Moist Banana Bread Recipe (2024)

FAQs

What makes a bread soft and moist? ›

Moisture is key when it comes to banana bread, and the ratio of flour to banana makes all the difference. If you use too much flour, you'll end up with dry bread. If you don't use enough, your bread will be too wet. The secret is actually in how you measure the flour.

The best way to ensure that the bread comes out moist is to use the full amount of mashed bananas, 2 cups.

But if you try to use up all your bananas without paying attention to the ratio of other ingredients, your bread can turn out damp, soggy, and mushy. Contrary to what one may think, there is such a thing as using too many bananas in a banana bread.

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.

foil. Storing bread in either plastic, cloth, or foil helps retain the loaf's moisture. This moisture retention is a plus when it comes to the bread's crumb (interior) — but a minus if you're talking crunchy-crispy crust, since wrapping bread will inevitably soften its crust as well as its crumb.

Banana bread recipes typically ask you to use overripe bananas so that they're easier to mush. This means it's tempting to toss all your bananas into the mix when you're ready to bake, to avoid food waste. But if you add too much of the fruit into your batter, your bread could turn out mushy, heavy, and wet.

Banana bread is made with a very wet batter. It's important to use a tester to make sure it's fully baked. Cutting it before it is completely cooled can lead to the gummy texture. Cooling the bread to room temperature allow us the starch that gels during baking to set again.

If they smell off, that's another good indicator that they are no longer okay to use. Rotten bananas will often have a fermented or alcohol-like smell. 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.

Wrapped tightly and stored at room temperature, banana bread will last three to four days, says Amidor.

Is there a difference between baking soda and baking powder? ›

Baking soda and baking powder are not the same. Sodium bicarbonate and bicarbonate of soda are other names for baking soda. Baking powder is made of baking soda plus cream of tartar and cornstarch. Baking powder can be substituted for baking soda by tripling the amount of baking powder.

An overmixed banana bread batter will result in a dense, rubbery loaf. As you're prepping your batter, heed the advice of "stir until just moistened" and "no more than 10 seconds."

Bitter Taste: Excessive baking soda can leave a bitter taste in the bread. Baking soda is alkaline, and an excessive amount of it can result in an unpleasant flavor. Unpleasant Texture: Too much baking soda can lead to a coarse and crumbly texture in the bread.

Luckily, there's a telltale sign. When you take the banana bread out of the oven, insert a toothpick into the center; if the toothpick comes out wet, then the loaf is underdone and will be gooey on the inside — which is certainly not what we want.

Kneading dough develops and lengthens the gluten strands making the bread chewier and giving it more structure and a more define shape when it bakes. For a softer bread, you need to knead it less. For a fluffier airier bread use more liquid and either more initial yeast or/and a longer fermentation time.

I've since done a number of tests myself and adding a whole egg to a super strong dough with a little oil and honey has become my favourite! A pillowy soft loaf the will blow your mind and oven! Eggs in dough usually produces an extra open and delicate crumb and the bread comes with an extra rise.

The wetter the dough, the more sticky it is and the more difficult it is to handle. - the dryer the dough, the lower the hydration level. The dryer the dough, the more firm it is and the easier it is to handle. Higher hydration levels give you a thinner crust, a more open crumb and a softer texture.