Banana Bread 3 Ways

We all know that one of the best uses of over-ripe bananas is a yummy loaf of banana bread. That is great when you have a houseful of people to eat the bread. But in smaller households of 1 or 2 people that isn't always the most practical idea. At least for me I know that even if I freeze most of that big loaf of banana bread I am going to get bored of it before I finish eating it/it goes bad. (yes, even in the freezer things have a shelf life) I need more variety so I came up with this batch of small loaves that is perfect for 1 or 2 people. Since I live alone I usually cut this size loaf in half to freeze. 

First lets talk about the loaf pans I am using, they measure 5 ¾” by 3” by 2”. One of mine is a Wilton brand that I picked up with a coupon at Joann's and the other 2 I found at my regular grocery store. Before I got these I just used the disposable ones from the from the grocery store. Those work okay but the heavier weight of the ones I have now produce a much nicer loaf. Also I like that I am not tossing them in the trash after a single use.

I the three flavors of bread I am showing you today are: Banana-Strawberry, Banana-Chocolate Chip and Banana-Peanut Butter. All three are super yummy. If you have a different addition you like in your banana bread feel free to substitute your favorites for what I used by using the amounts I give you as a guide.

So first I am going to take you step by step through the process with some pictures I took along the way. Then at the end of the post I will have the recipe and the instructions for you to follow.

As with any quick bread recipe I like to start by preheating my oven (in this case to 325°F. This is also a good time to grease the 3 small loaf pans we will be using. I just used some no-stick spray on mine and it worked great. 

  

 

In a medium size bowl we are going to combine sugar, oil and eggs with an electric hand mixer until they are well mixed.

Now add the sour milk or buttermilk along with your bananas. I find I really don't have to mash the bananas up at all before I add them since the mixer does a great job of mashing them.

Next in a separate bowl combine your flour, baking powder, baking soda and salt and whisk together to combine.

I like to make sure both of these mixtures are well combined separately before I combine them together. This assures that all the ingredients are well mixed without over mixing our small amount of batter. Especially important since we are going to be adding more to it later.

Now add the flour mixture to the oil/banana mixture. Mix this just until combined, don't over mix now that your dry and wet ingredients are together.

Now for the fun part. Move 1 cup of batter into each of 2 more bowls giving you 3 bowls of batter to work with. There might be a bit more left in the original mixing bowl that 1 cup don't worry about it, that loaf will just be a bit bigger than the other two.

Banana-Strawberry Loaf

 

Mix your chopped strawberries with the 2 tsp of flour and add to one of your bowls of batter. Gently fold/stir the berries into the batter then pour the batter into one of the prepare loaf pans.

Banana-Chocolate Loaf

 

 Gently fold/stir the chocolate chips into the second bowl of batter and move the batter to the second prepared loaf pan.

Banana-Peanut Butter Loaf

Stir the chopped peanuts into the remaining batter gently.

Meanwhile in a microwave safe bowl heat the peanut butter in 10 second bursts until it is thin enough to pour. Stirring after each time you heat it. Watch it carefully you don't want to overheat it just get it to the point you can pour it.

 

Move half the batter with the peanuts added to the last prepared loaf pan, spread the heated peanut butter over the layer and top with remaining batter.

Place all the filled loaf pans on a large baking sheet and move to the preheated oven. Bake at 325° for 35 to 40 minutes or until a pick inserted near the center comes out clean. Alternatively do as I do and check the internal temperature of the loaves with an instant read thermometer it should read 200° when baked through.

Let bread rest in pans for 10 minutes then move to a cooling rack to cool further.

These freeze really well as long as you wrap the loaves well. What I usually do is cut the loaves in half (since there is only one of me that works the best) then I wrap each half in a good sized piece of plastic wrap. I add a label to each loaf so I know which one is which. I then put all the wrapped loaves in the freezer overnight to get frozen. The next day I put all the frozen loaves into a labeled gallon size freezer bag. (yes all three loaves fit into 1 gallon size bag for me) then I store the bag in the freezer. When I want some of the bread I take out the piece I want in the evening and let it thaw on the counter overnight. By morning it is ready to slice and re-heat. Makes a wonderful breakfast with some nice hot coffee.

I hope you enjoy these as much as I do. Let me know what recipes you'd like to see here on the blog in the future.

Banana Bread 3 Ways

ingredients:

⅔ cup granulated sugar

⅓ cup vegetable oil

2 eggs

3 Tablespoons sour milk or buttermilk

3 very ripe bananas (about 1 cup mashed)

 

2 cups flour

½ teaspoon baking soda

½ teaspoon salt

Strawberry loaf

⅓ cup chopped fresh strawberries

2 teaspoons flour

Chocolate chip loaf

⅓ cup chocolate chips (I used dark chocolate ones this time)

Peanut butter loaf

⅓ cup roughly chopped peanuts

2 Tablespoons smooth peanut butter.

Preheat oven to 325° F,

Grease 3 small loaf pans ( 5 ¾” by 3” by 2”)

Combine sugar, oil and eggs until well mixed. Add the sour milk/buttermilk and bananas and again mix well.

In a separate bowl combine the flour, baking powder, baking soda and salt, mix well.

Add the dry ingredients to the wet ingredients and mix just until combined.

Divide batter into 3 bowls ( 1 into each the 2 extra bowls is close enough)

Strawberry loaf- combine the strawberries and flour and gently add to the first bowl. Move this mixture to a prepared pan.

Chocolate chip loaf- add the chocolate chips to another third of the batter and move to the second pan.

Peanut butter loaf- add chopped peanuts to last third of batter. Heat peanut butter in microwave in 10 increments stirring after each until pourable.

Add half peanut batter to remaining pan, pour on the heated peanut butter and add the remaining batter to top spreading to cover.

Bake in preheated oven for 35 to 40 minutes or until loaves test done.

Allow to rest in pans for 10 minutes.

Move to cooling rack to cool as desired.