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Learn with me how to make my go-to banana bread recipe! Very rich and moist, with a mouthwateringly soft crumb and a hint of vanilla, it’s the best way to use up those overripe bananas on your kitchen counter!
Who needs another recipe for banana bread/muffins? Probably everyone who is reading this post has made banana bread hundreds of times. And agree that their banana bread recipe is good.
According to Google, this bread has the most searches on the internet. But more likely you also agree that banana bread/muffins are not just good but are better in your local coffee shop. Am I right?
My take on Banana Bread/Muffins
Here are my thoughts about it: there are healthy banana breads with so many recipes... some good, some ok, and some not worth it to make, and there are some great banana bread recipes.
Years ago I used work at the local bakery, called BBC (Beaufort Bread Compony) and the bread, muffins, or other baked goods were just outstanding. So good. You can't visit a bakery every day if you don't want to change the size of your pants.
So today I'm sharing with you their recipe and all tips on how to make this banana bread: NOT YOUR EVERY DAY BANANA BREAD.
When I gave Johnny's teacher this bread once she kept asking for the recipe for a while. Here we go...
But first about how it came to our nation and why it became so popular?
The History of Banana fruit and Bread/Muffins
Just like everything else that is good, it arrived to the civilization through pain, fire, shortage on storage, etc. I love food history, by the way.
Bananas are a tropical fruit and not native to most of North America, and were only sparingly available in the U.S. throughout the 1800s. Ship captains had difficulty fixing the problem of how to successfully transport a fruit that ripened (and often rotted) so quickly.
But the advent of refrigeration at the turn of the 20th century soon made bananas accessible to American households nationwide, where they quickly became a breakfast staple.
Bananas were also used in desserts, though more often as a garnish atop cake or pudding than a main ingredient.
First, the Great Depression, which began with the 1929 stock market crash and lasted throughout much of the 1930s, made every scrap of food precious. Households were unwilling to throw away anything — even a "rotten" banana.
Then, in the 1930s, two events converged that elevated the banana from bit player to star. From that time till today bananas are the most popular fruit.
We all take this beautiful fruit for granted, but this iconic American fruit was almost destroyed by diseases once before, and scientists think it's in peril again, but the fruit industry disagrees. The banana that Americans first fell in love with in the 19th century, the Gros Michel, was nearly wiped out by a soil borne fungus called called Panama disease. So in 1960s, the industry switched to the diseases-resistant variety Cavendish, which today we are enjoying.
How to choose bananas for Banana Bread/Muffins?
The secret is to find a sweet spot for ripeness. For moist and deeply flavorful banana bread/muffins, it's essential to use very ripe fruit. Heavily speckled bananas had nearly three times the amount of fructose (sugar) as less spotty ones. What's more, sugar in the baking world behaves like a liquid in baking goods. So banana bread/muffins made with ripe, very ripe, bananas will taste better with a deep flavor of fruit but also be more moist.
Tips for Succeeding with the Best Banana Bread/Muffins
Its all about heat, because when bread/muffin tins heat faster they set rapidly, The center takes longer to heat and set, so it continues to rise resulting in a peak. The hotter the oven, the more pronounced the temperature differential and the more dramatic the peak. When I increased the oven from 350 F to 375F, the edges set long before the centers, resulting in higher pointy top.
The ripe, very ripe bananas, will be more sweet, more flavorful, and the more moist the banana bread/muffins will be.
Fat helps, yes, low fat banana bread is good but not great. I used the high fat of a good quality butter in a great amount, plus crème fraiche, find out here more about this fermented cream, how to make/or buy. That gives not only additional fat, but the tiny acid (since it's fermented) to activate the levener: such as baking soda.
Don't over mix, for any quick bread it is better to under mix than to over mix. Even tiny clumps that stay in the batter are ok, the batter is moist enough to fix it up during the baking time. Don't worry about that.
Flour, it's all about a protein content, low content forms less gluten, resulting in a light and airy structure. So I have used a pastry flour, it's very much like a cake flour in a protein content but unlike cake flour, it is NOT BLEACHED. Bleaching not only is harmful to your body but also bleaching changes the structure of flour's starch granules, enabling them to accommodate extra moisture.
Sugar, the original recipe calls for light brown sugar, which is made from sugar beets with a small amount molasses added. That's what is a light brown sugar. I know most of you will say, sugar is sugar, it's bad for you, what is the difference what kind of sugar to use? Well, in my household I don't use white sugar at all. Because all sugar beets are GMO. Plus a bleaching process is harmful for our bodies. Instead I always sub with raw cane sugar (organic) and small amount of blackstrap molasses added.
SIMILAR RECIPES: Healthy Blueberry Muffins with Oat Streusel
Prep Time: 5 minutes
Bake Time: 40-45 minutes
Total Time: 50 minutes
Yield: 2 loaves of bread or 12 coffee shop size muffins
Author: Inna of innichkachef.com
Ingredients
2 & 1/2 cups Pastry flour
2 teaspoons baking soda
1 &1/2 teaspoons baking powder (I recommend Aluminum free)
2 teaspoons pink salt
1 tablespoon blackstrap molasses
1&1/2 cup raw cane sugar
1&1/4 cup melted butter
3 extra large or 4 large eggs
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
2 heaping tablespoons crème fraiche (or Mexican crema)
3 large very ripe bananas (4 medium or 5 small bananas)
1/2 - 1 cup mix of chopped nuts & chocolate chips (any nuts)
1/2 cup banana chips (for garnish)
Directions
Adjust oven rack to middle position and heat oven to 375F.
line with baking paper two loaf pans.
Whisk flour, baking powder, baking soda and salt together in a bowl.
Smash bananas with fork or potato smasher. add sugar, molasses, eggs, melted butter, crème fraiche and vanilla extract.
To the bowl with flour mixture add banana mixture, mix all together until fully combined. Remember under mixing this batter is better. Be gentle.
Stir in nuts and chocolate chips.
Divide between two pans. Give a tap to make sure the all batter distributes evenly.
Slice one banana very thin and lay on top of batter.
Bake until top looks golden brown and toothpick inserted in center comes out clean. The best way to check doneness is to use a kitchen thermometer. And you are looking for 180F.
Remove pans from oven. Let breads cool for 10-15 minutes. Then remove onto cooling rack. Wait for another 5-10 minutes. Then slice and enjoy. Serve warm or room temperature.
I hope you'll make this recipe soon. If you do, please tag me #innichka_chef on Instagram, Facebook, Patreon or Pinterest.
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