Moist Banana Bread Recipe (2024)

FAQs

What is the secret to moist bread? ›

Add Milk

To make your bread soft and fluffy, another trick used by commercial bakers is replacing water with milk. Milk has fats which make bread softer.

Once it is completely cool, Roszkowski says to keep banana bread fresh by placing it in an airtight container, wrapping it in plastic wrap, or even slicing it and wrapping it in plastic wrap. "This will make sure the banana bread does not lose its moisture and become stale."

Moisture is key when it comes to banana bread, and the ratio of flour to banana makes all the difference. If you use too much flour, you'll end up with dry bread. If you don't use enough, your bread will be too wet. The secret is actually in how you measure the flour.

What to do if you've used too many bananas. If you must add an extra banana into your batter, there are ways to prevent the bread from turning mushy. Using a lot of bananas adds excess moisture, and there are two ways to get rid of it. You could either add more flour or increase the baking time.

Yeast is another critical factor in ensuring your loaf doesn't come out dry. As the dough rises and ferments overnight, it will produce carbon dioxide, which helps to expand the dough and give it a more airy texture.

Honey adds both sweetness and moisture to breads such as challah. Be sure to use a pasteurized honey, as wild honeys contain antibacterial properties that can kill yeast. Store honey at room temperature, out of direct sunlight.

If you're planning to eat your banana bread within three to four days, it can be left out at room temperature. To keep it fresh, place a paper towel in the bottom of an airtight container. Place the loaf of banana bread on top, add another paper towel, and put the lid on the container.

Using too much flour makes for an extra crumbly bread.

If you're tapping your measuring cup to level out flour as you measure, or you're pushing down the piled-up powder, you'll end up using too much of it. I packed my flour for this loaf, and what I got was a crumbly cake with a dry crust all around.

Place a paper towel at the bottom of an airtight container or in a zip-top bag. Place the cooled banana bread on top of it, then cover the loaf with another paper towel. Seal the container tightly and store at room temperature for up to four days.

Let the bananas ripen (and overripen) at room temperature. Depending on the weather, this could take a few days, or up to a week. The best bananas for banana bread aren't yellow; they're black. Or they're at least streaked with black/brown, with just the barest hint of green at the stem.

Why is my banana bread so moist in the middle? ›

Bananas vary in size and this impacts their moisture content. 3 large bananas have more moisture than 3 small/medium-sized bananas. Excess moisture (when compared to the recipe's dry ingredients) means a greater potential for banana bread to sink in the middle.

Using too much baking soda or baking powder can really mess up a recipe, causing it to rise uncontrollably and taste terrible.

Yellow Bananas with a Hint of Green: These are still a bit early for banana bread, but they can work in a pinch. The flavor will be less intense, and the bread might be a bit denser. Bananas with Mostly Yellow Peels and Brown Spots are my sweet spot.

They need to be soft enough that they can seamlessly blend into the quick bread batter, leaving small pockets, rather than large chunks, of banana behind. And then there's the flavor.

Using too many eggs

The result could be a banana bread that is dense, spongy, and rubbery. Given that this baked treat is already a hefty product, you will want to avoid these unappetizing textures. According to The Cake Blog, over doing it on the egg addition can also affect flavor.

Consistency: Bakeries often use machines to ensure consistent kneading and proofing times. This consistency is key to producing the same soft texture batch after batch. Special Ingredients: Many bakeries use dough conditioners or enhancers, which improve the texture and extend the bread's shelf life.

Wetting the dough causes the surface to steam. Covering it traps the moisture. This partnership stops the bread from drying out on the surface in the hot air of the oven and forming a premature crust. Your bread rises more and produces a richer colour, becoming glossy on the surface.

Bread storage takeaways

For best moisture retention, slice bread from the center out, rather than from one end. Store airtight with the two cut halves facing each other and pressed together. Wrapping bread to retain moisture keeps it soft, though it robs crusty artisan bread of its crispy crust.