Banana Nut Bread With Applesauce
This Banana Nut Bread uses applesauce and sour cream for a crumb that stays moist for days. One bowl, no mixer, and about 15 minutes to get it into the oven. The key is very ripe bananas and knowing when to stop stirring.
Servings: 12
Calories: 269kcal
Ingredients
- 4 medium bananas very ripe
- ½ cup applesauce unsweetened
- ½ cup sour cream
- 2 eggs at room temperature
- 1 tablespoon vanilla extract
- ½ cup granulated sugar
- ½ cup brown sugar packed
- 1¾ cup all-purpose flour
- 1 teaspoon baking soda
- 1 teaspoon baking powder
- ¼ teaspoon salt
- 1 cup walnuts chopped, or pecans
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 325°F. Spray a 9 by 5 inch loaf pan with cooking spray.
- Peel the 4 bananas into a large bowl and mash with a fork. Add the ½ cup applesauce, ½ cup sour cream, 2 eggs, and 1 tablespoon vanilla extract and whisk until combined.
- Whisk in the ½ cup granulated sugar and ½ cup brown sugar until fully incorporated.
- Add the 1¾ cups all purpose flour, 1 teaspoon baking soda, 1 teaspoon baking powder, and ¼ teaspoon salt. Stir with a wooden spoon just until the flour disappears. The batter will look lumpy and that's correct. Do not overmix.
- Fold in the 1 cup chopped walnuts with a few gentle turns.
- Pour the batter into the prepared pan. Bake for 50 minutes to 1 hour, until an instant read thermometer inserted into the center reads 200 to 205°F, the top is domed and cracked, and the edges have pulled slightly from the pan. If the top browns before the center sets, tent loosely with foil.
- Cool in the pan for 15 minutes, then turn out onto a wire rack. Let it cool completely, at least 2 hours, before slicing.
Video
Notes
- Very ripe bananas. Black skinned, soft, the ones you'd otherwise throw out. Yellow bananas are starchy and give you a bland loaf.
- Ripen them fast: bake unpeeled bananas at 300°F for 15 to 20 minutes, then cool and peel.
- Spoon and level the flour. Scooping packs it and can give you a fifth more than the recipe wants, which is the main cause of a dry loaf.
- Stop mixing when the flour disappears. Lumps are fine. Overmixing makes it tough and rubbery.
- Use a thermometer: 200 to 205°F. The toothpick test is unreliable in a batter this wet.
- Cool 2 hours before slicing. The crumb keeps setting and cutting warm gives you gummy slices.
- Toss the walnuts in a tablespoon of the flour before folding them in and they won't all sink.
- Storage: counter for 3 to 4 days wrapped, or freezer for 3 months. Don't refrigerate it.
Nutrition
Serving: 1slice | Calories: 269kcal | Carbohydrates: 43g | Protein: 5g | Fat: 9g | Saturated Fat: 2g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 5g | Monounsaturated Fat: 2g | Trans Fat: 0.003g | Cholesterol: 33mg | Sodium: 157mg | Potassium: 281mg | Fiber: 2g | Sugar: 24g | Vitamin A: 129IU | Vitamin C: 4mg | Calcium: 51mg | Iron: 1mg
