Last updated on December 11th, 2024
This Old-Fashioned Banana Bread is tender, moist, and loaded with bananas, warm spices and has a nutty texture. The original recipe is from my grandmas recipe box. I’ve modified to bake it modern by swapping out the shortening, and added in spices.
How to make Old-Fashioned Banana Bread:
Ingredients:
brown-speckled bananas:
When making banana baked goods, be sure to use brown-speckled bananas instead of green, unripe ones. Bananas develop more natural sugar as they ripe and making them sweeter. Soft brown bananas also keep your bake moist. If your bananas are not ready to use, simply slow roast them at 300° for 30 minutes until they are black outside and soft inside.
combine butter and oil:
The original recipe called for shortening, however, I’ve modified it by using a combination of butter and oil. Shortening was used in many recipes of the early 20th century because it was readily available, cheaper and shelf-stable. Butter provides flavor while using oil makes make for a tender, moist crumb. Remember when baking, to always use a mild oil such as canola or ‘extra light’ extra virgin olive oil so that it doesn’t overpower the baked good.
buttermilk:
Adding buttermilk provides a tangy flavor and yields a tender baked good. If purchasing buttermilk, look for simple, natural ingredients like “cultured milk” on the label. Some brands are loaded with stabilizers, gums and starches. You can keep dry buttermilk powder in your pantry to mix up anytime it is needed. If you don’t have any buttermilk on-hand, make your own by placing 1 T. vinegar into a liquid measuring cup and add cream or whole milk until it reaches the 1 c. measure line and let it sit for a few minutes. You can easily substitute sour cream or plain greek yogurt in place of the buttermilk.
nuts:
I prefer to use a combination of pecans and walnuts mixed together. You can of course just use one or the other. For a fast, easy way to chop nuts, use a Cuisinart Mini-Food Chopper.
Old-Fashioned Banana Bread
Ingredients
DRY INGREDIENTS
- 1 ⅔ c. unbleached flour
- 1 c. sugar
- ⅓ c. brown sugar
- 1 tsp. baking soda
- 1 tsp. cinnamon
- ½ tsp. nutmeg
- ½ tsp. salt
WET INGREDIENTS
- ½ c. butter melted
- 3 T. oil
- 2 eggs
- ⅓ c. buttermilk or milk
- 1 tsp. vanilla
MIX-INS
- 1 ½ c. bananas (brown speckled) mashed
- ½ c. pecans or walnuts (optional) chopped
Equipment
- Bowl
- liquid measuring cup, measuring cups & spoons
- – Whisk
- Rubber spatula
- Loaf Pan 9 ½"
- Mini food chopper
Instructions
PREP
- Gather your equipment
- Preheat oven to 350°.
- Lightly grease loaf pan on the bottom and sides 2/3 of the way up.
- Peel and mash bananas and set aside.
- Chop the nuts and set aside.
MAKE BATTER
- In a bowl, whisk together dry ingredients flour, sugar, brown sugar, baking soda, cinnamon, nutmeg, and salt.
- Make a well in the middle, and add melted butter, oil, egg yolks, buttermilk, and vanilla. Mix until just combined.
- Add mashed banana and mix together.
- Beat egg whites until stiff and gently fold in batter. Stir in nuts and let batter rest in bowl 15 minutes.
- Scoop batter into loaf pan. Sprinkle the top with course sanding sugar or addtional chopped nuts.
BAKE
- Bake at 375° for 10 minutes. Reduce oven to 350° and bake an additional 40-50 minutes. Let cool, slice and store in air-tight container.
Notes
• In place of the sour cream or milk, use unsweetened oat, coconut or almond milk.
• To replace the egg, add 1 tsp. soda to the batter with 1 T. vinegar poured on top of the soda.
Please let me know how it turned out for you! Leave a comment below and tag @vintagebakedmodern on Instagram and hashtag it #vintagebakedmodern
