The first thing you want to do when you are ready to start baking banana bread is to look for a basic recipe. It is a good idea to purchase an introductory cookbook, if you do not already have one. Find one that has simple, no frills recipes, as well as instructions on how to simple things properly, such as folding eggs. You are going to start with a basic recipe. But then you are going to add your own flair to it and make it your unique banana bread recipe.
There is not a lot of variation between the basic banana bread mixes. They vary slightly in amounts of each ingredient, but they will pretty much all have flour, sugar (possibly brown), butter, eggs, salt, baking soda and, of course, bananas. Personally, I prefer moist baked goods so I will pick a recipe that has a greater quantity of moist ingredients, such as more eggs.
Use the best ingredients you can, such as real butter (not margarine) and unrefined, organic sugar. Experience will teach you the proper level of ripeness for the bananas. They should be overripe, with a peel that has turned well brown.
Try the basic recipe out as is so you can be sure you like it, as well as be familiar with the flavor and consistency. Once you have found a recipe you know you like, you get to play. Just think about what sounds like a good addition to you, and then look for another recipe for any bread that has that ingredient so you know how much to use.
I like chocolate chips in my quick breads, and think they are a great way to add spark to otherwise ordinary banana bread. I look for a bread recipe that calls for chocolate chips and then use that same amount in my banana bread. Be sure that the recipes you are comparing are meant to make the same amount of bread so that your amounts are not off.
You might be thinking that chocolate chips sound great, but you need to have walnuts with those chips. Sounds good to me! But you will need to put in a little less of the chips to accommodate the nuts you are adding. A mistake that many people make is to change the recipe so there is no longer the same proportion of add-ins to batter. This will alter the consistency of your bread, and often not to your liking.
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.
You will probably find that after a bit of experimenting, you hit on a recipe that your friends and family will not let you change. The next thing you know, they are asking for Sallys banana bread recipe. And you have created your own family tradition. - 30289
There is not a lot of variation between the basic banana bread mixes. They vary slightly in amounts of each ingredient, but they will pretty much all have flour, sugar (possibly brown), butter, eggs, salt, baking soda and, of course, bananas. Personally, I prefer moist baked goods so I will pick a recipe that has a greater quantity of moist ingredients, such as more eggs.
Use the best ingredients you can, such as real butter (not margarine) and unrefined, organic sugar. Experience will teach you the proper level of ripeness for the bananas. They should be overripe, with a peel that has turned well brown.
Try the basic recipe out as is so you can be sure you like it, as well as be familiar with the flavor and consistency. Once you have found a recipe you know you like, you get to play. Just think about what sounds like a good addition to you, and then look for another recipe for any bread that has that ingredient so you know how much to use.
I like chocolate chips in my quick breads, and think they are a great way to add spark to otherwise ordinary banana bread. I look for a bread recipe that calls for chocolate chips and then use that same amount in my banana bread. Be sure that the recipes you are comparing are meant to make the same amount of bread so that your amounts are not off.
You might be thinking that chocolate chips sound great, but you need to have walnuts with those chips. Sounds good to me! But you will need to put in a little less of the chips to accommodate the nuts you are adding. A mistake that many people make is to change the recipe so there is no longer the same proportion of add-ins to batter. This will alter the consistency of your bread, and often not to your liking.
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.
You will probably find that after a bit of experimenting, you hit on a recipe that your friends and family will not let you change. The next thing you know, they are asking for Sallys banana bread recipe. And you have created your own family tradition. - 30289
About the Author:
Ben Cook teaches you how to bake banana bread at home and gives you lots of tasty banana bread recipes on his banana bread recipe website.
