Ingredients
1 3/4 cups all-purpose flour (215g)
1 tsp baking soda (6g)
1 tsp salt (6g)
1/2 tsp ground cinnamon (3g)
3/4 cup brown/granulated sugar (150g)
1/2 cup unsalted butter room temperature (113g)
2 eggs
3 very ripe bananas mashed (430g)
1 tsp vanilla (5ml)
Why I chose to make Banana Bread
I chose to make Banana Bread because I was missing my Grandma’s baked goods back home. Usually my Grandma Linda drops Banana Bread once every month. I have to admit, she makes Banana Bread better than anyone I know. So I was quite nervous to make it because I knew it wasn’t going to be as good as her Banana Bread. I chose to follow a recipe that I found on Youtube. I wanted to switch it up from making a meal to make something to snack on here and there. I also wanted to try out a video because I feel like the learning would feel more interactive than just reading the recipe and instructions like I have been doing. Lastly I haven’t baked in so long I figured why not give it a shot and see how it goes.
Things that I Learned well making Banana Bread
I didn’t realize that the bananas you use are ripe and I didn’t have couple of ripe bananas laying around. I have to admit I wasn’t too big of a fan of touching the mushy bananas but it was to make banana bread so I couldn’t complain too much. I learned a cool trick to get the bananas ripe. It is to put the bananas on the baking sheet and to cook at 350 for 10-12 minutes. This will get the Bananas ready to make Banana Bread. This will be a useful trick to have anytime I want to make Banana Bread in the future. The first mistake I think I made was over-mixing the batter. I think this because when I tried eating the Banana Bread it was kind of tough. The person I was listening to was saying it should be soft and tender so next time I bake I will be more careful with my mixing. It wasn’t the biggest deal though because I still found the Banana Bread I made to be good to eat. One small thing I caught was the baking time between me and the person who was giving the instructions was a little bit off. It wasn’t the biggest problem though because I checked to see what the inside was like with a toothpick. My Grandma told me it shouldn’t be gooey on the inside so I just let the Banana Bread bake for a few more minutes. The next time I bake anything I will need to consider that the time needed for the products to bake may vary a few minutes so I just need to be a little bit more cautious. Lastly but not to big of a deal is I need to invest in an apron because wow.. baking can be messy at times.
Results
Like I explained above I think I over-mixed the batter which caused the result to not be as good as it probably should’ve been. With that being said it wasn’t like it was bad. I think the next time I make Banana Bread I will add chocolate chips like my Grandma does. I think that was one of the key ingredients I was missing. I really like using Youtube because I felt it offered me a more interactive way to learn how to make Banana Bread than a recipe would. I also think it was beneficial for myself to try Baking. It was my first time doing this since Foods in high school (A class in High School I took). Overall I think my Grandma would be proud of me for making this even though it’s not nearly as good as hers. Any suggestions on my next adventure?
Hey Carson! Banana bread from my grandma is also one of my favourite things! It is such a weakness for me! I did not know that tip for bananas but it is definitely good to know! It is definitely good that you were able to reflect on the process you took while baking and figuring out how to change things to get a nicer result. Baking is such a SCIENCE and can be so finicky at times. I’d suggest you try to find something else to bake and see how that treat is similar/different to the banana bread making process!
Hey Carson,
I love banana bread! That is a cool trick to ripen your bananas. I will try that the next time I make banana bread! Good luck on your continued learning journey.
I love Banana Bread! My mom always makes the best kind, and it just really brings me back to my childhood. Baking definitely is a messy process, and can be dangerous if you are living with someone with Celiac disease like I am. Clean up has to be just that much more extensive to make sure she doesn’t get sick. Good for you for trying out some baking! I have heard it called “an exact science”, so don’t be discouraged by some of the issues you encountered this time. Also, thanks for the ripening bananas tip! Did not even know that was a thing!
Hey Carson,
This post is awesome! I totally get why you’d miss your grandma’s baking…there’s nothing quite like it. I love that you tried to replicate her recipe, even if it’s a little intimidating.
Hi Carson, I love banana bread. my great grandma use to make the best brownies and she is no longer here with us. I find it so hard to make her brownies taste just like she made them so I agree I also miss her baking. Banana bread brings me back to the days I would bake with my mom and I love this recipe you used!
Grandma’s baking just hits different! It brings a feeling of comfort. I didn’t know the little tip about getting banana’s ripe on short notice, Great trick! I also have a collection of banana’s in my freezer waiting to be used but baking is my enemy lol.
I liked your reflection on your baking, there are so many things you don’t think about when baking until you look back on it later. As someone else mentioned in their comment, baking is a science, but sounds like you did a great job and you were still rewarded with a nice treat!
I am big fan of banana bread too, nothing like a hot slice of bread with some butter on it in the morning! Maybe you could surprise Grandma with a loaf when you see her again, I’m sure she would love that!
Hey Carson,
This banana bread sounds great! I actually just made banana muffins this afternoon and used a recipe from google and they turned out great!
Thanks for sharing!