Bananas aren't native to most of North America; therefore, until the invention of refrigeration at the turn of the 20th century, the fruit was not readily available in the United States. It is believed that the first banana bread was created during the Great Depression in the early 1930s when housewives were looking for ways to avoid throwing away overripe bananas. Around this same time, leavening agents such as baking powder were becoming more widely available. This inspired cooks to come up with recipes for banana quick bread. National Banana Bread Day is February 23.
Recipe Servings: 20
Prep Time
15 minutes
Cook Time
1 hour
Total Time
1 hour 15 minutes
Vegetarian
Vegan
Gluten Free
Dairy Free
Kosher
Halal
Ingredients
- Shortening, as needed to grease loaf pans
- 3 cups all-purpose flour, plus a little to dust loaf pans
- 2 cups ripe banana, mashed
- 1 tsp lemon juice
- 1 tsp baking soda
- ½ tsp baking powder
- 1½ cups sugar
- 2 eggs
- ½ cup vegetable oil
- ½ cup cashews, toasted and chopped
Directions
- Preheat the oven to 350°F.
- Grease and flour two loaf pans.
- Combine mashed bananas with lemon juice.
- Sift together the flour, baking soda, baking powder, and salt.
- Whisk the eggs.
- Add the sugar and continue whisking.
- Whisk in the bananas, followed by the oil.
- Lightly fold in the flour mixture, alternating with nuts.
- Pour the batter equally into the loaf pans.
- Bake for 55–60 minutes, or until a toothpick emerges clean from the center.
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