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A lot of mishaps can happen when baking even with simple recipes like banana bread. And one of the common issues is that the bread may turn out to be white or pale. This usually doesn’t change the fact the banana bread will still have an amazing taste; however, the color may just seem off and unsatisfactory.
Typically, banana bread should come out of the oven with a brown aesthetically pleasing color, coming out as white is the expected color banana bread should have.
In order to avoid this from happening again, you may wonder where you went wrong, hence the question “Why is my banana bread white?”
Quick answer: The main reason why your banana bread is white is that the banana used is not ripe enough or the right quantity of sugar wasn’t used.
Making banana bread is not a herculean task, and it is not time-consuming either, but a few errors here and there can cause it to have a different taste and in this case a different color. In this article, we will further analyze why banana bread will have a pale or white color.
Why Is My Banana Bread White?
To be honest, this kind of issue is not only faced by newbies in baking, some homemakers with sound baking experience can have similar problems too. Newbie or not, trust me you are not alone in this, issues like this are not uncommon with banana bread.
However, the major reason why banana bread will bake up white is that there is not enough sugar to turn the bread brown. It wouldn’t hurt to know that, sugar is responsible for the brown color you hope to achieve with your banana bread.
Asides from the sugar, your banana also has to be really ripe too. As ripe bananas also contain a good amount of sugar. The best time to use bananas for banana bread is when it is already turning black which indicates that it is overripe and ready.
Caramelization needs to take place for the banana bread to crust brown, this is why enough sugar is needed as well as ripened bananas. Not to worry, your banana bread being with doesn’t mean it wouldn’t taste as amazing as you hoped it would.
Is It Safe To Eat White Banana Bread?
There is nothing wrong with eating banana bread that is white in color. A lot of people may worry that the banana bread didn’t have enough time to properly bake and that there is a high risk of food poisoning from eating it.
This is usually not the case, if banana bread has a pale or white color it really doesn’t have to do with it not cooking well enough but with the fact that there wasn’t enough sugar in the mix for caramelization to take place.
The only time it is not safe for consumption is when the banana bread is still wet or damp as that indicates that it did not bake fully.
Common Mistakes When Making Banana Bread
There are several things people do wrong when making banana bread that can affect how it looks, taste as well as texture. Now let’s get into some of these common little mistakes that you didn’t know can affect your banana bread.
1. Using Partially Ripe Bananas
This can most times affect the color of your banana bread, ripened banana is your best bet when baking banana bread as it helps it achieve a brown crust that everyone would love.
2. Adding Excess Flour
One of the common mistakes people always make is adding too much flour to the batter, when this is done the banana bread turns out to be very dry and stiff. You must ensure to add the right amount of flour as not mixing enough flour in the batter can cause the banana bread to be too moist.
3. Overmixing The Batter
We get it, you want to make sure all the ingredients are properly incorporated, however over mixing the batter develops the gluten. Whether you are using a mixer or mixing manually, you need to bear in mind that excessively mixing your batter will cause gluten to overdevelop.
This will further cause the banana bread to be chewy and dense which is quite the opposite of what you would expect.
Final Note
Banana bread is a must-try for everyone, not only is delicious and yummy, it is very easy and simple to make.
However, you may experience issues with the color not turning out to be what you hoped to achieve, this issue is mostly caused by sugar and banana.
If the sugar isn’t enough or the banana isn’t ripened enough, there wouldn’t be caramelization that eventually gives the banana bread the brown crust everyone prefers. That being said this is usually not a serious problem as this doesn’t change the fact the banana bread will taste will.
Regardless, always ensure that your banana bread bake at 350 degrees for up to an hour, make sure you poke or insert a toothpick to be sure it is fully baked and ready.
