Anyone who loves a good banana bread recipe will appreciate all of the evolution that brought it to us. Creating foods has been part of every culture since the Neanderthal. Of course, the more we know about a single food's history the more we are likely to create a palette that coincides with the food's original flavor as well as with today's modern adjustments.
There is no actual record indicating that in such and such a year at such and such location the first banana bread recipe was designed, developed, and baked. Rather, we have to look at the evolution of the various ingredients that would eventually turn into what we now call the banana bread recipe.
One of the elements that makes a banana bread stand apart is the fact that it is known as a quick bread. Quick bread is made from all the same basic ingredients that most breads are made from with the exception of the omission of yeast. The beginning of all bread started off as quick bread. Nearly 12, 000 years ago the first bread and bread products were developed. Unlike the light and fluffy versions of today, the original breads were tough, chewy, and somewhat bland.
Quick bread was the only bread available when tits introduction came about around 12, 000 years ago. This bread was flat, hard and chewy, and lacked any great flavor. But it was filling and cheap and easy to make. Simply grinding up some wheat flour and adding some water to the mixture turned into "bread" when added to hot rocks and ash coverings for the cooking part.
It has been speculated that the first actual banana bread recipe was tried. Given that the original version of bread was not very tasty, it is likely that people were gathering various elements in an attempt to make the bread taste better. It is quite possible that bananas were part of that experimental process.
It is quite likely that after the discovery of fermentation of wheat dough that the process continued in Greece, where the first banana bread recipe came to life. It was a Greek philosopher that described the banana plant thoroughly in the first botany book. This meant that the Greeks had bananas and they were also experimenting with their breads at this time.
A Greek philosopher was heralded as producing the original book on botany, and in this book you can find a thorough explanation and a drawn picture of the banana plant. This means that Greece had bananas and they were already starting to experiment with the different ways they could approach the creation of bread.
While these original banana bread recipes are not the same as our favorites today, they were the very origin that led to the banana bread recipes that even we pass on from time to time. Today, we add baking powder to our banana bread recipe to create leavening. This helps the bread rise. Yeast would make the bread rise too much while no leavening ingredient would create flat, hard, and chewy bread. In 1875, almost 100 years after the first American cookbook was written, baking powder would become an American staple. Thus, it is said that the first banana bread was created in the United States in the 18th century.
There is no actual record indicating that in such and such a year at such and such location the first banana bread recipe was designed, developed, and baked. Rather, we have to look at the evolution of the various ingredients that would eventually turn into what we now call the banana bread recipe.
One of the elements that makes a banana bread stand apart is the fact that it is known as a quick bread. Quick bread is made from all the same basic ingredients that most breads are made from with the exception of the omission of yeast. The beginning of all bread started off as quick bread. Nearly 12, 000 years ago the first bread and bread products were developed. Unlike the light and fluffy versions of today, the original breads were tough, chewy, and somewhat bland.
Quick bread was the only bread available when tits introduction came about around 12, 000 years ago. This bread was flat, hard and chewy, and lacked any great flavor. But it was filling and cheap and easy to make. Simply grinding up some wheat flour and adding some water to the mixture turned into "bread" when added to hot rocks and ash coverings for the cooking part.
It has been speculated that the first actual banana bread recipe was tried. Given that the original version of bread was not very tasty, it is likely that people were gathering various elements in an attempt to make the bread taste better. It is quite possible that bananas were part of that experimental process.
It is quite likely that after the discovery of fermentation of wheat dough that the process continued in Greece, where the first banana bread recipe came to life. It was a Greek philosopher that described the banana plant thoroughly in the first botany book. This meant that the Greeks had bananas and they were also experimenting with their breads at this time.
A Greek philosopher was heralded as producing the original book on botany, and in this book you can find a thorough explanation and a drawn picture of the banana plant. This means that Greece had bananas and they were already starting to experiment with the different ways they could approach the creation of bread.
While these original banana bread recipes are not the same as our favorites today, they were the very origin that led to the banana bread recipes that even we pass on from time to time. Today, we add baking powder to our banana bread recipe to create leavening. This helps the bread rise. Yeast would make the bread rise too much while no leavening ingredient would create flat, hard, and chewy bread. In 1875, almost 100 years after the first American cookbook was written, baking powder would become an American staple. Thus, it is said that the first banana bread was created in the United States in the 18th century.
About the Author:
If you want to learn how to make lots of different types of banana bread at home, try these banana bread recipes from Ben Cook. Ben suggests a moist banana bread recipe to start with.
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