Banana Bread: Tips & Techniques

[lapin d'or]

I recently baked a banana cake from a Nigella Lawson recipe where you add rum soaked raisins. The recipe also had choclate it in too but the rum flavour came through very well.

[Natho]

I would think rum would be great. I recently dabbled into banana and coffee and it was really nice, I made a banana loaf and used espresso for all the added liquid. Although the coffee wasn't noticeable as it only had a 1/4 of a cup of extra liquid next time i will try with doppio or something really strong. I made a coffee Icing for it which helped. So back to the initial question, I would suggest a coffee liquer would go nice.

[Mottmott]

I keep some raisins soaking in rum as a pantry item. I find they are lovely in most tea cakes and breakfast pastries.

[CaliPoutine]

I use the marie brizzard banana liquor, enhances the banana flavor.

[Khadija]

I want to make banana bread. I am out of eggs. I have found some recipes for eggless banana bread. Will the eggless version be significantly different? I have been "blackening" my bananas for awhile, and don't want to waste them because I am too lazy to go to the store.

[srhcb]

Add an extra 1/2 banana or 1/4 cup of applesauce for each egg in the recipe.

[sanrensho]

I know this doesn't answer your question, but you can always freeze the bananas in their skins and use them whenever convenient.

[Khadija]

I'm on a bit of a banana bread kick these days, so I was hoping to make it tonight. Luckily, my room-mate just called from the grocery store and asked if I needed anything. So, I will not have to try eggless banana bread this time!

[MightyD]

it tastes the same, texture's the same, but the bottom half of the banana loaf is always darker - what gives?

[Badiane]

Mine does that to...in fact, every kind of banana think I make does that, cake, muffins, bread etc.

My theory is this...bananas turn brown, right? So the puree must settle more at the bottom and oxidize somewhat because it cooks at a different rate than the top, giving it a darker appearence than the top, where there is slightly less puree and it cooks faster therefore not having as much time to oxidize.

That's my theory and I'm sticking to it

[srhcb]

I make banana bread a lot, and I've never noticed that.

I do mash my bananas up fairly coarsely rather than puree them though.

SB (or maybe I just never notices? )

[highchef]

the bananna is heavier, and it drops, in the time you have it squished, it's already blackening...and it's heavier than the dough.

Try.....throwing flour on your banannas before mixing them in...

you know, I've had this same problem, but it seems like I took the whites out of the egg and whipped them up to a stiff point, mix and/fold and with the dough folded with the mix it makes it lighter./

[chefpeon]

Is the part of the bread that is darker below the level of the rim of the pan?

Or does where the pan begin and end not seem to make a difference?

What type of pans are you using? Metal dark? Metal shiny? Glass? Silicone?

[K8memphis]

Is your butter too soft before mixing? Might be an emulsion problem.

[Darcie B]

Is the part of the bread that is darker below the level of the rim of the pan?

Or does where the pan begin and end not seem to make a difference?

What type of pans are you using? Metal dark? Metal shiny? Glass? Silicone?

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Also, where in the oven are you positioning the pan? Near the bottom? I have not noticed this in my banana bread other than if I use a darker pan and have it nearer the bottom of the oven, the outside edges are darker due to more heat transfer.

Also, are you using a deep, narrow pan? I'll bet if you make the same recipe in a shallow, wide pan (like a cake pan) you wouldn't notice this difference. My two cents.

[MightyD]

well, i don't have the bananas in chunks - i actually put them through a ricer to get a nice smooth puree. i bake it in the lower 3rd of the oven, so the whole pan sits pretty much smack dab in the middle of the oven during baking, and it's in an aluminum loaf pan.

it starts getting darker at about the bottom third of the loaf.

at first i thought that the bottom was getting overbaked, hence the darker bottom, but the texture and moistness feels the same to me. regarding the butter being too soft and not emulsifying properly, won't that lead to a heavier bottom as well? i'm not really experiencing that at all ...

mebbe i should try it in a cake pan...

[K8memphis]

No no no don't rice your bananas in fact just smush well with your hands is the best method I think like Steve advised also. Bake in the middle of the oven from side to side and top to bottom--not the bottom third of the oven the exact middle of the oven. Sounds more like overbake now.

And I don't care for banana bread made from over ripe bananas. Eating quality bananas makes the best bread I think.

[Emily_R]

I personally don't see anything wrong with ricing the bananas, and if I read the post right, its not that there is anything wrong with the flavor or texture of the bread -- she's just wondering from a scientific standpoint? Not that I can answer, but I feel like I have seen a similar phenomenon...

[nibor]

If your bananas are not squishy enough, try this: Take an unpeeled banana and gently squeeze it all over, using your fingertips. It will soon feel like a bag full of jelly. While you could then peel it to get the goo out, it is more fun to cut the bottom off and squeeze the goo out as if it were toothpaste.

[chefpeon]

I too don't see any problem with ricing the bananas. A squooshed banana is a squooshed banana is a a squooshed banana........ And overripes RULE!

My scientific theory about the darker bottom......hmmmmm....

*the sugars in the batter are sinking during the bake and browning the bottom;

*and/or high bottom heat

Just a guess really. If there's no texture change within the bread, and it's not dry......I just wouldn't worry about it to be honest. Hopefully that dark part doesn't taste burnt or anything.

[MightyD]

nah, the darker part doesn't taste any different - just doesn't look as pretty that's all.

[Bernaise]

I use frozen black bananas, barely defrosted, mashed with a fork, mixed with the wet ingredients. I quickly mix in the dry and treat the batter like muffins. Seems to work well, no separation. Oh come to think of it, I made one small change: I no longer make it in deep loaf pans. Bananas are sweet and very wet and the temptation is to bake it longer.....shallow pans and muffin tins solved this for me.

[dave s.]

Black bananas are indeed vital to this sort of endeavor! They don't look very nice, but have you ever noticed a nice-looking banana is not a tasty banana? And lightly mashed is good. I myself do not make banana bread. I make banana cookies like my Grandma Vada used to make for me-with Crisco(gasp)yet. That's what she used so that's what I use. They are pretty much the same as banana bread in drop cookie form-they never ever get dark no matter how ripe the bananas are!

[K8memphis]

You only need to avoid black finely homogenized bananas if you're not interested in making the finest banana bread. (I'm teasing)

No seriously, I was making b bread one day and my bananas were only of eating quality and I was so disappointed but I needed to make it that day, so I added more than I needed. Dude, I never went back to using those old nasty slimy things again. Best b bread evah.

But truly, it's all a mtter of personal choice. So if you want to chose the best...

Honest honest honest, personal choice personal choice.

Try it though....

[Sarah Phillips]

it tastes the same, texture's the same, but the bottom half of the banana loaf is always darker - what gives?

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Hi MightyD,

Just my 2 cents! How many bananas does the recipe call for? What kind of leavening are you using? Does the recipe call for buttermilk or lemon juice? Can you post the recipe?

It does make a difference in the outcome as to whether you mash or puree your bananas! I have found that when you roughly mash them, you'll get a better texture from the bread. When you puree them, you add too much excess liquid and goo to the recipe, getting what you describe - a heavy, dense, black bottom or banana glop that has a hard time baking properly, as you have found. That part of the bread won't rise very high because it's heavy and dense.

The trick is to lightly mash them with a fork and then measure in a measuring cup meant for dry ingredients. About 1 or so cups mashed banana per recipes works well as a general rule. I like to use baking soda with bananas.

Here's a recipe if you need one http://www.baking911.com/asksarahbb/index.php?showtopic=926