Bake the Number-One Banana Bread Recipe on the Internet (2024)

FAQs

Can you use both baking soda and baking powder in banana bread? ›

As a general rule, you can use either baking soda OR baking powder in banana bread – both ingredients will make your banana bread rise. While baking soda will react with acidic ingredients in the batter to raise your bread, baking powder can leaven banana bread without the addition of acidic ingredients.

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.

Canola oil is the most common choice used in most baked goods recipes, and this can be replaced one-for-one with a cup of applesauce. We love applesauce because it maintains a similar flavor to the original recipe, although it may have a more naturally sweet flavor to it!

Grease Your Pan

For a picture-worthy loaf of banana bread, don't go overboard with greasing your loaf pan. Grease the bottom of the pan just ½ inch up the sides for a uniform loaf with a slightly rounded top. If you grease all the way up the sides of the pan, the loaf can sink, resulting in a flat top.

Believe it or not, you can make a delicious loaf of banana bread without baking soda that is moist, soft, and fluffy with the help of baking powder! It won't rise quite as much, but it will still be absolutely delicious and tender packed with flavor from brown bananas and ground cinnamon.

As Joy of Baking explains, a surplus of baking powder will turn your treat's flavor bitter. And that's not even the worst part. Adding in too much baking powder could cause your dessert to rise too fast and fall apart.

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. Why?

3 bananas: 2 cups chopped | 1-1/2 cups mashed. 4 bananas: 2-2/3 cups chopped | 2 cups mashed.

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

Whether sliced or mashed, here's how to measure bananas for any recipe. I think it's absurd to measure such things by volume rather than weight. 3 bananas average size makes one cup.

What oil is best for homemade bread? ›

Choosing vegetable oil is the best option for baking moist, delicious baked goods. Canola oil, the most common vegetable oil used in baking, doesn't add a strong flavor. It allows your cake's flavor will shine through while still achieving a moist texture.

Using too much or too little baking powder or baking soda in proportion to the other ingredients in your recipe could be the reason your banana bread collapses when cooling. To measure correctly, Quaker Oats recommends spooning the powder into the measuring spoon instead of scooping it.

Is a Glass or Metal Pan Better for Baking? Since aluminum baking pans conduct heat more quickly and are easier to wash, store, and care for, I prefer them for baking in most circ*mstances. In fact, using glass or even ceramic baking pans for certain recipes, such as brownies or banana bread, may create adverse results!

Line an 8x5-inch loaf pan with parchment paper, letting the excess hang over the long sides to form a sling. Spray the inside with cooking spray. If using nuts, toast 1/2 cup chopped nuts in the oven for 10 minutes as the oven is pre-heating.

The Importance of Keeping It Cool

Once the banana bread is done, it's necessary to let it sit in the baking pan for about 15 minutes and then transfer it to a plate where it will sit for a while longer. Due to the caramelized sugar, it's best to wait for the loaf to cool properly before cutting into it.

Combining the two leavening agents produces a biscuit that is both light and tangy. In baking as in life, it's all about balance. Many recipes need both kinds of reactions to achieve the intended overall balance of flavor and texture, which is why you'll often see both baking soda and baking powder in a recipe.

If baking soda is the only leaven called for in the muffin recipe, you'll need to find a substitute. Since we suspect baking powder is readily available, we suggest using 1 teaspoon (5 ml) baking powder for each 1/4 teaspoon (1 ml) of baking soda suggested.

Baking soda changes the texture of baked goods by causing a batter or dough to spread, while baking powder produces light, fluffy texture. Some recipes may call for baking soda or baking powder on their own, while others may require both ingredients to create the ideal balance for great texture.

If you accidentally add baking soda instead of baking powder to baked goods, they won't rise because there is not enough acid. To fix this, add about one tablespoon of white or apple cider vinegar for every half teaspoon of baking soda to the liquids before mixing with the dry ingredients.