1. Do you wait until the bananas are at the peak of flavor and ripeness? The bananas will have some black spots but not be completely soft and mushy. Avoid using bananas with any green on the skin. I think bananas which have been frozen when they are nearing over-ripeness seem to have more flavor. Have you tried using frozen bananas? Personally, I don't like the taste of frozen bananas in banana bread, but it may be just what you are looking for.

2. Due to the ratio of ingredients, type of leavening and fat used, as well as the mixing style, quick breads tend to be more dense than cakey in texture. Look for a recipe that uses the mixing method for a cake rather than a quick bread in order to achieve a more cake-like texture. That means the fat and sugar will be creamed first, and the fat will probably need to be a solid fat rather than an oil.

3. Add some banana flavoring.

4. Do you smoke or are you on medication which can diminish your taste buds? That could be a reason you don't get the strong banana flavor you desire.

5. Too much oil is often the problem with many quick bread recipes.

6. Helpful hint from the world of baking science.... We often relegate bananas that are too ripe for eating to making banana bread. Even though these bananas may be sweet and full of flavor, the acidity decreases, so the reactions in partnership with baking soda is a weak one and may cause the banana bread to become heavy. A good banana bread recipe to choose to avoid this problem will include BOTH baking powder and baking soda.

This recipe was my favorite before going gluten-free, but may not be exactly what you are looking for either. -Grainlady

BANANA-POPPY SEED BREAD

1 c. mashed banana
1/2 c. sugar ( I use 1/4 c. agave nectar or palm sugar nectar)
1/2 c. skim milk (I use homemade kefir)
3 T. vegetable oil (I use melted coconut oil)
1 egg, lightly beaten
1 c. all-purpose flour
1 c. whole wheat flour
2 T. poppy seeds (can omit, and I often used amaranth seeds)
2 t. baking powder
1/2 t. baking soda
1/2 t. salt
1/2 t. cinnamon

Prepare an 8-1/2 x 4-1/2 x 3" loaf pan with vegetable spray. Do not use a 9x5" loaf pan, which is more commonly used for quick breads, because it's too large for this recipe.

Preheat oven to 350-degrees F.

Combined mashed bananas and sugar in a bowl; stir well. Let stand 10-minutes, stirring occasionally. Stir in milk, oil, and beaten egg; set the mixture aside. Combine dry ingredients in a large bowl and stir together. Make a well in center of dry mixture; add banana mixture to dry ingredients, stirring only until moistened (do not over-beat). Spoon into prepared pan.

Bake at 350-degree for 1 hour or until a pick inserted in center comes out clean. Cool in pan for 10-minutes. Remove from pan and cool on a rack.

Makes one loaf - 16 slices (about 125 calories per 1/2-inch slice.)

I always use the recipe on the Jiffy mix box. It is lighter than a lot of banana bread recipes (less sugar and oil) and may have the cakelike texture you're looking for. It's also quick and easy - a plus around here.

Jiffy Mix Banana Bread

3/4 cup sugar
1/4 cup shortening
2 eggs
1 cup ripe bananas, crushed (about 3)
2 cups Jiffy Mix
1/3 cup chopped nuts

Cream shortening and sugar together. Add eggs & banana.

Stir until well mixed. Add Jiffy Mix and nuts.

Bake in 9x5" loaf pan at 350 degrees for 55 minutes

I use 1/2 cup of brown sugar and 1/4 cup granulated sugar and add about 1 tsp cinnamon.

Be sure to not over bake or the loaf will be dry, check at 50 minutes. The recipe specifies Jiffy Mix but any baking mix will do. Just baked a loaf this week and I used Bisquick because that's what I had on hand.

This recipe is an amalgamation of a few recipes I've tried over the years. The texture is nice and springy as you describe:

Colleen's Banana Bread

1/2 stick butter
1/2 cup brown sugar
5/6 cup caster/superfine sugar
2 eggs
1 tsp vanilla
1 cup mashed ripe bananas
2 cups flour
1 tsp baking powder
1 tsp bicarbonate of soda
1 tsp cinnamon
1/4 tsp allspice
1 cup sour cream
1 cup roughly chopped pecans (optional)

Grease and flour pan. Beat butter until fluffy then gradually beat in sugars. Add eggs and vanilla, then bananas and pecans if using. Stir dry ingredients together and mix in alternately with sour cream. Spread in pan and bake at 350F for an hour or until a thin-bladed knife inserted in the centre of the cake comes out clean.

