Banana bread is good for a lot of things — it makes for an easy last-minute gift, breakfast potluck addition, or simple grab-and-go snack. It's considered a quick bread, as it doesn't require yeast for rising or time-consuming kneading. Simply mix all of the ingredients together and bake! Yet there are still a few pitfalls to baking banana bread that you'll want to avoid. Don't let anything get in between you and your banana bread — steer clear of these common banana bread mistakes.
If you've ever tried to mash green bananas, you know that's no fun. That's why you should use only very ripe bananas to make banana bread. Not only are overripe bananas easier to mash, they also give the bread more moisture, sweetness, and flavor. How ripe is overripe? We're talking anything from spotted bananas all the way to solid black. If you need to make banana bread today and all you have are nearly ripe bananas — roast 'em. Learn our quick tricks to ripen bananas.
2. You Over-Mix the Batter
For soft and tender banana bread, gently stir the wet ingredients into the dry — don't overmix! The more you stir, the more gluten will develop. The result will be a tough, rubbery banana bread. Simply stir until moist, and then do no more. In summary: Do less work, get better bread.
3. You Use Too Much Banana
Fight the urge to use more banana than called for in your recipe. 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.
Moisture is key when it comes to banana bread, and the ratio of flour to banana makes all the difference. If you use too much flour, you'll end up with dry bread. If you don't use enough, your bread will be too wet. The secret is actually in how you measure the flour. The "scoop straight out of the bag" method could be packing way too much flour into your measuring cup. Instead, use the "spoon and level" method by spooning flour into a measuring cup and scraping off the excess with the flat side of a knife or straight edge.
5. You Don't Check to Make Sure It's Done
Don't make the mistake of cutting into your banana bread only to discover it's uncooked in the center. While it's still in the oven, insert a skewer into the center. If the skewer comes out clean — or with just a crumb or two sticking to the skewer — it's ready. If the skewer has any raw batter sticking to it, put the bread back in the oven for about 5 minutes, and then check it again.
6. You Don't Allow It to Cool
You should remove the bread from the pan fairly soon after it comes out of the oven. The longer it sits in the pan, the soggier the bottom will become. Allow the bread to cool completely on a cooling rack before wrapping it in plastic wrap or transferring it to an airtight container. Warm bread wrapped in plastic wrap leads to condensation which leads to mold. Also, cooling the bread firms up the structure and makes for cleaner slices. If you love eating warm bread (and who doesn't?) you can always heat up your slice a bit in the oven.
Banana bread recipes typically ask you to use overripe bananas so that they're easier to mush. This means it's tempting to toss all your bananas into the mix when you're ready to bake, to avoid food waste. But if you add too much of the fruit into your batter, your bread could turn out mushy, heavy, and wet.
Banana bread recipes typically ask you to use overripe bananas so that they're easier to mush. This means it's tempting to toss all your bananas into the mix when you're ready to bake, to avoid food waste. But if you add too much of the fruit into your batter, your bread could turn out mushy, heavy, and wet.
Using too much flour makes for an extra crumbly bread.
If you're tapping your measuring cup to level out flour as you measure, or you're pushing down the piled-up powder, you'll end up using too much of it. I packed my flour for this loaf, and what I got was a crumbly cake with a dry crust all around.
Moisture is key when it comes to banana bread, and the ratio of flour to banana makes all the difference. If you use too much flour, you'll end up with dry bread. If you don't use enough, your bread will be too wet. The secret is actually in how you measure the flour.
As it sits at room temperature, starches convert to sugars, making the fruit sweeter and softer. These brown spots, often seen as a sign of spoilage, are actually a dead giveaway of peak banana bread potential. But, there is a limit. Black bananas or rotten bananas are a no-go.
Bicarbonate of soda (baking soda) is the raising agent and this can sometimes taste bitter or soapy if the wrong quantity is used. Make sure that you measure the bicarbonate of soda with a proper 1 teaspoon/5ml measuring spoon and the spoon measurement should be level.
The reason is as you mix, the gluten begins to develop, and when too much development happens, you can end up with a dense, chewy loaf rather than the soft and delicious banana bread you were hoping for.
Flour: All-purpose flour gives the banana bread structure. Baking soda: Baking soda acts as a leavener, which means it helps the banana bread rise. Salt: A pinch of salt enhances the overall flavor, but it won't make the loaf taste salty.\
Instead, we recommend non-iodized salt for a clean, pure taste that won't distract from the other flavors in your recipe. That said, feel free to use iodized salt if that's all you have — the effect won't be very noticeable, especially if you're baking a recipe with strong flavors.
It turns out, sugar does more than just make things sweeter. When it comes to banana bread, cutting back on sugar will leave you with a dry loaf totally devoid of any distinguishable flavor.
Excess moisture (when compared to the recipe's dry ingredients) means a greater potential for banana bread to sink in the middle. Recipes that provide you with the exact amount of mashed bananas by measuring cup (e.g. 1 ½ cups of mashed bananas) or by weight (e.g. grams) tend to have fewer problems.
The banana bread will not rise much during baking and may sink slightly in the centre on cooling, but should not collapse competely. If it did collapse then it is likely that the banana bread had not quite baked fully (and in light of the ingredient change may have needed a slightly longer baking time).
When the center of your bread is baked through a thermometer will register between 200°F and 205°F. No part of your loaf should be below 200°F — except perhaps the very top, which may produce an unreliable reading due to the thermometer's tip being partially exposed to room-temperature air.
Eating too many bananas or other high-potassium foods can cause excess potassium in the body, also called hyperkalemia. This can cause serious health problems, including heart issues. While most people wouldn't be able to stomach the number of bananas necessary to cause this to happen, it's something to be mindful of.
As tempting as it may be to dump all those overripe bananas into your batter, four medium-sized bananas are typically the most that a single loaf of banana bread can accommodate — any more and you're likely looking at a loaf that's going to be dense and heavy rather than soft and moist in the middle.
Excess moisture (when compared to the recipe's dry ingredients) means a greater potential for banana bread to sink in the middle. Recipes that provide you with the exact amount of mashed bananas by measuring cup (e.g. 1 ½ cups of mashed bananas) or by weight (e.g. grams) tend to have fewer problems.
Too much leavening can cause the bread to rise up too much and this will cause it to sink back as it cools. If you are having problems still then you could try making banana muffins instead. It is easier to make sure these are baked through properly (again use a cake tester to check).
Introduction: My name is Francesca Jacobs Ret, I am a innocent, super, beautiful, charming, lucky, gentle, clever person who loves writing and wants to share my knowledge and understanding with you.
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:max_bytes(150000):strip_icc()/437365-45ee0198a8c04d268ff926e63ed1334a.jpg "6 Little Mistakes That Could Ruin Your Banana Bread (1)")
