Classic Banana Bread Recipe - These Old Cookbooks (2024)

FAQs

Why do overripe bananas make better tasting banana bread? ›

As the bananas ripen, the fruit converts starches to sugars, making them sweeter and more flavorful. If you've ever had a slice of banana bread that barely tastes of banana, it's probably because the bananas used weren't quite ripe enough.

Bananas can go from yellow with brown spots to totally black and still be okay to eat and use for baking. In fact, black bananas are some of the best for making banana bread because they have developed more sugar as they sit around and therefore taste sweeter. They may also be moister, which is perfect for baked goods.

Using too much banana could make your bread heavy and damp in the center, causing it to appear undercooked and unappealing. If you have bananas leftover, you can always freeze them for later use.

Using unbleached vs. bleached flour makes no difference in recipes. However, baked goods made with bleached flour contain proteins that have been altered, which helps in forming gluten bonds when baking.

But, there is a limit. Black bananas or rotten bananas are a no-go. (Note that green bananas are also not a good choice for baking.) But those with slightly black peels and a little bit of excess liquid are perfect for turning into a loaf of banana bread magic.

In my experience, using bananas with a dark brown or even black peel for banana bread is ideal, as long as the inside isn't rotten. Key takeaway: As long as your bananas aren't starting to get moldy, infested with fruit flies or beginning to rot they aren't too ripe for baking banana bread.

Place bananas in a freezer container. Feel free to peel first or leave the peel on. You can freeze bananas in a large zipped-top freezer bag or any covered container, such as these glass freezer containers. Freeze bananas for up to 3 months.

To immediately ripen bananas for use in banana breads, cakes, and muffins, you can use the oven. The texture of a baked banana may be a bit softer than that of one naturally ripened but the taste and caramelized sweetness will be amazing.

Nigrospora is a fungal disease that causes the centre of the banana to turn dark red. Nigrospora can infect the fruit in tropical climates where bananas are grown. Mokillo, moko, and blood disease bacterium are bacterial diseases that can also cause red discoloration in bananas.

Even though banana bread contains some important nutrients, such as potassium, most varieties remain high in added sugar, refined carbs, and overall calories.

What are the black spots in banana bread? ›

Yep, the baking soda in a standard banana bread recipe is what reacts with the banana causing it to turn black. Using self rising flour not only alleviates the need for baking soda, but also the salt, making your ingredient list even shorter.

The Science Behind the Batter:

Too much dry ingredients (all-purpose flour, brown sugar, baking soda, baking powder) and you'll end up with a tough, cake-like result. Too much wet ingredients (mashed bananas, vanilla extract, melted butter, eggs) and your bread will be flat and lacking structure.

To substitute baking powder for baking soda in banana bread, use triple the amount of baking powder that you would of baking soda. For example, if your recipe says to use a 1/2 teaspoon of baking soda, you can use 1 1/2 teaspoons of baking powder instead. You won't have to change any of the other ingredients.

First of all, in a large bowl, sift the plain flour, baking powder, bicarbonate of soda and salt. Now in another large bowl, mix the melted butter and sugar and beat until well blended. Beat in the eggs one at a time followed by the mashed bananas.

Not using enough flour, though, results in a more caramelized-looking loaf. The difference between using too much and using too little flour is drastic. The outside turned a dark-brown color and looked almost caramelized.

Typically, we equate butter or fat with richness in a baked good. But in the case of banana bread, adding extra butter weighs down the loaf and takes away from the banana flavor. The end result? A heavier banana bread with a more muted banana flavor.

A banana that is perfectly ripe for eating is not at the same stage in its ripening process as one that is perfect for making into a banana cake. For baking, you need the sweetness that comes from an overripe banana – this means it will be very yellow with a few brown spots and feel soft.

The reason bananas get sweeter as they ripen is that their starch is broken down into sugar. When your body has to break down the starch itself (as it does when you eat a green banana), your blood sugar rises more slowly.