Bread

Homes and Gardens. Over the years, we??ve made a lot of quick bread in the test kitchen and all of that testing has given us some pretty cool secrets to success that I know will make your banana bread or any other quick bread better than ever, turns out that choosing and prepping the loft pan is important. To prep, we found that greasing the pan only on the bottom and about 1.2 inch at the sides helps create a quick bread with a perfectly done top. Resist the urge degrees to sides all the way up to the top. That could cause the batter to rise up the sides as it bakes then fall causing ledges and a flatter topped loaf. Now, here??s a secret specifically for banana bread . You can use a fork, potato masher or a pastry blender to mash the bananas and be sure to use fruit that??s pretty ripe for the best flavor. Finally, try not to cut in the quick bread when it??s warm. I know it??ll be difficult but the bread will be crumbly and hard to slice. In fact, they??ll get perfect slices if you wrap the cool bread in plastic and store at room temperature overnight. Now that you have our test kitchen secrets to success, you??ll love the way your quick breads look and taste.

Moist banana bread melts in your mouth and the great ones are over-the-top moist. The real secret to banana bread is one of convenience and recycling. Use the bananas that your kids won't even get near. You know, the ones with dark mushy spots. These over-ripe bananas have fully developed sugars and soft texture that make the best quick breads , cakes and muffins. Now, the second secret may be hard to handle for those of us who are impatient and love snacking on warm, out-of-the-oven banana bread . Bad news here, but let that banana bread sit before you slice. In fact, wrap it in plastic wrap while it's still a little warm and let it sit overnight. Bananas do their best work in this warm, tropical environment. It'll be worth the wait when you sink your teeth into that moist banana bread with big time flavor.