15 Irresistible Banana Bread Recipes from Classic to Creative (2024)

FAQs

Why did banana bread collapse? ›

The banana bread will not rise much during baking and may sink slightly in the centre on cooling, but should not collapse competely. If it did collapse then it is likely that the banana bread had not quite baked fully (and in light of the ingredient change may have needed a slightly longer baking time).

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.

Turn the oven on to 350°F, and leave the banana bread in the oven to warm for 45 to 60 minutes. Keeping it wrapped in foil will help to retain its moisture while slowing warming it up to temperature and thawing the bread.

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.

While it's okay if the banana peel is dark brown or even black, if the inside is too, then the fruit is beyond ripe and now on its way to rotten. Another sign that bananas have gone bad is if they start leaking any fluids. When in doubt, just toss the bananas out.

What to do if you've used too many bananas. If you must add an extra banana into your batter, there are ways to prevent the bread from turning mushy. Using a lot of bananas adds excess moisture, and there are two ways to get rid of it. You could either add more flour or increase the baking time.

Even sight or smell of food triggers a response in the brain's reward system. All foods are not equal, however, with the strongest hedonic response for the combination of sugar and fat. We have innate preference for sweet foods, which elicit a response as potent as that triggered by cocaine.

First, why the crack occurs: Since quick breads and pound cake batters tend to be thick and dense, the exterior bakes first. But as the center of the cake continues to bake, releasing moisture, it rises, pushing through the top crust, and creating a crack.

Yes, dogs can eat bananas. In moderation, bananas are a great low-calorie treat for dogs. They're high in potassium, vitamins, biotin, fiber, and copper. They are low in cholesterol and sodium, but because of their high sugar content, bananas should be given as a treat, not part of your dog's main diet.

Skimping on the sugar can dry out a loaf of banana bread and leave it flavorless. It turns out, sugar does more than just make things sweeter. When it comes to banana bread, cutting back on sugar will leave you with a dry loaf totally devoid of any distinguishable flavor.

Can I mix banana bread the night before? ›

Yes, you can keep banana bread batter in the fridge overnight. I'd recommend covering your mixing bowl in plastic wrap, or mixing in a bowl that has a lid you can attach. However, I'm not sure why you'd want to refrigerate your banana bread batter. The batter itself typically comes together in just a few minutes.

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.

The best way to store banana bread is at room temperature in an airtight container. Though it will only stay fresh for about four days on the counter, this will keep your banana bread tasting the freshest.

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.

But the good news? A banana's flavor sweetens and intensifies as it ripens, making it perfect for many baking recipes. So before you reach for another banana bread recipe, here are some other creative ways to put those overripe bananas to work.

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.

From starch to sugar

According to a research article published in the Global Journal of Nutrition & Food Science in 2022, this starch-to-sugar conversion is responsible for softening the fruit and increasing its sweetness as it ripens.

Within each ripeness stage, the content of glucose and fructose were similar, and there was no difference in content among slightly ripe, ripe, and overripe bananas, but a 5.0 g/100g difference compared to the unripe fruit.