Another day, another banana bread recipe. This time I'm sharing one which I'd count as one of my two favorite recipes. The two favorites are Best Ever Banana Bread (which you can read about in another post) and this High Rising Banana Bread The Best Ever Banana Bread is sweeter, heavier and more cake-like, while the High Rising Bread is still sweet, but more like a quick bread with a high domed top.
Little Changes and Substitutions
This bread is always a success even when little changes are made. For instance, I don't always have sour cream on hand so I sometimes use full fat Greek yogurt. For the flour, I typically use a mixture of all-purpose and wheat, but just all-purpose or bread flour works too. Lately I've been enjoying the firmness of the loaves made with bread flour. The oil is interchangeable as well. With 3 tablespoon of oil and 3 tablespoons of butter, this will be a perfectly moist banana bread.
The latest little twist was adding a cream cheese swirl/ribbon. This recipe actually works really well with a cream cheese ribbon and doesn't sink as much, so I've included the cream cheese option in the notes. If you try this version, let me know!
Tips for the Very Best Banana Bread
- Mash the bananas with a fork, leaving them a little lumpy. Also, weigh the banana if possible so you're using exactly 13 oz (or 364 grams).
- Stir the melted butter/oil in at the end. Maybe it's a coincidence, but when I add the melted fat last, banana breads and even pound cakes seem to rise higher. Just don't forget to add it!
- If you have some whole wheat flour, incorporate a bit of whole wheat flour in with the all-purpose flour (a tip I learned from The Silver Palate). It absorbs more liquid resulting in a somewhat lighter, higher rising batter.
Recipe
High Rising Banana Bread
Ingredients
- 1 ½ cups all-purpose flour (200 grams)
- ½ cup whole wheat flour (70 grams)
- ¾ cup sugar (150 grams)
- ¾ teaspoon baking soda
- ½ teaspoon salt
- 3 large ripe bananas (364 grams)
- ¼ cup sour cream
- 2 large eggs
- 3 tablespoons unsalted butter melted
- 3 tablespoons oil, canola or melted coconut oil
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- ½ cup chopped pecans or walnuts
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Grease the bottom and short sides of an 8 ½ by 4 ½ or a 9x5 inch loaf pan and line with a strip of parchment. Grease again, then dust with flour.
- Whisk together both of the flours, sugar, baking soda, and salt. When you whisk, do it very thoroughly so that all dry ingredients are evenly distributed.
- In a large bowl, mash the bananas with a fork, then stir in the sour cream, eggs, and vanilla.
- With a heavy duty scraper, stir the dry ingredients into the banana mixture.
- Pour the melted butter and oil over the batter and stir with a heavy scraper until well blended – do not overbeat, just gently fold.
- Transfer batter to the pan and spread evenly. Sprinkle nuts over the top.
- Bake for 60 minutes or until it appears cracked on top and a toothpick inserted comes out clean
- Let cool for about half an hour, then loosen from pan. Let cool for another half hour, then remove from pan and let cool completely.
Anna says
Yay! Glad it worked for you, Gerry. This is one of my favorites too because the domed high rising top always looks so pretty. It's interesting how adding the butter/oil last helps the shape. There's another recipe here for a lemon loaf cake that also calls for adding the fat last and which also forms a domed top. It's from Julia Child. Here's the link if you find yourself in the mood for lemon. https://www.cookiemadness.net/2009/10/05/lemon-loaf/
Gerry S. says
This is the Best banana bread EVER, and I'm 73.!! Have to say, I was a little leary of the butter & oil going in last, and folding in...but it WORKED AMAZINGLY.!! The bread is GREAT, and rose HIGH.!! Ty, So Much....
Anna says
Thanks for sharing the substitutions and letting us know the recipe doubles well. Personally, I store banana bread in the freezer. If you are going to be eating it right away or taking slices often, you can store it at room temperature in a zipper bag or in the refrigerator if you live in a warm climate.
Christina says
Excellent! Used vanilla yogurt instead of sour cream as that was what I had on hand. Added a swirl of strawberry preserves to the top just for more flavor. Sprinkled top with chopped almonds. Doubled the recipe to make two loaves. Superb!
High rising, moist, flavorful! Yum!
How do I best store these?
Anna says
Patricia, I've had that happen too -- just not with this recipe. For me, usually it's because I overmashed the banana or used more than the recipe. Bananas range in sizes, which is why I put the weight of 13 oz. My batter is sometimes heavier if I really go at the bananas and they're too liquidy or if they are very ripe. I'm not sure where you live or what flour you used, but sometimes the weights of flour differ. It's probably not that, though. A flour issue would probably make the banana bread dry. I am sorry it didn't rise high for you. When making banana bread, I've found that the moister and heavier my batter the less it rises, so it probably has something to do with that. You might have better luck with the Starbucks Banana Bread Clone or my Self-Rising Flour Banana Bread. Those recipes seem to work for everyone. This one works for me and I like it, but since you had an issue with it I'll make it again and see if I can troubleshoot. Hopefully it tastes good.
Patricia says
hi there so I took my banana bread out from the oven and it's flat it didn't rise at all? I used all the ingredients listed so how could I make it rise the next time I make banana bread?
Anna says
Thanks for trying it, Jamie! I've never put raisins in banana bread, but now I want to.
Jamie says
Delicious, moist and good flavour I also put cranberries and raisins in it.
Anna says
Thanks John!
John says
Hi Anna,
This is a great recipe. I’ve been looking for a high rising version for a while now and I’ve finally found it. Thanks for sharing!
Regards,
John
Anna says
Sure! It might not rise quite as high, but you can use AP flour instead.
Judy says
Would like to try this recipe but can I use just all purpose flour instead of wheat flour.
Anna says
Joan, is she using this same recipe? Do you mean 1/2 to 1 inch "higher" rather than "high"? There are a lot of things that could be happening. Could your sister be pureeing the bananas or mashing them into more of a liquid? I used to mash my bananas too much and it would sometimes cause problems. That is, if you practically liquify them they add too much moisture to the batter which produces more steam and the batter rises too quickly. Or it could be a simple imbalance of leavening agents. The other thing is it could just be underbaked. She could try lowering the temperature slightly and baking it for a longer time. I just hope that is not happening with THIS recipe.
Joan phipps says
Why does my sister make her banana bread with whole wheat flour and just regular flour and when it is done it is only 1/2 to 1 inch high? It risers during the baking and then goes down when it is cool.
Anna says
Sue, I ran out of whole wheat flour and have been making it with all-purpose or bread flour. I really love this recipe, though it's not as sweet as the Best Ever. This one holds up really well to the cream cheese ribbon (doesn't sink as much). I've probably made this bread 10 times in the past 3 months.
Sue says
I’ve never put whole wheat flour in banana bread. It’s interesting that it adds to the rise.
Anna says
Jerry, that would be peeled. It's usually about 3 large bananas.
Jerry says
Is weight of bananas with or without skin?
Katrina says
Mmmm! Love how high it is!