Banana Bread

About two weeks into quarantine I told my family that I was planning on making banana bread and everyone's eyes lit up all at once! This actually surprised me, because banana bread has never been my absolute favorite treat, but apparently my brother was craving it and it was just his luck that I happened to have 3 old bananas! They love that I add a little bit of chocolate to the batch as well - because I am a chocoholic and I look forward to eating banana bread a little more if I know it has some chocolate chunks in it!

I have tried countless banana bread recipes over the years and I still keep coming right back to this one! It's the recipe my family has used for years, and it's so soft and moist, not to mention the fact that it's very easy to change little things about it depending on your preference!

Tips for this banana bread:

1. This recipe calls for 3 bananas. Keep in mind that the older and softer the bananas are, the more obvious the banana taste. If you love a ton of banana flavor in your banana bread, let your bananas age a little bit longer before using them, or add another banana! I would not use more than 4 bananas for this recipe. If you like just a little less banana flavor, you can use them just as the peels start to lose their yellow color in places or you can just use 2. I have been without enough bananas in the past and resorted to using 2 and it still worked perfectly!

2. You can make this recipe as written, or you can add your own little twist to it! I often add chocolate chunks or chocolate chips, but lots of people like to add chopped nuts and other yummy family preferences!

3. When I mash the bananas, I spend a lot of time making sure to get as many chunks out of it as possible. Make sure to get it as smooth and mashed as possible. I usually start by mashing with a fork and then use my mixer to do the rest for me.

4. If you find your chocolate is sinking to the bottom of the pan, you may want to consider tossing them in a tiny bit of flour before adding them to the bread mixture. This will do a better job keeping them in place so you don't have a chocolate layer on the very bottom of your bread.

5. After baking for 30-45 minutes, the top of the bread might start to get very dark. If this happens, take it out of the oven and cover the top with tinfoil before putting it back in. This will keep it from getting dark and burned before the middle of the bread has time to cook through. 

Even if you don't follow my steps perfectly you will still have amazingly delicious banana bread! This is the simplest recipe and it's a winner every time! Let me know if you make it and if you have any questions!

Banana Bread

Ingredients:

3 large bananas

2 tablespoons baking soda

1 cup sour cream 

1/2 cup softened butter

1 cup sugar

2 cups flour 

2 eggs

1/2 tsp salt

2 tablespoons vanilla

optional: chocolate chunks/chips, crushed nuts

Instructions:

1. Place all bananas in a large mixing bowl. Using a fork, mash the bananas until smooth. Add the baking soda and sour cream. Mix well. 

2. Add the remaining ingredients and mix together well. Place the mixture in a greased bread pan and place in preheated oven for 50-65 minutes. The bread will be ready when you stick a knife through the middle and it comes out clean. 

3. Store in an airtight container or plastic ziploc bag for up to 5 days. This bread is also freezable!

Ninety-Minute Bread

I have always believed that there are few things in this life that are better than warm, freshly baked bread. After realizing just how simple and quick this recipe is to make, I have no doubt you will be feeling the exact same way! This recipe is so simple, in fact, that I have been making it since I was just 10 years old! It is the only bread recipe my family has made ever since. If you do it right, the bread turns out so soft and the crust is to die for! Even the kids I nanny, who pick their crust off of everything, eat every bite of it as fast as humanly possible, and they thoroughly enjoy helping me make it! Add some butter on top and maybe some honey or jam and you have a real winner! (Although my husband enjoys just eating it totally plain!)

I always make this recipe in my Kitchen-Aid, but before I had one I made it with just some mixing bowls and my hands, which is slightly more challenging but certainly doable! It is also incredibly simple to double, and I usually recommend doubling it because it is guaranteed to go quickly! This is a pretty great recipe for beginners, but no matter what level you feel you are at when it comes to bread making, I highly suggest reading my tips below throughout the process to get it exactly right!

Ninety-Minute Bread

Prep Time: 60 minutes    Cook Time: 25 minutes 

Servings: Approximately 15

Ingredients:

1 tablespoon active dry yeast

2 tablespoons white sugar

1 cup warm water

1 tablespoon vegetable oil

1 teaspoon salt 

2-4 cups flour (I usually end up using about 3)

Instructions:

1. Pour 1 tablespoon of yeast and 2 tablespoons of sugar into your mixing bowl. Gently add 1 cup of warm water. *Water that is too hot will kill the yeast and the bread cannot rise properly. I usually make sure my water is slightly warmer than lukewarm. Sometimes to make sure it rises well I stir the mixture for a few seconds with a fork or spoon. DO NOT forget about it or leave it for much longer than this!! Letting bread rise too long will give it an odd flavor!* Cover the bowl with a kitchen towel or plastic wrap and let rise for 5-10 minutes until it rises and forms bubbles (shown below).                  

Before Rising

After Rising

2. Once it has risen and bubbled, add the vegetable oil and salt. Then add the flour one cup at a time. After adding 2 cups, take a look at the dough. If it is still sticky and difficult to handle, start adding more flour by half a cup each time until the dough becomes easy to hold without sticking to your hands. I usually end up using closer to 3 cups of flour total. Make sure it is all completely mixed together.

