Banana Bread

Banana Bread recipe using Frozen Bananas and a blend of Fats. Baked in the oven for about 1 hour and then covered with Foil to sit for a few hours or overnight softening the Banana Bread. Slice and slather on some Butter, Monkey Butter or Nutella.

Banana Bread Ingredients

Banana Bread consists of Flour, Salt, Rising Agent, Eggs, Fat, Sugar and Bananas. Sometimes with a additional liquids added in like MIlk, Cream, Almond Milk, Coconut Milk. Spiced Banana Bread can include spices like Cinnamon, Clove, or Nutmeg.

Flour

Generally, AP Flour is used. I have heard of Oat Flour being used for its ability to absorb more moisture. But I have never tested this.

Barley Flour gives a nice Flavor as well as causing the bread to go a bit darker. Not too much or it will make the Bread too soft. Use about 1/4 C of Barley Flour with 1/4 C Flour removed from the All-Purpose Flour.

Salt

Assist in bringing out the natural flavors. Without it, you will end up with a bland taste.

Raising Agent

Baking Soda will begin the rising immediately, whereas Baking Powder is activated by heat as well as acting right away. Causing a second rise. So it is important to let the bread sit before placing it into the oven for 5 – 10 minutes. Not only for the rise but to allow the batter to settle.

Eggs

Eggs are added protein for structural bonding. If the Egg White is whisked with Sugar it can assist in creating tiny little pockets of air. Eggs also add volume and act as a binder.

I haven’t tried this yet, but it is said that Duck Eggs are far superior to chicken eggs in baking. I’ll update when I try it out.

Fat

Here things can get interesting. Fluid Oil causes a more tender and moist cake because Oil coats the flour proteins better than fat that is solid at room temperature. If the proteins are not adequately coated they bond with water and create stretchy gluten. This is what makes bread chewy.

Extra Virgin Olive Oil is one of the best Oils to use for cakes. It moisturizes and tenderizes the cake better than solid fats and enhances the flavor better than any other oil.

However Solid fats will produce a better mouth feel and lighter texture than oils. Solid fats and sugar can create a lighter mouthfeel because they trap air in the batter when creamed with sugar. Solid fats can also assist in a buttery crumb.

Sugar

Sugar absorbs water, thus preventing the proteins in grains from bonding and forming gluten. This trait causes Sugar to lighten and tenderize the cake. So we want to cream our Fat and Sugar at a good balance to assist the texture as well as a good amount of sweetness.

Liquid

This is another area where things can get interesting. From adding just Water, Milk, Buttermilk, Coconut Milk, Yogurt, Almond Milk and more. You can play around with this to see what works best for you.

Frozen Bananas for Banana Bread

I have found that if you use frozen Bananas, this will offer a superior taste with a more pronounced Banana flavor than using well browned Bananas.

It’s kind of gross peeling them because they are extremely mushy and gooey with liquids seeping out of them. But this is exactly what you want when making Banana Bread. The flavor seems to come out so much better.

This is also an excellent way to use up leftover Bananas. When you see them starting to get too brown. Pop them in the freezer for the next time you plan on making Banana Bread. I have bought a box of Bananas and let them sit out for everyone to eat as they please. Once they started getting old, I placed them into the freezer just for this purpose.

Some people may be put off by this and that’s okay. Especially when the Bananas are thawed and are all gooey. But this is what you want for Bananas Bread. Freeze the Bananas that are well into the brown stage.

If you try to peel them when still frozen you won’t be able to. Wait until they thaw a bit first.

Spiced Banana Bread

Additional spices can be added to spice things up. An interesting note is that Nutmeg and Cloves are high in eugenol. The same compound that gives ripe Bananas their distinctive flavor and aroma, deepening the Banana flavor of the loaf. So if you wanted a Spiced Banana Bread start with a bit of Clove and Nutmeg.

Vanilla, Rum Flavoring Syrups, Dash of Mahlab commonly used in sweet breads, Allspice, Cardamom, and other spices can all be added at various amounts to spice up the Banana Bread.

Banana Bread Ideas

Chocolate Chip Banana Bread

Add in the desired amount of Chocolate Chips after the Banana Bread batter has been formed.

Banana Bread with Nutella

Slice a piece of Banana Bread and slather it with Nutella.

Print Recipe Pin Recipe

Banana Bread

Prep Time15

Cook Time1

Course: Bread, Snack, Sweets

Cuisine: American, Canadian

Keyword: Banana Bread, Chocolate Chip Banana Bread, Frozen Banana Bread

Servings: 1 loaf

Author: JAH

Equipment

2 Mixing Bowls
1 Whisk
1 Spatula
1 Bread Pan

Ingredients

2 C AP Flour - or minus 1/4 C – 1/2 C for a denser Banana Bread
1 tsp Baking Soda
1 tsp Baking Powder
1/2 tsp Sea Salt
4-5 Bananas - Frozen then thawed
1 Egg
1 C Sugar - Add more if you like a Sweeter Banana Bread
1/4 C Extra Virgin Olive Oil
1/4 C Coconut Fat
1/4 C Buttermilk - or another liquid like Almond Milk, Milk, Coconut milk, etc…

Instructions

Preheat the oven to 350 F with the rack in middle position.
In a bowl combine Flour, Salt, Baking Soda, Baking Powder. Mix well and set aside.
In another bowl add Olive Oil, Coconut Oil & Sugar and whisk well.
Add in 1 egg and whisk well. Add in Bananas and Buttermilk or other liquid and Whisk really well breaking up the bigger chunks of Banana.
Add the dry flour mix to the wet batter and mix to combine with a spatula. Pour into a greased bread loaf pan and let sit 5-10 minutes before placing into the oven for 55 minutes to 1 hour.
Remove from the oven and place tinfoil overtop to seal. Let sit on the counter until cool. A few hours or overnight.
Slice and slather on some Butter, Monkey Butter (see notes), or some Nutella.

Notes

To use Buttermilk powder add 1/2 Tbl Buttermilk Powder with 1/4 C Cold Water.

To check for doneness. Insert a skewer or toothpick into the middle. It should come out clean.

For Softer and Moist Banana Bread cover with Tin Foil when it comes out the oven. Let Sit for about 30 minutes. Remove the Banana Bread from the bread Pan and completely wrap in tin foil. Leave for a few hours or overnight.

Frozen Banana Handling

Place the Frozen Bananas on a Plate they will leak out a lot of liquid
They defrost in about 30 minutes
Peel the Bananas from the end, the opposite of how you would normally peel a banana for easier peeling
Include the Juices from inside the banana into the mixture.

Monkey Butter

Blend 3 Tbl of Lemon Juice, 20 oz can of Pineapple and 5 ripe Bananas (no brown spots) until smooth.
Place into a pot with 2 Cups of Sugar, 1/4 C ground Coconut, and 1/2 tsp Pectin. Bring to boil then simmer for 10 – 12 minutes or until desired consistency
Place in mason jar with cover and into the fridge. Use up within a month.

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