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brown butter banana bread

Brown Butter Banana Bread

Banana bread with a deep, nutty upgrade. Browning the butter takes 10 extra minutes and gives the loaf a toasted, caramel-like flavor plain melted butter can't match.
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Ingredients Method Notes

Ingredients
  

  • - 1/2 cup unsalted butter 1 stick
  • - 3 medium very ripe bananas mashed (about 1 1/2 cups)
  • - 3/4 cup dark brown sugar packed
  • - 2 large eggs room temperature
  • - 1/4 cup sour cream full fat
  • - 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
  • - 1 3/4 cups all-purpose flour spooned and leveled
  • - 1 teaspoon baking soda
  • - 1/2 teaspoon salt
  • - 1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon

Method
 

  1. Preheat the oven to 350°F and grease a 9x5 inch loaf pan.
  2. Cut the butter into pieces and melt it in a light-colored saucepan over medium heat, swirling occasionally, until the foam settles and the milk solids at the bottom turn a pecan-brown color and smell nutty, 5 to 8 minutes.
  3. Immediately pour the browned butter and all the toasted bits into a large mixing bowl and let it cool for 10 to 15 minutes.
  4. Whisk the dark brown sugar into the cooled butter, then whisk in the eggs one at a time, followed by the vanilla and sour cream.
  5. Stir in the mashed bananas until combined; the mixture will look slightly lumpy and that is fine.
  6. In a separate bowl, whisk together the flour, baking soda, salt, and cinnamon.
  7. Fold the dry ingredients into the wet ingredients just until no dry flour is visible, then stop stirring.
  8. Pour the batter into the prepared pan and bake for 55 to 65 minutes, until a toothpick comes out with moist crumbs or an instant-read thermometer reads 200 to 205°F in the center.
  9. Tent the loaf loosely with foil around the 40-minute mark if the top is browning too fast.
  10. Cool in the pan for 10 minutes, then transfer to a wire rack and cool before slicing.

Notes

Watch the butter closely after the foam settles; it goes from browned to burnt in about 30 seconds, and burnt butter tastes bitter with no way to fix it. Full-fat Greek yogurt is the best substitute for sour cream. For add-ins, fold in 3/4 cup toasted walnuts, pecans, or chocolate chips with the dry ingredients. Store wrapped at room temperature up to 3 days or freeze individual slices up to 3 months.