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Better Banana Bread
Well, maybe not a better banana bread, but different banana bread: cakier, creamier, moister. I, personally, think I prefer this loaf to the previous banana bread recipe I posted, but my wife makes the point that this recipe produces a much more delicate bread than the previous one does. For a quiet cup of tea on a lazy summer afternoon, this is the one. For a picnic at the zoo with a rambunctious three year old, the previous one is the way to go: it'll survive the transport in the car and backpack much better. Recipe below. So if there is a lesson to be learned here, it isn't that this is the greatest banana bread in the world. It is to make each recipe your own. Bake often and do not be afraid to experiment. If you don't screw up a recipe from time-to-time you probably aren't baking enough! Better Banana Bread Preheat the oven to 350. In one bowl, combine: 1/2 stick (4-5 tablespoons) butter, softened Use a potato masher, fork, or spoon to squish the banana and mix the ingredients together. It is alright for there to be small (1 centimeter) chunks of banana in the batter, but you want most of the banana to be reduced to mush. In another bowl, combine: 1 1/2 cup all-purpose unbleached flour Combine the wet and dry ingredients and mix until the ingredients are blended together. If you like, stir in additional ingredients here, such as chopped walnuts or pecans, dried cherries or apricots, or chocolate chips. A handful (about a half a cup) is about right. Pour the dough into greased baking pans and bake until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean. Small loaves take around 30 minutes, a normal-sized loaf takes around 50 minutes. Remove from the oven. This bread is great warm, but it is excellent cold too. After they have cooled for 5 or 10 minutes the loaves can be removed from the pan to cool. Once they are cool they can be individually wrapped and frozen. Enjoy! Related Recipe: 10 Minute Banana Bread.
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Re: Better Banana Bread
I love the original banana bread recipe, especially with a handful of fresh blueberries thrown in. I do find that it does dry out a little in my fridge/freezer, though (probably because it is a frost-free fridge), so I will have to give this recipe a try for moister banana bread.
Experimental Healthy recipe - was (Re: Better Banana Bread)
I've been working on this on and off for a couple years. See what you think.
Experimental Banana Bread
1/4 Cup Butter
1/4 Cup Sugar
1/4 Cup Very well drained Apple Sauce
2 Med Eggs
1/4 Cup lowfat Buttermlk
1 1/2 tsp Vanilla
1 1/2 Cup lightly mashed Banana (divided)
1 Cup unbleached AP Flour
1 Cup whole grain Pastry Flour (can substitute rye or spelt)
1/2 tsp Baking Soda
1 1/2 tsp Baking Powder (scant)
3/4 tsp Sea Salt
1/2 Cup Pecans
additional pecan halves and candied or marachino cherries for decoration
In large bowl cream butter and sugar till light and fluffy. Add liquid ingredients and blend several more seconds. Scrape beaters and switch to a spoon to stir in the first cup of banana. In smaller bowl thoroughly combine dry ingredients. Add the dry to the wet and stir untill just moistened. Add the rest of the banana and the pecans, stir gently to distribute.
Makes one loaf.
Experimental Healthy recipe - was (Re: Better Banana Bread)
Sourdough in Alaska
Tried your recipe this morning and we loved it! I took the liberty of a couple of substitutions (it is experimental, right?).
I used bown sugar instead of white. I didn't have buttermilk, so I used organic vanilla yogurt and omitted the buttermilk and the vanilla in the recipe. I used just 1/2 cup of spelt and added the extra 1/2 cup to the AP flour. Finally, I added a handful of raisons along with the nuts. I baked it at 350 for about 1 hour.
We couldn't wait to sample it. Thanks for sharing your experiment.
Chuck
better banana bread
This turned out really well! The best healthier banana bread recipe I've made. I used plain nonfat yogurt, so added 1 t vanilla extract. I used Eagle Mills brand "ultragrain" unbleached all purpose flour in place of the white all purpose, and it worked beautifully. Baked for 33 minutes in a 330 degree convection oven, 5 mini pans.
better banana bread
Thanks for the Recipe
Well I have 3 loaves in the oven and one waiting. I did change the original recipe a bit. the first loaf I didn't add any sugar,(I actually forgot,,,DOH!) subbed full fat buttermilk for the yogurt and used cracked wheat flour instead of the whole wheat.( I found it in bulk at a Euro Market along with light and dark rye flour).
the second and third loaf I added the sugar, subbed buttermilk for the yogurt and used cracked wheat flour instead of the whole wheat.
