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

FAQs

Is baking soda or powder better for banana bread? ›

Baking soda works best in conjunction with an acidic ingredient. In the case of banana bread, this may be buttermilk, brown sugar, molasses or the bananas themselves. Recipes generally include just enough baking soda to balance the acidity in the batter.

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.

Teigen says to bake for 55-60 minutes. After 55 minutes, my banana bread was definitely still batter. I went back to cleaning and working out watching Netflix, checking on my bread every 10-ish minutes. After nearly two hours, my banana bread was deep brown and ready.

Once the loaf is fully cooled, wrap it in plastic wrap. Then, wrap the loaf in aluminum foil. This will ensure it's airtight and will keep the loaf from drying out and avoid freezer burn.

Using too much baking soda or baking powder can really mess up a recipe, causing it to rise uncontrollably and taste terrible.

Too much baking powder can cause the batter to be bitter tasting. It can also cause the batter to rise rapidly and then collapse. (i.e. The air bubbles in the batter grow too large and break causing the batter to fall.)

Adding more eggs makes for a spongy, less flavorful banana bread. Doubling the number of eggs I was using resulted in a spongy cake with a moist texture. While the banana flavor was present, it wasn't as prominent as it was in other loaves. This had more of a hint of flavor.

Let the bananas ripen (and overripen) at room temperature. Depending on the weather, this could take a few days, or up to a week. The best bananas for banana bread aren't yellow; they're black. Or they're at least streaked with black/brown, with just the barest hint of green at the stem.

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

A. You can double a standard banana bread recipe, as long as you bake the batter in two same-size loaf pans, or one after the other.

Should you refrigerate banana bread? ›

Refrigerating banana bread can dull flavor and impact the texture, says Roszkowski, which is why some bakers prefer room temperature storage, but refrigerating also extends the life of banana bread.

The first and easiest surefire way to prevent sticky tops on your baked goods is to ensure that they are completely cooled before closing them in an airtight container. When a baked item “cools down”, during this process there is an amount of moisture, or water, that is being released into the surrounding air.

Baking powder: Baking powder can be used to replace baking soda, though not at a 1-to-1 ratio. Because the former is not as strong as the latter, it's important to use three times the amount of baking powder as baking soda. Be aware, a slightly bitter, off-putting taste might result from using that much baking powder.

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.

When to use which one. Baking soda is used in recipes that also include an acidic ingredient, such as cream of tartar, buttermilk, or citrus juice. Conversely, baking powder is typically used when the recipe doesn't feature an acidic ingredient, as the powder already includes the acid needed to produce carbon dioxide.

When added to a mixture, the baking soda interacts with the acid and creates carbon dioxide. Baking in a hot oven makes the batter expand and rise, giving the finished product a soft and fluffy texture. Baking soda also helps baked goods to brown. That means people tend to use it to make things such as cookies.