I used to pass by a market stall on my way home from university. They would sell huge bags of ripe bananas for about 20p a bag that I would gleefully snap up to make big batches of banana bread.

I don’t live near that market anymore, but during the weekly shop I sometimes like to sneak a few extra bananas into the basket so that they can overripen in the fruit bowl and give me an excuse to whip up some banana bread at the weekend!

whole loaf of banana bread wrapped in paper

overhead shot of a loaf of banana bread on a wooden cutting board

This recipe from Williams-Sonoma has been my go-to for years, and over time I’ve tweaked and adapted it to suit our tastes. I’ve added in oats and extra spices, and cut back on the sugar since we like to eat ours slathered with a generous layer of Nutella. If you’re a little more virtuous with your toppings then you might like to increase the sugar slightly.

Banana Bread

My go-to banana bread recipe. Adapted from Williams-Sonoma Essentials of Baking.

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Prep Time 15

Cook Time 1

Total Time 1 15

Servings 1 loaf

Ingredients

3 mashed bananas
7.5 oz / 230g plain flour
2.5 oz / 75g wholemeal flour
2 tsp baking powder
0.5 tsp bicarbonate of soda
0.25 tsp salt
0.5 tsp cinnamon
0.25 tsp nutmeg
1 oz / 30g oats
2 oz / 60g toasted chopped walnuts
2 eggs
2.5 oz / 75g brown sugar
3 oz / 90g melted butter or sunflower oil
4 fl oz / 125ml milk
1 oz /30g chopped chocolate (optional)

Instructions

Preheat oven to Gas Mark 4/180°C/350°F and grease and line a loaf tin.
Mix together the dry ingredients (plain flour, wholemeal flour, baking powder, bicarbonate of soda, salt, spices, chopped nuts, oats, and chocolate if using) and set aside.
In a large bowl, whisk the eggs and stir in the sugar, melted butter or oil and milk. Add the dry ingredients to the egg mixture in 3 batches, alternating with the mashed bananas. Mix until just combined but be careful not to overmix.
Pour the batter into the prepared tin, and if you’re feeling fancy sprinkle the top with some more chopped nuts and brown sugar - it’ll caramelise into a lovely topping!
Bake for about 60 minutes or until a skewer inserted into the centre comes out clean.
Leave to cool in the tin for about 5 minutes, and then turn out onto a cooling rack to cool completely. If you can wait that long...