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Brown Butter Banana Bread

sliced brown butter banana bread
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Ingredients

  • 1 cup [240 g] mashed banana from about 3 very overripe bananas
  • 12 Tbsp [170 g] unsalted butter*
  • 2 large eggs
  • 2/3 cup [130 g] packed brown sugar
  • 1 tsp vanilla extract (optional)
  • 1/2 teaspoon fine sea salt
  • 1 1/2 cups [200 g] all purpose flour
  • 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
  • 1/2 teaspoon baking powder
  • 1 ripe banana, split lengthwise (optional)

Instructions

  1. Preheat the oven to 350° F [180° C].
  2. Butter an 8 x 4 inch [20 x 10 cm] loaf pan.**
  3. Place the mashed bananas in a medium mixing bowl and set near the stove. Don’t skip your step or you’ll risk burning your butter.
  4. Brown the butter: Place the butter in a wide light-colored skillet over medium heat. As soon as the butter melts, reduce the heat to low or medium-low. Let it gently bubble stirring constantly (and keeping a close eye on it) for about 4 to 5 minutes.*** It is done once it’s amber (sort of the color of whiskey) with brown flakes. Once it’s done, pour directly onto the mashed bananas and stir together.
  5. Add the eggs, brown sugar, vanilla (if using), and salt to the mixing bowl and whisk together until completely incorporated.
  6. In a large mixing bowl, whisk or sift together the flour, baking soda, and baking powder.****
  7. Add the wet mixture to the flour mixture and stir to combine. Do not over-mix (stop mixing as soon as there are no dry pockets of flour).
  8. Spoon the mixture into the loaf pan.
  9. Place the banana halves cut-side-up on top of the loaf (if using).
  10. Bake for about 1 hour. Check for doneness by inserting a toothpick or wooden skewer into the center of the loaf. If it comes out with batter, it needs more time, but if it comes out with just some crumbs, it’s ready to take out.
  11. Remove from the pan and cool on a rack for at least 30 minutes before cutting and serving.

Notes

* If using European butter, start with 10 Tbsp [140 g] instead. Whether you’re using US butter or European butter, you should end up with 130g (just shy of 2/3 cup) of melted browned butter. Feel free to weigh it if you’re unsure. European butter has a higher percentage fat and lower percentage water when compared to US butter. We cook off all the water in this recipe, so you will need less European butter than US butter to end up with the same amount of brown butter.

** To make this into muffins instead of a banana bread loaf, place 9 muffin liners in a muffin tin (homemade parchment liners or store bought paper ones). If using parchment ones, butter them lightly. Evenly distribute the batter between the 9 liners, then top each with a 1/2 in [13mm] banana slice. Bake for about 25 minutes, until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean.

*** If you’re using a wide skillet, things will move more quickly than in a stout saucepan. You can use any pan you’d like (as long as it is not dark), but note that it will brown more slowly in a squatter pan. The timing also depends on your stove, so depend on your nose and eyes. Do not depend on a timer.

**** If you want to save on dishes, place a fine mesh sieve over a paper towel and add the flour, baking soda, and baking powder to the sieve. Sift the dry ingredients directly onto the wet ingredients (and don’t forget the dust that filtered onto the paper towel too).

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Find it online: https://cardamomandtea.com/95178/brown-butter-banana-bread/