Any great banana bread starts with a good basic batter. So, if you do not have one, go out and purchase a cookbook that has all the basic recipes you need. Many also have cooking tips that can be really handy, especially if you have forgotten how to fold your eggs. You are going to start with a basic banana bread recipe. But then you will make it all your own.
There is not a whole lot of difference between basic banana bread recipes. They will all pretty much call for flour, sugar (regular or brown), eggs, butter, salt, baking soda and, you guessed it, bananas. They may differ slightly in the amounts of each ingredient. I like moist baked goods, so I will choose a variation that has greater quantities of moist ingredients, for example, a recipe that calls for more eggs.
Beyond that, you want to make sure that you use the highest quality ingredients, such as organic unrefined sugar and real butter as opposed to margarine. Having bananas at just the right level of ripeness is one of the keys to a great banana bread. This is may be the only time that you want your bananas to have a completely brown peel.
Go ahead and try out the recipe in its basic form so you know what the consistency and the flavor are supposed to be like. Now comes the fun part. You get to experiment. The key to experimentation is to think about what you would like to add, what you think would taste good in the banana bread, and then find another recipe that has that ingredient to get an idea of how to much add.
Here is an example. I think chocolate chips would be an awesome addition to a banana bread. So, I go to find a recipe for a bread that uses chocolate chips. Check the amount the recipe is supposed to make and be sure it matches what you have for the banana bread. If the apple chocolate chip bread calls for 1 cup of chips, that is a good place to start for your banana bread.
Or, maybe you think it should have walnuts in addition to the chips. Not a problem. But you need to put in fewer chips to make room for the nuts. A mistake that people often make is to change the recipe so there is too great a quantity of add-ins for the amount of batter. This will change the consistency of the bread, usually to its detriment.
But you might be thinking that, while walnuts are good in banana bread, so are pecans. I like the sound of that, too. So you just need to adjust the recipe again. If you were using one cup of walnuts, now try a half cup of walnuts and a half cup of pecans. Or really experiment and try a third cup each of almonds, pecans and walnuts.
Usually what happens after a period of experimentation is that you find a banana bread recipe that you and your family love so much, you stop experimenting. Before you know it, that special blend is now known as Aunt Mollys Banana Bread. And that is how a family tradition is born.
There is not a whole lot of difference between basic banana bread recipes. They will all pretty much call for flour, sugar (regular or brown), eggs, butter, salt, baking soda and, you guessed it, bananas. They may differ slightly in the amounts of each ingredient. I like moist baked goods, so I will choose a variation that has greater quantities of moist ingredients, for example, a recipe that calls for more eggs.
Beyond that, you want to make sure that you use the highest quality ingredients, such as organic unrefined sugar and real butter as opposed to margarine. Having bananas at just the right level of ripeness is one of the keys to a great banana bread. This is may be the only time that you want your bananas to have a completely brown peel.
Go ahead and try out the recipe in its basic form so you know what the consistency and the flavor are supposed to be like. Now comes the fun part. You get to experiment. The key to experimentation is to think about what you would like to add, what you think would taste good in the banana bread, and then find another recipe that has that ingredient to get an idea of how to much add.
Here is an example. I think chocolate chips would be an awesome addition to a banana bread. So, I go to find a recipe for a bread that uses chocolate chips. Check the amount the recipe is supposed to make and be sure it matches what you have for the banana bread. If the apple chocolate chip bread calls for 1 cup of chips, that is a good place to start for your banana bread.
Or, maybe you think it should have walnuts in addition to the chips. Not a problem. But you need to put in fewer chips to make room for the nuts. A mistake that people often make is to change the recipe so there is too great a quantity of add-ins for the amount of batter. This will change the consistency of the bread, usually to its detriment.
But you might be thinking that, while walnuts are good in banana bread, so are pecans. I like the sound of that, too. So you just need to adjust the recipe again. If you were using one cup of walnuts, now try a half cup of walnuts and a half cup of pecans. Or really experiment and try a third cup each of almonds, pecans and walnuts.
Usually what happens after a period of experimentation is that you find a banana bread recipe that you and your family love so much, you stop experimenting. Before you know it, that special blend is now known as Aunt Mollys Banana Bread. And that is how a family tradition is born.
About the Author:
Ben Cook teaches you how to bake banana bread in your home kitchen and gives you lots of simple and quick banana bread recipes on his banana bread recipe website.
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