Easy Banana Bread Recipe - How to Make Banana Bread (2024)

FAQs

What is the formula for banana bread? ›

The basic banana bread formula

Most banana bread recipes have the same formula, roughly: 115 grams (½ cup) butter (or oil) + 200 grams (1 cup) sugar (white or brown) + 2 large eggs + 2 or 3 mashed bananas + (190 grams) 1-½ cups flour + 1 teaspoon baking soda + ½ teaspoon salt.

Fortunately, one of the most glaring baking problems has an easy solution: ensuring your bread stays moist. The key is twofold: use quality ingredients and let the dough stand overnight. If you're using storebought flour, opt for “bread flour,” which will hold better in heat and help create a more tender crumb.

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.

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

The Ratio: 5:3, Flour to Water

The ratio for bread is 5:3, flour to water, plus yeast plus salt and sometimes plus sugar. The ratio made my head spin for a while because I'm not math inclined, but, when working with the 1 teaspoon of yeast per pound, or 16 ounces, of flour, it was a lot easier.

Using too many bananas can make your bread heavy and damp in the center, causing it to appear undercooked and unappealing. If you have extra bananas leftover, feel free to freeze them and use them another time, but I repeat, do not put them in the batter just because they are there.

Adding sugar weakens the gluten structure, absorbs water, and eventually makes the bread lighter and softer. As a result, sugar improves the bread's taste, structure and texture. Yeast also eats up sugar to produce carbon dioxide, which raises the dough and makes bread fluffy.

Honey adds both sweetness and moisture to breads such as challah. Be sure to use a pasteurized honey, as wild honeys contain antibacterial properties that can kill yeast. Store honey at room temperature, out of direct sunlight. Honey would makes everything better, but especially sourdough.

Adding dry milk powder to your bread dough will help your loaf rise higher. In addition, the loaf will stay soft and hold moisture longer which again means it will last longer. It also helps brown the crust. If you want a lighter fluffier bread loaf just add 2 Tbsp of dry milk to the flour per loaf of your bread.

Let it cool for 10 minutes — this helps the loaf solidify and makes it easier to remove from the pan. Remove from pan and cool another 10 minutes. Grasping the parchment paper sling, lift the loaf out of the pan and place on the cooling rack. Cool for another 10 minutes before slicing.

Should I add baking powder to my 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.

Applesauce (store-bought or homemade) can substitute for a banana in baked goods. Replace one banana with 1/2 cup of applesauce, but don't use more than 1 cup of applesauce because the mixture will be too wet. Egg whites (or a whole egg) can also substitute for a banana in some baked goods.

Use this as a cup-for-cup ration for butter or oil. Applesauce or mashed banana (and possibly other pureed fruits like pureed pears) can replace up to half of the fat in baked goods recipes. Substitute cup for cup.

Bananas: As a substitute for oil (vegetable or other) called for in a baking recipe, swap in mashed bananas for half the oil called for. Pureed or baby-food pears: This convenient product also makes a good substitute for oil in baking.

Explanation: The chemical formula for a banana is not a simple matter as a banana is made up of many different compounds. However, one predominant compound is glucose, which has a chemical formula of C6H12O6. This formula represents a molecule containing 6 carbon (C), 12 hydrogen (H), and 6 oxygen (O) atoms.

Formula for basic white loaf (simplified version):

70% hydration. 2% salt. 1% yeast. And as you bake more, the 2% for salt and 1% yeast become second nature, and then you can just go with the one number: 70% hydration.

Pour cold water into blender. Add formula powder (using 1 1/2 times as much formula as is normal will both provide extra nutrition and help thicken the"smoothie"). Place lid on blender and blend until mixed. Add fresh banana and blend until smooth.