Terrific Tip: How do you know bread is done? Take it's temperature! Cook's Illustrated

Very true. There is also a ramp-up of "yeasty baked bread" aroma

after 190 degrees. There won't be much of a scent...and then suddenly you'll get hit over the nose with it. That's when to start checking. At 180, french bread won't smell very much...but at 200, it's an olfactory treat.

 
Learned that from a Julia Child (I think!) cookbook years ago. . .

but is still good to know the variance between rustic and richer breads.

 
I have tried to find the correct "done" temperature for banana

bread, but I always undercook it. Does anyone know waht the temperature would be for quick breads?

 
Julia, this link mentions 205-210, but it has chunks of bananas, so

I have to wonder what you'd get if your probe ran into a chunk of banana versus flour dough?

If you're using walnuts that have been frozen directly into the dough, you'll find pockets of colder areas/raw dough. And if your bananas were frozen, the dough will start out much colder and the timing will change.

http://romanreign.com/wells_banana_bread_beer_bread.htm

 
You also might try baking it in a different pan, like a narrower bread pan.

King Arthur has one for gluten-free breads. The sides are closer together than a regular 9x5" loaf pan, so the dough rises and sets quicker. This would help give your internal dough more time to finish baking. Personally, I like a long dark crunchy crack down the middle of my banana bread and that takes over an hour to achieve. I've been known to eat the entire crunchy top off a loaf of banana bread and toss the rest of it.

Not one of my prouder moments.

Anyway, start taking the temperature and keeping track of your results. You'll eventually find the right number for your specific recipe.

http://www.kingarthurflour.com/shop/items/9-x-4-x-4-loaf-pan

 
Thanks Marilyn. My recipe does not contain yeast, but I think

I will start testing to see if I can come up with the correct temperature for determining when it is done without over baking. It always looks done, but sinks in the middle when cooling.
UGH!

 
Julia, would you like to post the recipe and we can see if there is some

ingredient/step that might be out of whack?

Too much moisture, not enough rising agent, too low temperature, etc.

 
Here it is

Kona Inn Banana Bread

2 cups sugar
1 cup softened butter
3 cups mashed ripe bananas (about 6 medium)
4 eggs, well beaten
2½ cups flour
2 teaspoons baking soda
1 teaspoon salt
1 cup chopped walnuts

Preheat oven to 350º.

With electric mixer, cream together sugar and butter until light and fluffy. Add bananas and eggs, beating until well mixed.

Sift together dry ingredients three times. Blend with banana mixture but do not overmix.

Pour into 2 lightly greased 8x4 inch loaf pans. Bake for 45 minutes to one hour until firm in the centers and the edges begin to separate from the pans.

Cool on a rack for 10 minutes before removing from pans. These freeze beautifully.

 
Julia, here are two things that seem to pop out at me: flour and time

I did a quick survey of other banana bread recipes and yours is accurately doubled in all aspects except flour.

Single loaves typically have:
2 eggs
1 C sugar
1-1.5 cups of banana (~3 medium bananas)
2 C flour
3/4 to 1 cup of fat (butter, sour cream, etc)
1 tsp baking soda/powder (1.5 tsp if only one rising agent is used)

All recipes were baked at 350 for one hour at least.

Yet your "double recipe" uses only 2.5 cups of flour, when the pattern seems to indicate 4 cups of flour would be used. More flour would add more gluten and structure to the finished bread. It may be rising due to the baking soda or baking powder agents, but perhaps there isn't enough gluten to keep it risen?

You could try a test loaf with half the recipe and increase the flour from 1.25 to 1 3/4 (or even 2 cups) to see if that makes a difference.

A good way to check if the bread is done is to look at the sides. They should have pulled away from the walls of the pan.

The type of pan will also make a difference. While I like how easily they pop out, I don't like how the crust finishes with silicon pans. Cranberry works out fine, but the banana doesn't develop the right crust for me.

Anyway, that's my take on it. Good luck!

 
I think it's too many bananas. My recipe never fails, I use the same size pans and the proportions

are all similar with the exception that it uses 3 bananas instead of 6. (See photo) All that extra pulp would keep the middle wet no matter how long you bake.

I think this is a result of widely varied banana sizes and a bit of extrapolation from the original recipe (see the link) which references 6 bananas as "about 2 cups". Julia's recipe says 6 bananas are about 3 cups so, if you look to use 3 cups of bananas instead of 2 cups, you're going to have issues.

IMHO, That's a pretty big difference, one which begs tsuris.

http://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/kona-inn-banana-bread-recipe/index.html





 
Thank you Marilyn and Steve for all of your research and help

I believe you are both right. In my quest for a very moist banana bread, I am probably off on my flour/banana ratio. I really appreciate your observations.

 
Good luck, Julia. I've found organic bananas from a health food store

provides the best "banana" taste. They turn nicely spotted and convert to a very sweet taste....just like they used to decades ago. I also don't use frozen bananas anymore. They seem to puree to a water mush rather than a clean fruity mash.

Unfortunately, if I buy organic from the regular grocery store (like Super Target or Publix), they stay florescent green forever and never change--then they rot.

 
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