Buttermilk Banana Bread Recipe - Cook it Real Good (2024)

FAQs

What happens if you add too much banana to banana bread? ›

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.

Buttermilk is made up of a variety of acids – the results of the fermentation process, which give baked goods a couple of benefits. First, the acidity provides tangy flavor to balance all kinds of sweet baked treats. Second, it activates baking soda, producing the gas that makes dough or batter rise.

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."

Mix in a bowl 3 ripe bananas, well mashed, and 2 eggs, beaten until light. Sift together 2 cups flour, 3/4 cup sugar, 1 teaspoon salt, and 1 teaspoon baking soda. Add to the first mixture. Add 1/2 cup nut meats, chopped.

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.

However, it's essential to note that using milk as an egg substitute may result in a slightly different texture compared to using other substitutes like mashed bananas or applesauce. While the bread will still be delicious, it may not rise as much or have the same level of tenderness as when using traditional eggs.

Baking with buttermilk

Quick breads and pancakes get a real lift from buttermilk. Not only does it deepen the flavor of your bake, but the acid in the buttermilk works with leaveners like baking soda to give it a fluffier interior crumb and more rise. However, it does not react the same way with baking powder.

The acid affects the casein proteins' ability to come together by lowering the pH of the milk, and that's what produces the thick texture of buttermilk. Buttermilk is used primarily for its pleasant tangy flavor, but it can also help tenderize and leaven certain baked goods.

In addition to giving your baked goods and desserts a tangy flavor, buttermilk is sometimes essential in some baking recipes. Specifically, baking recipes that exclusively use baking soda as its primary leavener.

Contrary to what one may think, there is such a thing as using too many bananas in a banana bread. Besides adding a sweet and fruity flavor to the bread, bananas also add a lot of moisture to the batter.

Why is the middle of my banana bread not cooked? ›

It is pretty simple to salvage an undercooked bread and create a decent loaf. Heat the oven to 350 F, return the bread to the oven, and bake for another 10 to 20 minutes. This will work even if the loaf has cooled, which is similar to par-baking 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.

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.

Yes you can, but if you don't use yeast your banana bread might become very heavy. It's better to use plain or self rising flour. Of course: the operative word is “bread.” You can use ANY type of flour you want when you bake.

Alternatively, consider giving the bread an extra 10 or so minutes in the oven, which should be enough time for excess moisture to evaporate as steam.

Eating too many bananas or other high-potassium foods can cause excess potassium in the body, also called hyperkalemia. This can cause serious health problems, including heart issues. While most people wouldn't be able to stomach the number of bananas necessary to cause this to happen, it's something to be mindful of.

No such thing as “too ripe for banana bread.” If you're going to freeze them, peel them first. Also great in smoothies. As long as they're not moldy, they're good. Bananas this far along will be a lot sweeter so I will sometimes reduce the amount of granulated sugar I add to the batter.