It’s no secret that the most delicious plate would be even more delicious if it looks just as good. So, how can you make your banana bread look like all the effort you put into it?
There are a couple of things that make your baking turn out looking a little uncooked, which is unappealing and discouraging.
If you’re wondering, “Why is my banana bread white?” instead of looking like a golden gem, let’s look at what could be the reasons and how you can tackle them.
Why Is My Banana Bread White?
There are some main reasons why your banana bread isn’t coming out as well-baked as you would like it to be, which are:
- Not setting the right oven temperature.
- Not taking steam/evaporation into account.
- The batter isn’t mixed correctly.
- The batter isn’t left to rest.
Now that we’ve covered the main causes, let’s delve into how we can fix them.
1 – Use the Right Baking Temperature
When we talk about the correct baking temperature, we’re talking about the whole process, including pre-heating.
Banana bread should be baked at 350° F, with the oven pre-heated for 10 minutes or so. Then, it should be left to bake for 55 minutes, but make sure you run a toothpick test around the 40-minute and 55-minute marks.
At the 40-minute mark, you’ll probably find some gooey batter, but to a limited degree. If it still seems like it’s not close to being ready, you might need to pump up the temperature a little.
2 – Take Water Evaporation Into Account
Sometimes, when the batter of the banana bread gets too thick, you may be tempted to thin it by adding a wet ingredient.
While water sounds like a safe go-to option, you have to bear in mind that when the bread is being baked, a lot of the water will evaporate. When that happens, especially if a lot of the vapor escapes the oven, you might end up with bread that’s undercooked or looks too white.
That’s because the crust of the bread will become dry long before the batter is finished rising. This is why you should make sure of just how much vapor your oven can retain and provide for the bread to fully cook and rise.
So, make sure you open the oven door around the 25-minute or 30-minute mark to let off some steam after the initial moisturizing process has already taken place.
3 – Ensure the Batter Is Mixed Correctly
Mixing is a critical part of baking banana bread as the ingredients don’t play well together if all mixed together at once.
So, you should mash your bananas in one bowl, mix your wet ingredients in a second bowl (eggs, butter), and your dry ingredients in a third (flour, baking soda, salt, sugar).
After that, add the banana to the wet ingredients, mix them together, and then empty them into the third bowl. You should make sure to only mix the ingredients until the flour is incorporated.
This is because over-mixing causes the gluten proteins to lump up and form elongated bundles that turn the batter into a more solid state. Consequently, the batter doesn’t rise enough, and parts of your banana bread might end up not being fully cooked and therefore have a white color.
4 – Leave the Batter to Rest
Proofing your batter means giving it time to rest after mixing the ingredients. This further ensures that you don’t overwork the batter and prevent it from rising enough to be fully cooked.
However, there’s a little tricky part. The reason behind lack or browning can be both leaving your batter to rest too little or too long.
It should take around 10 to 15 minutes, depending on the number of ingredients you’ve used to make the batter.
What Color Should Banana Bread Be?
To make sure you’re on the right track, you should know that when your banana bread is done, it’ll have a caramel, dark brown color on the top and sides. In the center, though, it’ll have a yellow bread color.
FAQs
Now, let’s cover some of the other issues that could happen and lead to your banana bread not being cooked correctly.
1 – Why is my banana bread sinking?
The reason your banana bread doesn’t rise enough could be that you’re not balancing the ingredients correctly. This means that you could be adding too many wet ingredients or bananas or too few dry ones.
This leads to the bread not having too much moisture and, therefore, not enough solidity to rise to an appropriate level.
It could also be due to using too much leavener or taking it out of the oven too soon.
2 – Why is my banana bread browning too much?
This is especially a problem if the surface is browning quickly, but the interior is still gooey and undercooked.
One of the reasons this could be happening is that you’re using too much baking soda in the ingredients. This leads to the batter having higher pH, which fastens up the Maillard browning reaction.
Again, it’s all about using a good recipe that gives you the right balance of all the necessary ingredients.
3 – Why is the bottom of my banana bread not firm enough?
The reason the bottom layer of your banana bread might come out gummy-like or not firm enough could be that you don’t leave it to bake enough.
Another reason is that you used too many wet ingredients compared to the dry ones, causing the moisture to increase in the loaf.
This could also be due to using frozen bananas instead of room-temperature ripe ones or even using too many bananas.
Final Thoughts
Now that we’ve got the main points covered, you probably won’t sit asking yourself, “Why is my banana bread white?”
Minding these little tips would ensure that you get a beautiful golden exterior to your banana bread every time.
Sarah is the founder of Baking Kneads, LLC, a blog sharing guides, tips, and recipes for those learning how to bake. Growing up as the daughter of a baker, she spent much of her childhood learning the basics in a local bakery.