Can you make banana bread with yellow bananas?
In this article, we answered the question “Can you make banana bread with yellow bananas?”, and how to make banana bread?
Can you make banana bread with yellow bananas?
Yes, you can make banana bread with yellow bananas. But the results won’t be as good as you’d expect. Yellow bananas are not that sweet so you might need to top up the amount of sugar written in the recipe.
Yellow bananas can not substitute for the richness and sweetness of banana bread baked with ripe bananas.
If you have a sudden urge to make banana bread, you can try ripening your yellow bananas using quick methods. More on this in the article below.
How to ripen bananas faster?
Green or yellow bananas aren’t ideal for banana bread. To ripen them quickly, you can perform a few tricks.
The first trick is to place a bunch of bananas in a warm place, somewhere near the stovetop or in direct sunlight.
The bananas will be ripened within 24 hours to 5 days, depending upon the initial ripening level of the bananas. Putting them in a bunch is important since a bunch produces more ethylene than a single banana.
Ethylene is a colorless and odorless gas that is produced by all climacteric fruits and helps the ripening process. For the second trick, you need to wrap the bananas, preferably along with an already ripened fruit, in a paper bag.
Clip the paper bag and wait for 1-2 days. This method helps contain the ethylene inside the paper bag. The higher concentration of trapped ethylene accelerates the ripening process.
For spur-of-the-moment banana bread making, you will have to use the oven method. This method is the fastest and yields almost the same results.
How to ripen bananas in the oven?
Place the bananas with their peels intact on a baking sheet. Bake in the oven preheated at 300℉ for 15-20 minutes.
Flip the bananas halfway through the baking. By the end, the banana peels will be black. When cool enough to touch, remove the peels to squeeze the flesh.
Can you use overripe bananas for banana bread?
Yes, you can use overripe bananas for banana bread. Bananas are never too ripe for bananas unless they are moldy.
A rotting or moldy banana has an intense smell that is nothing like a sweet overripe banana. In case you are wondering, black bananas are perfectly fine to be used for banana bread.
Black banana, with their flesh oozing out, is the ideal candidate for the banana bread. Overripe bananas with a syrupy texture and a sweet smell can be safely used in bananas. You just need to look for any signs of spoilage. When in doubt, discard the bananas.
How to make the best banana bread?
Ingredients
- 2 to 3 medium (7″ to 7-7/8″ long) very ripe bananas, peeled (about 1 1/4 to 1 1/2 cups mashed)
- ⅓ cup butter, unsalted or salted, melted
- ½ tsp baking soda
- 1 pinch salt
- ¾ cup sugar (1/2 cup if you would like it less sweet, 1 cup if sweeter)
- 1 large egg, beaten
- 1 tsp vanilla extract
- 1 ½ cups all-purpose flour
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350℉(175℃).
- Grease a 4 by 8-inch loaf pan using butter or oil.
- Mash the ripe bananas in a bowl using a fork. Then add the butter and mix well.
- Then stir in the salt, sugar, baking soda, and beaten egg. When everything is homogenous, mix in the flour.
- Pour the batter into the greased pan and bake in the preheated oven for 50 minutes to 1 hour. Insert a toothpick or wooden skewer in the center of the bread to check if it is done. It should only have a few moist or dry crumbs sticking to it. If you notice any liquid batter, the bread needs more baking time.
- If the loaf is browned from the outside but jiggly from the center, continue baking after wrapping the pan with a piece of foil.
- Remove from the pan. Cool, cut, and serve the bread.
How long do you need to ripen bananas?
Ideally, bananas need to ripen for about 8 weeks if you intend to use them for making banana bread.
The bananas will slowly turn black while sitting on the counter and that is what we are looking for. Black bananas are the sweetest and that makes them desirable for baking.
If you do not have any baking projects lined up and you fear that the back bananas will turn moldy if they sit any longer on the counter, freeze them to save them.
Freezing the overripe bananas is a great way to put a halt to the ripening process. The low temperatures slow down the enzymes that are responsible for breaking scratch into sugars.
Conclusion
In this article, we answered the question “Can you make banana bread with yellow bananas?”, and how to make banana bread?
