Wait a second, you’re thinking. She just posted a rye banana bread recipe. This girl is either floundering under the waves of early parenthood and actually losing her mind OR she is strangely fixated on banana bread.
And I’d ask you: can’t it be both? Just kidding! Not floundering! I promise. But to be honest, some days I do arrive at 5 PM and look back with wonder at the morning, thinking it must have been weeks ago that I woke up, not mere hours. There is a lot more occupying my mind—and my hands—these days, in the nicest way possible, and it is not inconceivable that I would forget about having just posted a similar recipe. Just as I might forget to switch the wet laundry to the dryer, or be unable to remember where I put the stamps, or completely lose track of my phone for the one millionth time.
The other day I spent oh, twenty minutes or so searching through my email for the UPS tracking number of a package, until I realized that I NEVER ACTUALLY BOUGHT THE ITEM to begin with. Just…completely forgot to click “confirm”. It’s fine. I’m fine. We’re fine.
As for the banana bread fixation: while fixation might be a strong word, there is a lot of it happening lately. It’s just so good! And so easy! And a loaf keeps beautifully for days in the fridge, meaning you can cut a thick slice anytime you’re feeling peckish without worrying that it will have begun to go stale or get dry and crumbly.
But here’s the irritating thing about bananas: they overrippen so quickly! I don’t like to keep bunches of them sitting around (fruit flies, etc.)—you can always freeze them when they reach peak ripeness, but space in my freezer these days is very hard to come by, so that’s not a good option.
The point is: I don’t buy too many bananas at once.
So the other day, I go to make banana bread only to realize there are only two left! Nearly every recipe calls for at least three, if not four. What’s a lady to do?
In the wise words of Tim Gunn , make it work.
Thus, I set about creating a recipe that would only require two bananas. I didn’t want the recipe to call for any ingredients you might not have on hand—be they random or basic, like sour cream or creme fraiche or even yogurt. I just wanted a simple, pantry-staple-only banana bread recipe. I wanted it to be moist and flavorful and fit in a standard loaf pan.
So here you have it. This bread is excellent—just as good as any other I’ve made recently. Now one word of caution—I call for rye flour as an option which I realize goes against everything I just said, since you likely don’t have it in your pantry. I, however, have lots of it. But I’ve noted below that you can use it, if you have it, or you can just sub more all-purpose flour. Either method will be great and I’ve done both! The rye flour will impart a slight nuttiness which I love.
A few tips! Do try to use very ripe bananas, as they mash more easily and will be sweeter and more flavorful. It’s ideal to have your eggs at room temperature, but it’s not necessary if you forgot to prepare for that. You can skip the turbinado sugar on top but, uhh…don’t. Don’t sub granulated sugar for the topping as it won’t get nice and crunchy in the same way.
If you like spice, feel free to throw in a little cinnamon or ground ginger or cardamom or even nutmeg.
Two-Banana Brown Butter Banana Bread
3/4 cup unsalted butter
2 medium bananas
3 eggs
1 1/4 cups granulated sugar
1 cup all-purpose flour
3/4 cup rye flour or all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
turbinado sugar, for sprinkling
Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Lightly grease an 8” x 4” loaf pan or 9” x 5” loaf pan.
In a large skillet, melt the butter over medium-low heat. Continue to cook the butter, swirling the pan now and again, until it begins to foam. Keep cooking as the foam subsides and the butter begins to smell nutty and form brown solids at the bottom of the pan. As soon as you see the brown specks begin to separate out and sink to the bottom, remove it from the heat. Pour the browned butter into a heatproof bowl and set aside to cool slightly.
While the butter cools a bit (it doesn’t need to come fully to room temperature, but it shouldn’t be boiling hot still), mash the bananas.
Add the eggs, one at a time, to the mashed bananas. Add the sugar and the cooled browned butter and mix until very well-combined (a couple of minutes on medium in a stand mixer).
Add the flours, baking soda, baking powder, and salt and mix until the batter just comes together.
Scrape the batter into your prepared pan and sprinkle the turbinado sugar over the top, if using.
Bake for about 55 to 75 minutes, or until the top is set and a tester inserted in the center comes out without any wet batter clinging to it.
Remove from the oven and let cool fully in the pan.