To make sure that your banana bread is the best it can be, don’t bake until your fruit is very ripe and darkly speckled. This will all but guarantee deeply flavorful, moist results because as bananas ripen, their starch converts to sugar at an exponential rate.
We have scientific proof: When we sent bunches of bananas to a lab to have their fructose levels measured, the results showed that heavily speckled bananas had nearly three times the amount of fructose (the sweetest of the sugars in fruit) as less‑spotty ones.
And more fructose leads to tastier, more banana-y baked goods.
What’s more, sugar behaves like a liquid in baked goods, so breads and muffins made with ripe bananas will not only have better flavor but also be more moist.
The Banana Bread Toolkit
THE BEST BANANA MASHER
Zyliss Stainless Steel Potato MasherThe plethora of small holes on its mashing plate made an ultracreamy, smooth mash. Read More
THE BEST LOAF PAN
USA Pan Loaf Pan, 1 lb VolumeThis folded metal pan produced tall, picture-perfect breads with crisp corners. Read More
THE BEST MUFFIN TIN
OXO Good Grips Non-Stick Pro 12-Cup Muffin PanThis muffin tin perfectly released its baked goods and was a dream to hold and turn. Read More
Ultimate Banana Bread
Say goodbye to dry, bland banana bread. For a showstopping loaf with a deep golden crust and velvety crumb, use your microwave.
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