Grainlady - it so happens that last week I printed the banana bread recipe from Joy of Baking so as not to have to chuck 4 overripe bananas. I mashed them with some lemon juice as advised in the recipe and froze them.

Will the lemon juice make up for the loss of acidity in the overripe bananas? The recipe uses BOTH baking powder and baking soda, but I'd like to know if the lemon juice will make a difference?

WinterCat-

The lemon juice does a couple things and one is to add an acid if the bananas are really ripe and have lost some acidity, but even more so, it aids in keeping the bananas from browning (or oxidizing from exposure to oxygen).

Another thing to do if you aren't freezing the bananas is to use one not-so-ripe banana along with the over-ripe bananas.

When I judged baked goods at county fairs I'd see light banana breads up to really dark banana breads, and it was often an indication which ones add lemon juice to the bananas and which ones didn't. Adding the sugar or honey to the bananas after they are mashed is another way to keep the bananas from darkening quickly.

Bananas have a pH of 4.6 while over-ripe bananas 6.5-7.0. The lower the number, the more acidic the food. (The pH scale ranges from 1 to 14).

Other acid ingredients you could find in the recipe:
honey, sour milk, yogurt, sour cream, buttermilk, kefir....

-Grainlady

Grainlady, thanks! I'm a much wiser cat now.

This is going to be my first ever banana bread. I'll make it later this week for the end of Sukkoth.

I use a recipe from an old church cookbook, it's very similar to Colleen's except the sugar is all white, none brown.

Truthfully, though, I like this cake recipe better, baked into an 8x4 inch loaf pan and passed off as banana bread. And I don't even like bananas, but I'll eat this. I use 3 bananas and the smallest amount of sour cream, as suggested for the most banana flavor. You can add nuts, chocolate chips, whatever suits you. I leave out the lemon because Mother is allergic.

Banana Cake (Rose Levy Berenbaum's Cordon Rose Cake)
Jgarner-Cooking Forum

(good as layer cake, elegant, delicate texture)
Mix together:
sifted cake flour 2 cups (200 g)
sugar 3/4 c + 2 Tbs (170g)
baking soda 1 tsp
baking powder 3/4 tsp
salt 1/2 tsp
puree together:
2 large ripe bananas 1 c (227 g)
sour cream 2 Tbs or up to 1/2 c (30 g to 121 g)
2 large eggs 2 (100 g)
grated lemon zest 2 tsp
(I left this out since I don't like the flavor of lemon with banana)
vanilla 1-1/2 tsp
soften:
Butter 10 Tbs (5 oz) (142 g)

Add butter and half of pureed mixture to dry ingredients in stand mixer and mix at medium with paddle for 1-1/2 minutes. Scrape bowl and add rest of banana mixture in two batches, mixing 20 seconds after each addition. Pour into 9"x2" round pan (I just lined the bottom with parchment, no spray or butter) and bake at 350 F for 30 to 40 minutes. Cool for 10 minutes in pan and then turn out onto rack to cool completely.
Hint: Use smallest amount of sour cream and 3 bananas for more pronounced banana flavor

Annie

Thanks all. I plan to bake this weekend. Bananas are ripening. Good tip about using cake recipes to get a springier crumb and texture.

Also got this recipe from a friend who is a good baker.

Here is a link that might be useful: Banana Banana Bread

Hi! I have not posted in ages but could not resist a banana bread thread...This is the recipe I have been making for years - I usually put in more than a cup of nuts...and I just crush them and do not chop them too much.

MariaâÂÂs Bourbon Banana Bread

2 ripe bananas, mashed well
2 large eggs
ü cup plain yogurt or buttermilk
1 teas. Vanilla
ý cup veg oil
ý cup white sugar
ý cup brown sugar
ý cup bourbon or dark rum
2 cups unbleached flour
ý teas. Cinnamon
Dash of cloves (optional)
1 teas. Baking soda
ý teas. Salt
1 cup broken walnuts or pecans

1. Preheat oven to 325 degrees. Grease or spray a 9 inch by 5 inch loaf pan with Pam and dust with flour.
2. Wet mixture - Combing first 7 ingredients and mix well.
3. Dry mixture �" mix flour, baking soda, cinnamon and cloves and salt together in large bowl �" make a well in the center and pour in wet mixture. Mix together but do not beat too much or it will become tough. Fold in nuts.

