I’ve been in PA for 5 weeks and deliberately left behind all my cooking equipment in NC. Mom likes bananas and so we end up with lots and lots of over-ripe bananas destined for banana bread. I’ve been measuring stuff by cups (rather than weighing out the ingredients) and have produced THREE lousy dry banana breads. So dry that I turned the first one into a trifle and tossed the next two.
Today I picked up a cheapo electronic scale and weighed two bananas. Then I found a banana bread recipe with weights. Sally’s Baking Addiction calls for 4 bananas that weigh 460 grams. So two bananas should weight 230 grams. On the other hand, my two bananas weighted…170 grams. That’s 60 grams less, meaning less moisture, less flavor.
So ya that’s a problem right there. I figured out the percentage difference 170/230 = 74%. That means I could follow her recipe but use 3/4 of each ingredient (or reduce each ingredient by 1/4–works either way). Next I weighed out the flour rather than scooped and knew immediately that the batter was creamier and not as dry. Finished bread is MUCH better than the previous three failures.
Ergo, be the good example and use a scale & weights, rather than the horrible mistake.
Today I picked up a cheapo electronic scale and weighed two bananas. Then I found a banana bread recipe with weights. Sally’s Baking Addiction calls for 4 bananas that weigh 460 grams. So two bananas should weight 230 grams. On the other hand, my two bananas weighted…170 grams. That’s 60 grams less, meaning less moisture, less flavor.
So ya that’s a problem right there. I figured out the percentage difference 170/230 = 74%. That means I could follow her recipe but use 3/4 of each ingredient (or reduce each ingredient by 1/4–works either way). Next I weighed out the flour rather than scooped and knew immediately that the batter was creamier and not as dry. Finished bread is MUCH better than the previous three failures.
Ergo, be the good example and use a scale & weights, rather than the horrible mistake.
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