Just realized I've been overmixing my banana bread for years

I watched a video from a bakery in Portland last week where they folded the batter only until the flour disappeared, and I thought they were crazy (I always beat mine till smooth). Tried it with my usual recipe and the loaf came out so much fluffier, not dense like a brick. Has anyone else had a baking habit that took a stranger pointing it out to break?

2 comments

2 Comments

park.robin9d ago

My buddy Mike used to make banana bread that was basically a doorstop (sorry Mike). He'd stand there beating the batter for like 5 minutes until it was super smooth and shiny. Then his mom visited and watched him do it and just started laughing. She grabbed the spatula out of his hand and showed him how to fold it gently, like 10 or 12 turns max. He was really annoyed at first but tried it and his next loaf was actually fluffy for once. Now he gets all defensive about it if anyone brings it up.

oscarb779d ago

Some folks actually overmix banana bread on purpose to make it dense for toast, @park.robin.