Pour into pan and back for 1 hour 20 minutes until top is golden and splits slightly �" knife or toothpick will come out clean. (Check after 1 hour 10 minutes).

*for less sweet bread reduce white sugar to ü cup.

I second what Annie said. Make Rose Levy Beranbaum's banana cake. It's no sweeter than banana bread. It's easy and very good.

grain-lady, do you have a gluten-free banana bread recipe you like?

grainlady, nevermind, you posted a banana bread recipe on another thread! Can't wait to try it!

Maria!!! I'm so happy to see you here again, how are you?

Annie

I grew up in a tropical country, where we use fresh coconut milk in banana bread ... YUM !! I wonder if grainlady's recipe of using coconut oil will impart that great coconut scent to the banana ,,, will try that healthy recipe.

Does anyone have the recipe for rose levy berenbaum's banana cake? She suggest mods on her blog but the actual recipe is not there.

GWlolo, the recipe that Annie posted is the Rose Levy Berenbaum recipe.

We've been using the recipe that Nancy wizardnm has posted for years, and we like it very much. I like tons of nuts in mine so I add extra walnuts. I make it with pecans for Christy. It's such an easy and fast recipe and I like that too.
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Best Recipe Cook's Illustrated
Recipe Introduction
Here's the recipe I used for years at the deli. We made 10 loaves at a time, never had any that didn't sell. We did it with nuts and with out the nuts. Even after making thousands of loaves, I still love banana bread. It's best to use very, very ripe bananas. I draw the line when I see mold. I remember goofing once and adding twice the amount of butter, it was very rich that time, a little over the top.
You can use plain yogurt as the recipe calls for or buttermilk, but we often didn't have either so we very often used whole milk with a teaspoon of vinegar stirred into it. You couldn't tell the difference.
List of Ingredients

2 C unbleached AP flour
3/4 C sugar
3/4 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp salt
1 C chopped walnuts (toasted if you have time)
3 very ripe bananas, mashed well
ü C plain yogurt (buttermilk or sour milk works also as noted above)
2 large eggs, slightly beaten
6 Tabsp butter, melted and cooled
1 tsp vanilla
Recipe
Preheat oven to 350ð. Grease and flour bread pan.
Whisk dry ingredients together in a large bowl, stir in walnuts.
In a medium bowl mix together bananas, yogurt, eggs, butter and vanilla.
Add wet ingredients to the dry, mixing gently with a spatula, just to combine, batter should look lumpy. You don't want to over mix. Scrape batter into loaf pan.
Bake about 55 minutes, until loaf is golden and a toothpick comes out almost clean. It can have a crumb or two, but you don't want wet showing on the toothpick.
Cool about 5 min., then turn out of pan to finish cooling on a wire rack.
Makes 1- 9" loaf.
Nancy

Simple. Never fails. Perfect every single time.

BANANA SOUR CREAM LOAF

2/3 cup butter or margarine (approx. 11 Tblsp.), softened
1-1/2 cups sugar
2 eggs
1-1/2 cups mashed bananas (about 3)
2-3/4 cups flour
1 tsp. baking powder
1 tsp. baking soda
1/2 tsp. salt
1/2 cup sour cream
1 cup chopped pecans or walnuts

Cream butter and sugar until light and fluffy. Add eggs and bananas and beat until well blended. Sift together flour, baking powder, soda and salt. Add alternately with sour cream to banana mixture, stirring just to blend. Stir in nuts. Spoon batter into greased and floured (I just use Pam) loaf pan.
Bake at 350ð for 60 minutes or until toothpick comes out clean. Let stand in pan for at least 10 15 minutes.

Tip: Add 1/2 cup or more rough chopped maraschino cherries to mixture. Wow!

For Toffee Banana Bread - add 1 cup almond brickle chips to batter before baking.

Note: makes 5 mini-loaves - bake for 35-37 minutes at 350ð F.

HI Annie! Everything is great! Too busy! How about you? I plan on checking back more...lots of great people here and I miss you all! -maria

I just make two batches of annie1992 bread. I didn't have cake flour so subtracted out 2 tablespoons and added to tablespoons of cornstarch. Used 2 1/2 bananas each. Also was low on vanilla so one bread got 1 tsp. vanilla and the other got 1 tsp almond extract. I don't like banana bread so didn't try either. One bread is already gone and the family loved it but couldn't tell me which one it was. They will start in on the other one tomorrow.

Thanks for posting a great recipe!