Brown butter matcha banana bread

Matcha in baking is usually an afterthought, a spoon of dull powder for color. Use a good ceremonial grade and it actually tastes of something: a gentle green-tea note that sits beautifully next to brown butter and banana.

What you need (one 9 x 5 inch loaf)

  • ½ cup (113 g) unsalted butter
  • 3 very ripe bananas, mashed (about 1¼ cups)
  • ¾ cup (150 g) sugar (half brown, half white is nicest)
  • 2 eggs
  • 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
  • 1¾ cups (220 g) all-purpose flour
  • 1 teaspoon baking soda
  • ½ teaspoon salt
  • 1½ tablespoons Matcha Organics ceremonial matcha, sifted

Method

  1. Heat the oven to 350°F / 175°C and line the loaf pan with parchment.
  2. Brown the butter. Melt it in a light-colored pan over medium heat and keep cooking, swirling, until it foams, smells nutty and shows brown flecks, about 4 to 5 minutes. Pour it into a large bowl and let it cool for 5 minutes.
  3. Mix the wet ingredients. Whisk the mashed bananas, sugar, eggs and vanilla into the brown butter.
  4. Add the dry ingredients. Stir in the flour, baking soda and salt until just combined; a few streaks of flour are fine.
  5. Swirl in the matcha. Move a third of the batter to a small bowl and fold in the sifted matcha. Spoon the plain and green batters into the pan in alternating dollops, then drag a knife through once or twice for a marble.
  6. Bake for 55 to 65 minutes, until a skewer comes out with a few moist crumbs. Cool in the pan for 10 minutes, then on a rack.

Notes

For an all-green loaf, fold the matcha into the whole batter. Bake at 350°F, not hotter; high heat browns the matcha and dulls the color. Keeps three days wrapped, or freeze slices.