Strawberry Banana Bread

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I love a good banana bread recipe

In my search for fun options to use strawberries this spring, I came across this strawberry banana bread recipe of Alyssa Rivers at The Recipe Critic. It sounded so good but I only had one banana at home so I pinned that recipe on Pinterest and saved it for later. If you click on Pinterest you can peruse the recipes I have saved for later. And today later came! Normally I’m Miss Plain Jane and like straight up banana bread. However strawberry banana bread sounded delicious so I’ll be adventurous and try this one out.

Start off with prepping your strawberries and putting 1 stick of butter out to soften up

You’ll need 1 1/2 cups of fresh strawberries chopped. You can always chop these up and stick them back in the fridge for later. I tend to make things in spurts with two little ones. So I try to prep what I can ahead of time to make the most of my little ones naptime when it comes around. He’s good for 24 minutes, I kid you not he’s that punctual most days. I’ve been getting some longer stretches though so there’s hope he may be a better napper than his sister. Put 1 stick of butter on the counter to start softening up while you’re chopping the strawberries.

Next up is 3 ripe bananas… but wait I’ve only got one still

So I’ve only got one that’s ripe and two that are brand new from the store. I typically buy green bananas. I like to eat them when they’ve just turned yellow and are still firm. Once they start to ripen they sit until I feel like making banana bread/muffins/cake or banana something. If I wait for the other two to ripen my first banana will be dead and moldy and a waste of a good banana. Bananas will ripen up and soften some if you put them in a bowl, mash them up, and let them sit for a good 30 minutes or however long it takes until you can get back to the kitchen.

Now we wait on the butter

Once your butter is softened; meaning you can press on it and leave an indention but not accidentally put your finger all the way through, then you’re ready to start. Put your 1 stick or 1/2 cup softened butter in a bowl or if you have one the stand mixer bowl. Then add 1 cup granulated sugar. Cream these together until well combined. Make sure to stop midway through and scrape the sides and the bottom so everything gets well incorporated. Make sure at this point to turn on your oven to preheat. You will want it at 375 degrees.

You will need 2 large eggs. Always crack them in something else and then drop them in your mixing bowl. I used to be lazy and crack them right in the bowl with what I was making. However I’ve wasted far too many hours searching for egg shells that it’s a better use of time to crack them into something else and then pour them into the creamed mixture. Beat your eggs into the creamed mixture.

Next up is bananas!

Your banana smush should be slightly darker and more runny. Pour it into the egg and cream mixture. Make sure to scrape the sides of the bowl the bananas were in to get all of it out. Mix them in until combined.

Set that mixture aside and grab a bowl for dry ingredients

You will need 1/2 teaspoon salt, 2 cups all purpose flour, and 1 teaspoon baking soda. Did you know the baking soda box has a nice little piece of cardboard for you to level your teaspoon on? Look at the pictures below. When you lift the lid you popped open on your baking soda you’ll see a flat piece of cardboard at the bottom. It’s perfect for quickly leveling your baking soda!

Once you’ve got all your ingredients in the bowl carefully mix them up. The original recipe calls for you to sift them. I rarely sift things unless the recipe asks you to sift the flour, that’s a different story. Just use a fork or whisk and make sure they get well mixed up. Then add the dry ingredients to the wet ingredients and mix until they are just combined. DON’T overmix, lumpy is ok.

Grab your strawberries back out but don’t dump them in yet!

Take 1 tablespoon flour and toss it with the strawberries. If you’re in a rush you don’t have to but it will help your strawberries better mix in the batter and not all sink to the bottom of the pan. Once you’ve tossed them with the flour as best you can, pour them in the batter and gently fold them together.

Pull out 2 loaf pans

Yeah I didn’t do this. Most of my loaf bread recipes I have horrible luck with. No matter what I do I end up with a gooey spot in the middle of the top of the loaf. So I tend to make mini loaves because they do better for me. However I’m a good sport, so I grabbed one large loaf pan and 4 of my new mini loaf pans.

The recipe says you can spray it with nonstick spray. Sometimes this works just fine and other times it sticks horribly. I recommend if you have the time just grease it with Crisco to be on the save side. Now it didn’t say to grease and flour. So get your blue tub of Crisco and make sure you spread it around to cover all areas thoroughly. If you don’t like the feel of it on your fingers you can use a paper towel to spread it. Just check when you’re done to make sure the corners are well covered.

Now you’re ready to pour it in and stick it in the oven!

Pour 1/2 of the batter in each loaf if you’re making two large loaves. I poured half in the one pan and then carefully divided the rest between my small pans. The picture below shows what they look like; after I cleaned up the batter that dripped on the counter!

Put them on the middle rack in your oven and set the timer for 15 minutes!

After 15 minutes it will look like the picture below. Turn your oven down to 350 degrees.

The mini loaves will need to cook 12 more minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean. Be careful not to cook them too long as dry bread is not the greatest. Your large loaf will need to cook 30 more minutes. However, you know your oven best. If things tend to cook faster then start checking it sooner so you don’t overcook it.

Doesn’t your house smell amazing right now?

Let them cool completely before removing the strawberry banana bread from the loaf pans… or if you’re an impatient soul like me wait at least 15 minutes before dumping them out to try the yummy warm bread. And enjoy! I stuck 3 of my mini loaves in the freezer for later. I’ll let you know after a couple weeks how they do when I pull them out to eat!

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