3. Sprinkle a small amount of flour on a clean surface and place the dough onto the surface. Cover it again with a clean towel and let it rise for 15 minutes. *Remember that letting it rise much longer than that will give it a weird flavor.* 

   

 Before Rising

After Rising

4. For 1 minute, beat the bread with your hands. When I was a child learning this recipe from a church leader, she told me to picture my little brother's head was the dough to encourage us to REALLY beat it, and I still think about it every time I make this recipe:) Whatever works for you! Just make sure to beat it well for 1 full minute.

5. Form the dough into a loaf. I usually have to knead it in my hands for a minute after beating it to help it come back together well. This also helps it develop the gluten a bit better! 

6. Place the formed loaf into a greased bread pan and cover it up once again. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees Fahreheit. Let the loaf rise for up to 30 minutes. If the room is warm it will rise quicker and may be done closer to 20 minutes. I like to let it rise until it has just barely risen over the top of the pan, but if it has been 30 minutes and it's not quite there it will be perfectly fine.

7. After approximately 30 minutes, the dough will be ready to bake. Place it in the oven for 25-30 minutes until it is a nice shade of golden brown on the top. I have found with my oven that when I put bread in for exactly 28 minutes it comes out perfect. When it first comes out the top of your loaf might be a bit hard. After just a few minutes it will start getting wonderfully soft, but I have found that I love to eat it both ways.

Was this as easy for you as you hoped?? Leave any questions or comments here or on my instagram and I will be more than happy to help you out! Happy baking!!

About Me

Hello, and welcome to Easy Breezy Baking! I am a self-taught baker who loves creating and perfecting recipes. I especially enjoy creating unique recipes that not everyone has seen, such as mini chocolate bundt cakes and brownie trifle (coming soon to this blog). However, you will also find my favorite everyday recipes that I have worked tirelessly on and made multiple times over to make sure I am presenting you with the best treats possible! 

I have started this blog because I enjoy baking in my free time and have had multiple friends and family encourage me to put my recipes and tips online! I haven't really had the courage to put myself out there, but thanks to my husband's sweet encouragement, I have finally decided to take the plunge! Bless you for coming along for the ride. 

Easy Breezy Baking

Why the name Easy Breezy? Because of my curious, made up, confusing name, I have answered to anything and been given countless nicknames throughout my life, some more creative than others. I have answered to Bridget, Breje-je, Buzzay, Breeze, Brej, Brejee, and possibly the most imaginative, B. However, from the moment I was born, my entire family branded me as Breezy. I still am not completely sure how I received this nickname, though I have heard legends of my Grandpa Kim (who loves giving nicknames to virtually everyone he can) beginning this new title accidentally somehow. No matter how I came by it, I have answered to Breezy my entire life, so I figured, what better way to begin my baking blogger adventure than by using my family nickname, as it was my family who taught me to love food, and baking by extent!

How Did I Start Baking?

I have no memories of my first baking experiences, but most, if not all of my favorite childhood memories stem from food in some way. I remember being four years old in my Grandma Kay's kitchen, surrounded by all my aunts who were excitedly and patiently teaching me how to make an easy family favorite: No-Bake Cookies, or more affectionately known in that house as Dog Turds. I recall being in my Grandma Linda's kitchen and shaping colored sugar cookie dough into fun shapes and pictures, or watching her expertly decorate a cake or a gingerbread house. I go back to coming into that house and immediately being pelted with the wonderful scent of almond extract, and delightedly realizing that my Grandpa Mike was making his famous homemade Candy Cane Cookies. I recall many a boring Sunday evening when my mom and I would make my favorite Ooey Gooey Chocolate Chip Cookies. Without realizing it, my entire life was shaped while I was learning to pound bread dough, add slightly too many chocolate chips (is there really such a thing??), and form a beautiful pie crust. I carried my family's love of food with me to college, and now to newlywed life, and I'm learning to experiment, enjoy, and hopefully to some extent, perfect my favorite recipes.

About Me

Now that we've covered how I got here... Who am I?? My name is Breje Gibbons, though as I discussed previously, I will answer to basically anything. I am currently doing online college getting ready to receive my Bachelor's in Early Childhood Development and living in Provo while my husband attends Brigham Young University. We have been married for barely a year and we are loving married life. I also work part time as a nanny for three children who I absolutely adore. When I'm not baking or nannying, I enjoy reading, running, playing piano and ukulele, slowly learning the guitar, and listening to podcasts or Harry Potter on audiobook with my husband. We also love shows like The Office, Parks and Recreation, Brooklyn 99, Gilmore Girls, and many others. I am nervously excited to begin posting recipes and ready for you all to tell me what you want me to make next! Comment below or go to my Instagram @easy.breezy.baking or email me at breezygibbons@easybreezybaking.com for questions and suggestions!