The banana is the world’s most popular fruit. Bananas account for roughly 75% of the tropical fruit trade.
Bananas are not just eaten as a snack, but are also used as a culinary ingredient found in many recipes, particularly desserts.
These desserts can include the following among many others:
The banana is the universal ultimate comfort food and rightly so as more than a hundred billion are eaten annually.
The most popular recipe to bake with a banana, is a banana bread. It is the internet’s most-searched recipe.
About The Banana Bread
Banana bread recipes first appeared in cookbooks when baking powder and baking soda became popular in the 1930s.
The first appearance of a banana bread recipe was in 1933 by Pillsbury in their, “Balanced Recipes” cookbook.
Then, in 1950, banana bread showed up in a cookbook put out by the
The Chiquita Banana company also put a banana bread recipe in a printed cookbook of theirs in 1950.
In the 1960s, home baking became more popular than ever before. And because the quick bread is so easy to make, people started falling in love with this delicious dessert.
Perhaps the most characteristic features of banana bread is its texture. If made right they can have a soft crumb and a moist bite.
There are several elements that play a role in making banana bread moist, especially when compared with other types of baked goods.
The moisture content of banana bread is relatively high because of the high water content in bananas. The USDA states that a single banana has anywhere between 75 to 80 percent moisture.
Add to that the dairy-based ingredients, like milk, yogurt, sour cream, and buttermilk help in retaining moisture within the batter and including eggs. As an egg has about 75% moisture.
As for the banana bread staying moist after it’s baked, depends on a variety of factors. Such as, how you store it, ambient temperature, the ratio between bananas and flour used, and the ripeness of the bananas.
However, in ideal conditions, you should expect your banana bread to stay moist for around 3 to 4 days before it starts drying out.
To help make and keep your banana bread moist, here are some suggestions.
How To Make Moist Banana Bread
If you use these proven suggestions, you can achieve a moist banana bread.
The Banana
Bananas that are so ripe that you would normally think to throw them away, are the secret to a moist banana bread.
The perfect bananas for a loaf of banana bread will have peels that are black.
The riper the banana, the more moisture your homemade baked good will have and the banana flavor will also be more pronounced.
Mushy, overripe bananas have tons of sweetness and they’re perfect for making the best banana bread recipe.
You want to make sure you thoroughly mash your bananas. You can use a potato masher, fork, or even a hand mixer. You can even use a food processor.
Almond Joy Banana Bread – This Bread Uses Full Fat Coconut Milk In Place Of A Diary Product
Ratio Of Ingredients – Flour
It’s important to get the ingredient ratio right when you’re making banana bread. Don’t pack your measuring cups, otherwise you could end up with too much of one ingredient or another.
While your natural inclination may be to take your measuring cup and scoop flour straight from the container, this could be causing you to use way too much flour.
Follow these steps to measure your flour properly:
- Use a spoon or scoop to fluff up the flour in the canister or bag.
- Gently spoon the flour into the measuring cup. Don’t pack it in!
- Fill the measuring cup to the top, then using the back of a knife, very gently level it off.
Is it necessary to sift the flour?
The purpose of sifting is to add air to the flour, which will make a lighter, fluffy loaf.
However, if you prefer dense banana bread, then sifting is not really necessary.
Sifting Flour
Mixing & Baking
Combine gently your wet and dry ingredients. You don’t want to over-work your dough or otherwise the bread will be tough and dense.
Always cream your butter and sugar. And as noted above, when you mix the creamed butter/sugar, do not over mix or you can deflate the air pockets that are created in the creaming process. The air pockets help with the rising of the cake while it is baking.
After your oven has preheated, and you place the cake batter into the oven, it is essential not to open the oven door for at least half an hour. Let the batter rise.
Every time you open the door heat escapes and the oven has to work to bring the temperature back up and this lowering snd rising of the temperature will effect how the cake turns out.
Don’t over bake the bread. Most recipes will call for 50-60 minutes to bake and 10-15 minutes to cool on a wire rack. Keep in mind during this cooling period the cake is still cooking until the heat molecules come to a stop.
Do not remove your bread until it is done. Even if the banana bread looks done on the outside, remember that the bread needs minimally 50 minutes to cook, with 55 being the most ideal amount of time.
Diary – Sugar – Eggs
Buttermilk (also sour cream & full fat yogurt) makes for a moister cake than those made with milk. Buttermilk also has an acidic ingredient that helps break down gluten in your baking.
A moist cake can also be obtained with replacing some or all the white sugar with brown sugar. Brown sugar contains molasses, which helps to retain moisture inside the cake for a longer period of time.
You can separate the egg yolks from the whites for a soft and fluffy cake.
Ingredients At Room Temperature
To achieve a delicate and enjoyable dessert bread, is to use ingredients at room temperature.
When ingredients are at room temperature, like eggs, butter, and other dairy ingredient, they form an emulsion which traps air.
While baking in the oven, that trapped air expands and produces a fluffy baked good. Not only this, room temperature ingredients bond together very easily since they’re warmer, creating a seamless and evenly textured batter.
In summary, using the right ingredients and their ratios, using full fat dairy, like sour cream or buttermilk, using room temperature ingredients, especially eggs, separating egg whites from yokes, are the keys to making a moist banana bread.
More How To’s
- How To Cook Dried Beans – with recipes
- How To Use Arugula
- How To Successfully De-Bone Chicken Thighs – with recipes
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