You know when you stumble onto food that stays in your food memories forever? That is this banana bread.
A few years ago Ranger Craig and I were exploring the more remote parts of Maui and stumbled onto a banana bread hut. After driving miles of winding roads, up and down sloping and sometimes steep hillsides, between the greenest and lush valley’s, we found a place called Kahakuloa. And we found banana bread. Not just an ordinary banana bread. This was hands down the best banana bread I’ve ever tasted. Moist, the perfect amount of sweetness and the purest banana flavor with the most intense banana fragrance. I’m not sure if it was because we were on vacation and I had just finished a harrowing scuba diving lesson but banana bread has never tasted so good.
I’ve tried recreating this banana bread at least a dozen times. I’ve come close but for some reason I could never achieve the same taste and texture as the banana bread in Maui. I knew I was most likely over thinking the ingredient list. So, I decided to hit the web and do a little research. It seems I’m not the only one smitten by this banana bread recipe.
I found it on Bon Appetit out of the kitchen section. Julia’s Banana Bread. There it was in black and white with a snapshot of the lush bread. As I read the ingredient list I giggled. So simple, so pure, no wonder this bread is so delicious.
Now I pass it along to you! Just a few simple ingredients that most of us already have stocked. It doesn’t take but a few minutes to whip up, pop it in the oven for about an hour and you will have the most delicious and pure tasting banana bread. I baked it exactly as the recipe reads with the exception of using coconut palm sugar instead of granulated sugar (because that’s what I had in my pantry). The second time I made this bread, I subbed the veggie oil with my favorite extra virgin olive oil. It was perfection.
Cheers to Fall and all the lush comforting foods that accompany the season!
Delicious Wishes and Loads of Love,
Karista
Julia’s Banana Bread
Ingredients
- Oil or butter for greasing the pan
- 1 3/4 cups all-purpose flour
- 1 1/2 teaspoons baking soda
- 3/4 teaspoon salt
- 3 large eggs
- 1 1/2 cups sugar
- 1 cup mashed *ripe bananas (about 2 large)
- 3/4 cup vegetable oil (I use either coconut oil or extra virgin olive oil)
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350°. Coat a 9x5x3” loaf pan with oil or butter.
- Whisk flour, baking soda, and salt in a medium bowl.
- Whisk eggs, sugar, bananas, and oil in a large bowl until smooth. Add dry ingredients to banana mixture and stir just until combined. Scrape batter into prepared pan and smooth top.
- Bake until a tester inserted into the center of bread comes out clean, 60–70 minutes. Transfer to a wire rack; let bread cool in pan for 15 minutes.
- Run a knife around inside of pan to release the bread. Turn out onto rack and let cool completely before slicing.
- *For more intense ripe banana flavor I set my two peeled bananas in a glass bowl and microwave for 1-2 minutes. Whisk the liquid that has accumulated with the banana pulp and use. This will help ripen a "less ripe" banana and intensify the banana flavors.
- This bread can be prepared up to three days in advance and store in an airtight container. Which makes this a lovely food gift for the holidays.
Recipe by Julia’s Banana Bread Treehouse in Kahakuloa, HI
Karista, this looks delicious! I’m getting the ingredients tomorrow!
Thanks Heidi! It’s really one of my most favorite recipes. Easy and so delish!
A beautiful loaf – really beautiful. It looks to have a great consistency,
Thanks Nick! Oddly, just looking at the ingredients I felt a bit hesitant about the final product. But the measurements yield a perfect crumb. Although, I like banana bread less sweet, the sugar amount still works well.
Moist and delicious! There is something always memorable about what you eat after or during Scuba dives. I thought I was the only one. Maybe it is because your on a holiday or maybe it is just the first perfect thing to remove the sea water flavour from your mouth… Either way a slice of this would make my day.
BAM you’re right… everything is much more memorable after surviving scuba diving. Lol! Although I got certified I haven’t been scuba diving since. I think I’ll stick to snorkeling. 🙂
I feel quite privileged to be reading this illusive recipe after you (and plenty of other people!) have been searching for it for so long! It sounds amazing, partly because of the beautifully written post before it… I can imagine how good the Banana Bread Hut’s bread would’ve tasted after your scuba lesson! I will definitely try this when I get home. I have a favourite banana bread recipe already but I’d be keen to compare this one. Thanks Karista… beautiful post as always xx
Thanks Laura! It really is a delicious banana bread recipe. Just simple, pure and rich banana flavor. The way banana bread should be 🙂
Karista, I am so excited to try this! What a find! We were in Maui this past summer and stopped at a roadside stand that sold all things banana, coconut and pineapple. We were sweltering, so opted for a smoothie, but I regret not getting a piece of banana bread! We did eat the local bananas while we were there though and for some reason, they are so much creamier and tastier than the ones we have here. I’d love this with the olive oil too. Pinned to make ASAP! 🙂 Your images are so lovely.
Amazing, thank you. My new favorite breakfast. It is just as delicious as the loaf I ate on the road to Hana. I love the olive oil addition, which gives it a lovely flavor. I also used coconut sugar instead.
So happy you are enjoying this recipe! I was so excited to find the recipe, I too ate half a loaf while driving through the mountains on Maui. 😉 Have a lovely week! Karista
I love this recipe so much! How long would you cook to make muffins instead?
Oh good question. Hmmm… Most muffins bake 12-15 minutes so I’d peek at them at around 12 minutes and if they are still soft in the center I’d bake a few more minutes. Hope this helps!
THANK YOU for finding this recipe! I have held on to the business card from Julia’s Banana Bread Stand for literally 8 years, thinking I’d some day order it, or find her recipe. This tastes exactly as I remember it. So grateful for you for finding it and sharing!
Hi Nikki, You are so welcome! Isn’t that just the best banana bread?! I’m so happy you found the recipe here. And thanks so much for commenting! Enjoy the recipe, Karista
The first time it turned out so beautifully. The next two times I made it, it was soupy and mushy in the middle after baking for 80 minutes. And it overflowed into my oven. I don’t get it…
Hi Katherine, Hmmmm… this is odd I agree. Did you use a different baking pan the first time you made the bread? Also, when I make a recipe using flour, I (like many) measure in cups. However, because flour settles in the bag or a fresh bag of flour is less settled, this can affect the amount of flour in a recipe. This recipe came from Bon Apetit and my guess is that when measuring the flour, it may have been slightly different for each loaf you made. I typically use the spoon and sweep method found here: https://www.cuisineathome.com/tips/test-kitchen-tip-59/ This might help explain why your second and third loaves didn’t firm up completely. I have had this happen as well and it’s frustrating I know. I hope this helps!
My brother in law and I get up early on the first day of our Maui vacation every year and make the windy, crooked, narrow, at times dangerous, trek to Kahakuloa Village to stock up on Auntie Julia’s banana bread for our Hawaiian breakfasts !! Can’t do Maui without it !! Thanks for finding the recipe for us landlocked “Haoles”. TOO GOOD !!
It is a windy, crooked and narrow road! I remember this about the drive to Julia’s Banana Bread. It’s so worth it though. I’m happy to have found the recipe, and to share it. Enjoy! Happy New Year, Karista