Banana Blueberry Bread

Suppose you want a beautiful breakfast bread that's perfect for dessert too. Try this banana blueberry bread for busy weekday mornings, cozy weekend mornings, holidays, and even parties.

Course Breakfast

Cuisine American

Keyword banana, blueberry, bread

Prep Time 15

Cook Time 1 35

Total Time 1 50

Servings

Calories 222kcal

Ingredients

2 cups all-purpose flour + 1 tablespoon for the berries
4-5 ripe medium bananas should make about 2 cups mashed
2 large eggs room temperature
½ cup butter unsalted, melted and cooled
½ cup granulated sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla extract or ½ teaspoon vanilla paste
1 teaspoon baking powder
½ teaspoon baking soda
½ teaspoon salt
1 ½ cups fresh blueberries or frozen (but may stain/change the color of the whole bread) + more on top for decoration

Instructions

Preheat the oven to 350 F.
Mash the bananas until smooth (a few chunks here and there is fine) in a large bowl with a fork.
Add eggs, butter, sugar, and vanilla and beat with an electric mixer on low until smooth.
In a separate bowl combine dry ingredients. Now add that mixture to the wet ingredients in batches mixing on low at the same time.
In a medium bowl toss the blueberries with 1 tablespoon of flour.
Stir in the flour-coated berries into the batter.
Pour the batter into a 9 x 5 inch loaf tin (greased or lined with parchment paper or foil). The batter will be somewhat sticky.
Make a small cut lengthwise about ½ inch deep in the center of the bread. Decorate with berries on top.
Bake for 1 hour and 35-40 minutes (or it may take you slightly more, depending on the oven!) until the toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean or with a few breadcrumbs.
Remove the bread from the oven and let it cool in the tin for 10 minutes.
Later transfer the bread to a wire rack to cool completely.
Cut into 10-12 thick pieces and enjoy.

Notes

NOTES

Flavor. This bread is moist and has a strong banana and berries flavor. I find that using fresh berries for this particular bread gives the best results - the berries are distributed across the whole bread while baking and don’t stain the bread as much as frozen berries would.

After baking the bread, let it cool in the tin for 10-15 minutes. After that remove it and place it on a wire rack to cool. Don’t leave it in the tin for hours as it may become too moist and bottom soggy.

Store the bread in a sealed plastic bag or wrapped in a linen kitchen towel at room temperature for up to 5 days. Refrigerate for up to 5 days in an airtight container or sealed bag.

Optional: Reheat in the oven at about 400-425 degrees Fahrenheit until warm.

I recommend checking on the bread at the 40-minute mark. If the top gets too brown, cover it with a piece of foil until the time is up. BUT don’t place the foil too close to the bread as it will prevent the bread from rising and the top may stick to the foil. The bread should be placed in the middle of the oven rack.

The more ripe bananas with brown spots all over will give the best results in terms of flavor. Sweet banana flavor! This bread can be done with less ripe bananas too but the taste may not be sweet enough. I haven’t tried making this with more sugar instead. What I’d recommend in this case is to prepare a simple confectioner's sugar glaze (about ½ - 1 cup of confectioner's sugar mixed with a little milk or juice until desired thick consistency). Drizzle across the cooled bread after baking.

Check the expiration date on baking powder and baking soda before starting. For best results and their purpose, these powders should be fresh and kept tightly sealed in a dry place in your kitchen.

Variations. Other berries can be used instead or in combination with blueberries. Raspberries, blackberries, strawberries, currants.

Nutrition