into the wet mixture until the flour streaks disappear; a few lumps are okay.
- Fold in optional nuts or chocolate chips. Smooth the batter into the prepared pan.
- For a pretty split, run a buttered knife along a shallow line on top before baking.
Baking
- Bake on the middle rack for 55 to 65 minutes, checking for doneness with a toothpick at around 52 minutes. The loaf is done when the toothpick comes out with moist crumbs.
- Let the loaf cool in the pan on a rack for 15 minutes, then lift it out to cool completely.
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Note
For best results, use very ripe bananas with mostly brown skins. If necessary, roast pale bananas in their skins at 300°F for 12 to 15 minutes. Let the batter sit for 5 minutes before baking for a better rise and crumb. Store the cooled loaf wrapped snugly or in an airtight container for up to 3 days, refrigerate up to 1 week, or freeze for up to 3 months.