Banana Bread, why does this recipe use bicarb?!

[CornishTeaTime]

It uses baking powder AND bicarb....any reason why?

www.express.co.uk/life-style/food/1902454/banana-bread-recipe-Mary-berry-exclusive

I also think it is a lot of sugar when there is sweet banana and choc chips in so will half amount

Possible answer

I always halve the amount of sugar in cakes, or reduce to c 60% in eg a lemon tart.

Am now craving banana bread and lemon tart!

It’s not a great recipe. I use half the amount of sugar in mine but add a good amount of desiccated coconut to it too.

Ummm still dont know why to.use both if they do the same thing but who am I to question Mary B!!!!!

Oooo coconut sounds amazing!

A lot of recipes use both for various reasons, doesn't mean it's wrong, they both work in different way. I'd stick to it at least for first try, bananas are very heavy in a cake and need a good bit of raising agent to rise them.

It's because you're using plain flour. I don't know the science behind it, I just know that a lot of my mum's recipes, which use plain flour, include baking powder and bicarb and that is the reason. When I looked at the recipe, I guessed it would use plain flour and was right.

It's completely standard to use baking powder and bicarb if using plain flour. Trust Mary B, she knows her stuff.

Nigella uses both too, and her recipe is hands down the best banana loaf recipe (in fact, I'm going to go and get some bananas out of the freezer now to make one later, having seen this thread).

I always assumed it was just quite hard to raise a cake with a lot of dense ingredients, but there could be something to do with having an acidic ingredient (bananas) in there too.

Every time I make banana cake I slightly raise an eyebrow and wonder why, and then I just get on and do it as I know it will be delicious.

My top tip for banana loaf is to add some sea salt crystals. A small amount just make it all the more delicious.

At a guess I would say both is used as bicarb needs acid to be activated and do its thing. Cream of tartar will do this and is in the baking powder. As there is no lemon juice in the recipe (or any other strong acidic ingredient) I am would say the baking powder is to creat the reaction.

The recipe I use only uses bicarb but contains lemon juice.

For whatever reason the Mary B recipe never works in our house. Try Nigella or Rachel Allen.