Bonanza Banana Bread
Submitted by BINK155
Sheet-pan banana bread baked in a 9×13 pan for a thinner, crustier slice with soft, banana-packed crumb. Uses a sour milk trick for extra tenderness. Serves 6.
YIELD
6 servingsPREP
20 minCOOK
40 minREADY
60 minMost banana bread recipes give you a thick loaf. This one spreads the batter across a 9×13 pan, which means more golden, slightly crispy edges and a thinner slice that’s all about the banana flavor hitting you immediately.
The batter comes together fast. Sugar, shortening, eggs, and mashed ripe bananas get mixed first, then sour milk (just regular milk with a splash of vinegar) foams up with the baking soda and joins the party. Flour, salt, and vanilla round it out.
Forty minutes in the oven and you’ve got a banana bread that’s tender in the middle with a caramelized top that you’ll want to pick at straight from the pan.
Pro Tips
- The riper and darker the bananas, the better. Brown-spotted, mushy bananas have more sugar and deeper banana flavor than firm yellow ones.
- Don’t skip the sour milk step. The acid activates the baking soda for a lighter, more tender crumb. No buttermilk? Three tablespoons of milk plus one tablespoon of vinegar does the trick.
- Mix at medium speed for a full three minutes after adding the flour. This develops just enough structure for a bread that holds together without being dense.
- Let it cool in the pan for at least 15 minutes before cutting. Hot banana bread crumbles apart no matter how good it tastes.
Ingredients
Directions
Combine and mix first four ingredients.
Combine milk and baking soda, let it foam up, and add to the first mixture.
Add flour and salt gradually, and mix at medium speed for three minutes.
Mix in vanilla. Grease and flour a 9” x 13” cake pan, add the mixture, and bake for 40 minutes at 350℉ (180℃) (or until a cake tester comes out clean).
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