A few weeks ago I tried the Dominique Ansel banana bread recipe, so in keeping with the "Celebrity Chef Banana Bread" theme, here's a recipe from Flour Bakery's Joanne Chang. The Flour Bakery "Famous Banana Bread" recipe has been around for a while and has good reviews from just about everyone.
In my opinion, Famous Banana Bread is a solid recipe. it's a little on the sweet side (though not overly so) and bakes up with a top that's not exactly domed, yet not flat as a brick. It's non-crumbly, neatly-slicing texture makes it perfect for bake sales and gatherings, though I might not eat it for breakfast like I would the old Betty Crocker recipe or some of the less rich ones.
If you've ever made this with the crème fraîche, let me know. I used sour cream and can't imagine it makes much of a difference, but it would be fun to compare.
Update: This is such a good recipe, and I've made it many times since posting. I've also added weights to correspond with the volume. The last time I made it I forgot the sour cream and used half brown sugar and half granulated. It was still a great bread, but darker in color. Also, this banana bread tends to sink as it cools. Underbaking will definitely cause it to sink, so be sure to test for doneness with a toothpick or skewer.
Recipe
Famous Banana Bread
Ingredients
- 1 ⅔ cups all-purpose flour 240 grams
- 1 teaspoon baking soda
- ½ teaspoon salt
- ¼ teaspoon cinnamon
- 1 cup plus 2 tablespoons sugar 225 grams
- 2 large eggs
- ½ cup plus 2 teaspoons vegetable oil or melted coconut oil
- 3 ½ bananas very ripe, mashed (total weight 12 oz)
- 2 tablespoons sour cream or creme fraiche
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- ⅔ cup toasted walnuts or pecans optional
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Grease a 9x5 inch loaf pan. I suggest lining it lengthwise with a strip of parchment paper for easy lifting, but that is optional.
- Sift together the flour, baking soda, salt and cinnamon, then whisk to make sure dry ingredients are well blended.
- Beat sugar and eggs with a whisk until light and fluffy, about 10 minutes (I used a stand mixer with whisk attachment for this). Drizzle in the oil. Add mashed bananas, creme fraiche or sour cream, and vanilla.
- Fold in the flour mixture and stir until blended, then stir in the nuts (if using).
- Pour batter into the prepared pan and bake at 350 for 45 minutes to an hour. My loaves usually take a full hour.
Anna
Sarah, I'm sorry I took so long to answer this. Yes, I've had that result. You can kind of see that in the first photo I took. The bread is still tasty, but it didn't have a rounded top. Believe it or not I've had the best results when using bleached flour and a mixture of granulated and brown sugar instead of just granulated.
debbie
I will have to try this one. I made the last one which had more of a cake texture and a bit of nutmeg. It was delicious!
Sue
I would be interested in the other recipe too. I've lost track of which is my favorite banana bread.
Maria @ kitchenathoskins
Banana bread with creme freche sounds really interesting!
Anna
Hi Sarah,
I didn't have any issues with this one, but I know what you mean about recipes looking brown on the outside and being under-done on the inside. The original recipe says 45 minutes to an hour. Mine took a solid hour, and even then I probably could have baked it more without damage. It had a nice crust and the inside was fully cooked, though I did use a lot of banana therefore it was dense/banana-y. I typically use a metal loaf pan, but I was in the mood to use my clear Pyrex and it performed quite nicely. I got a little bit of a dome then it sank a bit. I made this recipe as well as a different sour cream banana bread that I haven't posted. My daughter and I both kind of liked the other one a tad bit better. I think I'm going to make the other one again and post it even though I already have a gazillion banana bread recipes here.
Sarah
I love this recipe but a lot of times it looks brown and done on the outside, then falls and it kind of undercooked on the inside!! Did you have the issue? I've made it a ton of times and I'm not sure how to fix it!
Luckily I live in Boston and have access to all the Flour goodies!! 🙂