For the 4th loaf I did the same as the 2nd and 3rd but added 1 teaspoon of vanilla extract to the wet ingredients.
I will update in 40 minutes :)
That looks like a great
That looks like a great recipe. I often make banana bread when the bananas in the fruit bowl start to look a bit too "gone" to eat raw.
I just wanted to say that my favourite way of "mashing" banana is to actually grate it on a cheese grater. I discovered this when my kids were babies (you know how babies love mashed banana!) There are no lumps at all, totally guaranteed. You can even mash underripe bananas this way, and it seems to sweeten them too. I also use it to mash avocados, again you can use underripe avocados if you do it this way. So much easier than mashing with a fork, and guaranteed no lumps.
Melanie Rimmer
www.bean-sprouts.blogspot.com
Loved this! esp since you
Loved this! esp since you added the info about freezing it- great info :) i added raspberries and pecans and lots of mixed spice-yummo
Raw middle?
Hi thanks so much for the recipe...I just tried it right now and I put the batter in a pan of small loaves (6) and even after an hour the batch came out raw in the middle? When I was mixing the ingredients I added slightly more flour because the dough seemed so wet, but I'm not sure why the inside is so raw? Is there a way to avoid this next time? Thanks again.
help! mushy loaf!
Hey all,
I'm so confused! I have made this recipe twice, and BOTH times the loaf looks *perfect* when I take it out of the oven. Then 20 minutes later once it's cooled a bit, it collapsed to half it's size, and has a mushy, dense, unleavened consistency.
I used lowfat plain yogurt, and a glass loaf pan. Other than that I think I followed the recipe perfectly. Help!
Thanks,
Eric in Cali
This comes of late
Eric what kind of flour did you use? You can stop the sinking if it is indeed done by using Bleached Flour.
A couple ideas
You say that the loaf looked perfect, but did you test it wth a toothpick in the center? The sinking is a sign of being undercooked. Sine you're using a glass pan, you can try lowering the temp to 325 and cooking it longer. When you test for doneness, the toothpick should come out almost clean, maybe a crumb or two will cling, but that's all. One more thought- are your baking powder and soda fresh?
Hope this helps.
Marni
hey Marni, Thanks so much
hey Marni,
Thanks so much for your thoughts. There's a chance it was undercooked, however, the sides and top were browned, not to mention it was the small loaf pan at 350 for 50 minutes (longer than the recipe suggests). I used chopstick, stuck it all the way in and it came out dry.
Niether the baking powder or soda are fresh -- do they go bad?
Here's the kicker: Our dog choco (who has just gotten over a bad stomach bug) took care of the entire loaf this afternoon as it was sitting on the counter thus taking care of the need to eat gross mushy banana bread or wastefullly getting rid of it. At least somebody enjoyed it!
Baking powder and baking
Baking powder and baking soda can lose their potency over time. You can test them by adding a teaspoon to a 1/2 cup of water. They should foam. But since you loaf rose, they're probably fine.
Well, at least the dog had a treat. I hope you have better results next time.
If you'd like to try our favorite you can find it here: http://allrecipes.com/Recipe/Banana-Bread-VIII/Detail.aspx
I cut back on the sugar and oil a bit and add 1t vanilla and chocolate chips. It is dense and moist.
Marni
better?
I'm looking for a yummy banana bread and have tried a number and can't find one that is moist, tasty and holds it's shape. When I made the one above the batter had a strong bitter taste and the bread did too! I tested the loaf before removing it from the oven but it fell when cooled and has a thick, fudgy look inside. I'll test my baking powder and soda, but i haven't had problems with other things that I've baked. I am disappointed in the results and my loaf looks nothing like the wonderful loaves in the picture! HELP!
Another recipe..
This is one of our favorites that I posted a long time ago..I'd quote the source, but I have no idea where I found this recipe.
http://www.thefreshloaf.com/node/684/cream-cheese-banana-nut-bread
Betty
Banana Bread
Our family loves the quick breads, especially Banana, so I would like to just double or triple my recipe as one whole batter, when making - is this a good idea or would the end product fail? Thank you.
Bitter
I also have a bitter taste coming from the bread crust. I actually thought it tasted fantastic but when a coworker pointed out it was slightly bitter. I paused and realized she was correct.