Banana Bread? More like Banana Biscuit!!

[RGPargy]

Please can someone help me?

I've been making a no added sugar banana bread for a while now but every time i make it, i never rises above 1-2 inches high!! I have tried it with self raising flour and with plain flour and with plain flour and baking powder.

Is there anything i am doing wrong or not adding or is banana bread always this flat?

The recipe is simply:

8oz bananas
3oz raisins
4oz flour (no idea which type!)
1 egg
ground nutmeg & ground cinnamen (sp?)

I think that's it. I've just done that from the top of my head but i think i've included everything.

Any ideas would be fab!

Thank you in advance!!

:o

Hi RGPargy,

I read your recipe and can tell that it must be a delicious Banana Bread that you bake at home. One of the reasons why it is not rising could be that you may need to add some Baking Soda ( 1/2 table spoon or so) and that may help...
Please let me know if it worked for you this time.
Greetings,

Arabela

Thanx Arabela, i'll give it a go and let you know how i get on. :o

Right, so hang on. Can someone please answer me this:

a) What flour do i use? (i.e. self raising or plain)

b) Do i use baking powder?

c) What is baking soda and 1/2 tablespoon seems like alot to use!

I want to experiment soon and want to use dried strawberries instead of raisins. Will this work?

Thank you!

:o

difference btw baking soda & baking powder:

Both baking soda and baking powder are leavening agents, which means they are added to baked goods before cooking to produce carbon dioxide and cause them to 'rise'. Baking powder contains baking soda, but the two substances are used under different conditions.
Baking Soda:
When baking soda is combined with moisture and an acidic ingredient (e.g., yogurt, chocolate, buttermilk, honey), the resulting chemical reaction produces bubbles of carbon dioxide that expand under oven temperatures, causing baked goods to rise.The reaction begins immediately upon mixing the ingredients, so you need to bake recipes which call for baking soda immediately, or else they will fall flat!
Baking Powder:
Baking powder contains sodium bicarbonate, but it includes the acidifying agent already (cream of tartar), and also a drying agent (usually starch). Baking powder is available as single-acting baking powder and as double-acting baking powder. Single-acting powders are activated by moisture, so you must bake recipes which include this product immediately after mixing. Double-acting powders react in two phases and can stand for a while before baking. With double-acting powder, some gas is released at room temperature when the powder is added to dough, but the majority of the gas is released after the temperature of the dough increases in the oven.

So what to use:
Some recipes call for baking soda, while others call for baking powder. Which ingredient is used depends on the other ingredients in the recipe. The ultimate goal is to produce a tasty product with a pleasing texture. Baking soda is basic and will yield a bitter taste unless countered by the acidity of another ingredient, such as buttermilk. You'll find baking soda in cookie recipes. Baking powder contains both an acid and a base and has an overall neutral effect in terms of taste. Recipes that call for baking powder often call for other neutral-tasting ingredients, such as milk. Baking powder is a common ingredient in cakes and biscuits.
source: chemistry.about.com/cs/foodchemistry/f/blbaking.htm

Hi again,
I would use plain flour and add some baking soda to it. The amount of baking soda depends on how much of other items you are going to use. I only suggested this amount (half spoon) as this is how much I usually add.
I am not sure about the taste is you put dry strawberry into the banana bread. But I would give it a try.

Thanx so much Arabela!! Most insightful and helpful!! :o

Do you mean bicarbonate of soda arabela (the description you give sounds like the same thing)? Many recipes use plain flour with both baking powder and bicarbonate of soda. I'd try that.

I use Nigella's banana bread recipe from Domestic Goddess and it always works a treat - she uses 175g plain flour, with 2tsp baking powder and 0.5 tsp bicarbonate of soda. But it does have sugar.

your recipe doesn't seem to have any fat in it either - is that right?

Oh no midnight - forgot the butter in my original post! It does have butter! :o

I've just typed up a banana cake recipe today which is jummy, so I'll put it below in case you fancy trying something different.

Banana and Pecan Cake

8oz S.R. Flour
4oz Sugar
3oz Soft Butter
1 Large Egg
1 Tsp Baking Powder
75g Chopped Pecans (I often put in chocolate chips instead!)
4 med spotty bananas
Few drops of vanilla essence
8 inch loaf tin

1. Preheat oven to 180oC
2. Mix Flour, egg, sugar, butter, Baking Powder and Vanilla Essence
3. Mash bananas in another bowl
4. Add to cake mixture along with the pecans
5. Mix all together
6. Sprinkle top with brown sugar
7. Bake for 50 mins (I usually don?t dare leave it in for so long!) Leave in tin for 50 mins before you turn out

Enjoy!!

ooops - leave in tin for 5 mins before turn out

Thanx Ninja - that looks fab!! :o