CA-016Brown butter banana breadCake · Quick bread loaf, one bowl

Rev 012026-10-101 / 3

Brown butter banana bread

A tall, tender banana loaf mixed in one bowl, with the butter browned first for a toasty, nutty depth.

SourceJustine Doiron · Adapted, metricContainsWheat · Milk · EggLast changeRev 01 · First issue

Equipment9 × 5 in loaf pan · Light-colored saucepan · Large bowl, whisk, fork · Parchment, cake tester

Yield · slices10

Batter955 g

Banana · % flour167%

Plan · plus cooling1.25 h

Oven · 375 °F190 °C

Formula

% · flour = 100

Butter is weighed before browning; it loses about 15–20% as water cooks off. Scrape in every fleck.

Salt by weight, so any brand. The source's "half for Morton's" is a volume rule.

Optional, from the source: ½ tsp cinnamon or other warm spice with the flour.

Altitude, 4,700 ft: 2½ tsp powder is generous. Run B (powder −20%) before changing the sheet.

† Doesn't scale in a straight line past 2×.

Scale by pan

9 × 5 in loaf× 1 · 10 slices

8½ × 4½ in loaf× 0.85 · 9 slices

12-cup muffin tin× 1 · 20–24 min

	Ingredient	%	Grams
A Batter
	Unsalted butter · browned, weighed raw	53.8	113
	Granulated sugar	78.6	165
	Eggs · 2 large	47.6	100
	Vanilla extract † · 1 tsp	1.9	4
	Bananas · 3 large, very ripe	166.7	350
	All-purpose flour	100.0	210
	Baking powder † · 2½ tsp	4.8	10
	Kosher salt · 1 tsp Diamond Crystal	1.4	3
	Batter	454.8	955

Continues on pages 2–3: method, variants, done when, fixes, trials, revisions, batch log →

CA-016Brown butter banana breadCake · Quick bread loaf, one bowl

Rev 012026-10-102 / 3

Method

Tick each step as done

Bananas black-spotted to fully black. Frozen ones count; weigh them with their liquid.

One bowl, no separate dry mix. Stir the flour in only until no dry streaks show.

01
Prep. Rack in the middle; heat the oven. Line the loaf pan with a parchment sling.
—
190 °C 375 °F
02
Brown. Melt the butter; let it foam, stirring, until the flecks are brown and it smells nutty.
3–5 min
Amber, nutty
03
Sugar. Scrape it into the bowl, flecks and all. Whisk in the sugar to cool it a little.
1 min
04
Eggs. Add the eggs and vanilla; whisk hard until smooth and glossy.
1 min
Smooth
05
Banana. Add the bananas to the bowl; mash with a fork, leaving some chunks. Whisk through.
—
Some chunks
06
Dry in. Flour on top, powder and salt scattered over it. Stir only until no dry flour shows.
—
Thick batter
07
Bake. Scrape into the pan; level. Bake until domed, split and a tester comes out clean.
50–55 min
≈ 96 °C inside
08
Cool. In the pan 10 min; lift out by the sling. Cool on a rack before slicing.
10 min
1–2 h

Variants

Inclusions · as % of batter

Chocolate chip · semisweet or bittersweet17.8% of batter · 170 g

Chocolate chips · in, ¾ cup76.5130

Chocolate chips · on top, ¼ cup23.540

→Step 06 · folded in with the last streaks of flour.

→Step 07 · scattered over the leveled batter.

Done when

And how it keeps

Done when

TopDomed and split, the split no longer wet

TesterClean, or a few moist crumbs — no wet batter

Inside≈ 96 °C, if you probe

Keeps

Room temp3 days, wrapped

Frozen1 month, sliced; toast from frozen

If it goes wrong

Most likely cause first

Dark crust, raw middleOven runs hot at 190 °C. Tent with foil at 35 min; run C

Gummy band at the bottomUnderbaked. Bake to 96 °C inside; the dome hides a wet center

Sunk in the middleUnderbaked, or too much lift at altitude. Bake longer; run B

Dense, with tunnelsOvermixed after the flour. Stop at the last dry streak

Bitter, black flecksButter went past amber. Pull it off as soon as it smells nutty

CA-016Brown butter banana breadCake · Quick bread loaf, one bowl

Rev 012026-10-103 / 3

Trials

Change one variable per trial

A is the sheet as written.

B tests the altitude rule for 4,700 ft.

C is a gentler oven for a paler crust.

Variable	Trial A	Trial B	Trial C
Date
Change	As written	Powder 8 g	175 °C, 60–65 min
Bake time
Dome and crust
Staff rating 1–5

Revisions

Newest last

Rev	Date	Change	From
Rev 01	2026-10-10	First issue	—

Batch log

Fill in by hand

Date

Batch ×

Banana g

Oven

Bake time

Inside °C

Notes