Best Banana Bread Recipe Ever - Page 2 of 2 - Frog Prince Paperie (2024)

FAQs

Why are older bananas better for banana bread? ›

Ripe bananas are not only softer and easier to mash and blend into a batter, but they are also sweeter, which is why baking recipes specifically call for ripe bananas in ingredient lists. As the bananas ripen, the fruit converts starches to sugars, making them sweeter and more flavorful.

There are a variety of reasons why yours may be sinking on cooling but it is most likely that it isn't quite fully baked. Banana bread tends to form a firmish crust on the outside, so even if it looks baked it may not quite be done which means that it will sink as it cools.

The tldr; is that she needed 6 very ripe bananas to work on this recipe, but as you know you can not just buy overly ripe bananas at the store, so she went to Twitter and called on her followers.

When the bread is fresh from the oven, there's still a lot of moisture in the bread. But by the second day, a lot of it has left leaving essentially the equivalent of dried fruit in a loaf of bread.

As it sits at room temperature, starches convert to sugars, making the fruit sweeter and softer. These brown spots, often seen as a sign of spoilage, are actually a dead giveaway of peak banana bread potential. But, there is a limit. Black bananas or rotten bananas are a no-go.

Mold on bananas is fuzzy white, gray, or greenish—it looks a lot like mold on bread. If a banana smells rotten or fermented or is leaking fluid, it's time to say goodbye. If the fruit inside, not just the peel, is black, that's a sign that your banana is too far gone to safely eat.

High amount of ethylene causes the yellowpigments in banana to decay into brown /dark spots which is due to enzymatic browning.

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 it comes to banana bread, moisture is key, and the ratio of flour to banana makes all the difference in getting the perfect banana bread consistency. If you use too much flour, you'll end up with really dry banana bread, and If you don't use enough flour, your banana bread will be way too wet.

While there's no blanket rule, sticking to one to two bananas per day shouldn't cause issues for most people. With that said, remember that they are relatively high in carbohydrates, so eating them along with protein or fat is also advisable to support stable energy levels.

How many bananas equal 2 cups? ›

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

But for a healthy person, "it would be impossible to overdose on bananas," says Collins. "You would probably need around 400 bananas a day to build up the kind of potassium levels that would cause your heart to stop beating... Bananas are not dangerous - and in fact they are, and always have been, very good for you."

Timing: It is generally recommended to refrigerate the batter for no more than 24 hours [1]. Beyond that, the leavening agents in the batter may lose their effectiveness, resulting in a denser final product. Flavor development: Refrigerating the batter overnight can actually enhance the flavor of the banana bread.

Bananas contain high levels of tryptophan, an amino acid, which is converted into serotonin in your body. Serotonin is the feel-good, brain neurotransmitter, which makes you feel happy!

Mistaking baking powder for baking soda changes the taste of banana bread. This is a colossal mistake that can drastically change the flavor of your loaf.

Stages of Ripening

Green bananas are mostly starch, and brown ones are mostly sugar. In fact, very ripe bananas with black or brown spots on their peel work best for banana bread, as they pack a robust sweetness that enhances the flavor of the bread and means you can use less sugar.

The starch present in the overripe bananas gets converted into free sugar, due to which they are easily digested. By eating them, the body also gets instant energy.

A banana that is perfectly ripe for eating is not at the same stage in its ripening process as one that is perfect for making into a banana cake. For baking, you need the sweetness that comes from an overripe banana – this means it will be very yellow with a few brown spots and feel soft.

“Very ripe and overripe bananas are rich in flavor and antioxidants, which can help benefit our immune systems,” says Gabriel. “They also take less time to digest, which can be beneficial, depending on the person.” This phase is also where bananas become just right for adding sweetness and heft to smoothies and shakes.