The First Attempts To Make A Banana Bread Recipe
The original banana bread recipe looked nothing like it does today, and it sure didn’t taste like it does today. There have been many cultures spanning over thousands of years that have tried to improve upon the original bread recipe. Eventually, from these efforts the modern day banana bread recipe was born.
We can not say with absolute certainty when and where the first banana bread recipe surfaced. It was likely an experiment that went over well and was copied over and over again. It was probably not documented considering the time in history. Cooking skills were passed on from either the servant or the mother to little girls who might need them some day.
When bread was first developed, it was what we now call today, a quick bread. Banana bread recipes fall under this category as well. Quick bread is simply a bread recipe that is devoid of yeast. It means that it can be finished faster and the cooking time is shorter. Waiting for yeast to rise can be a long process. Of course, when bread was first discovered as a viable food source, it wasn’t designed to be eaten as a dessert of fancy bread. It was designed to fill the void and travel well.
These early breads were made from a crushed grain that was blended with some water before it was baked on hot stones. It is thought that the first banana bread recipe followed this general outline of bread baking, with the mushed bananas mixed in for a little bit of addition to the taste. While still not the banana bread recipe we love today, it is closer to a resemblance.
It has been speculated that the first actual banana bread recipe was tried. Given that the original version of bread was not very tasty, it is likely that people were gathering various elements in an attempt to make the bread taste better. It is quite possible that bananas were part of that experimental process.
It was, however, the Egyptians that were able to transform the flavor and the feel of bread. In 4, 000 BC the discovery of fermentation of bread dough was astounding. This would lead to a softer and fluffier bread product that would appeal to a wider range of tastes. Fermenting the dough before cooking it allowed gas to escape, leaving behind air pockets to soften the overall texture.
A Greek philosopher was heralded as producing the original book on botany, and in this book you can find a thorough explanation and a drawn picture of the banana plant. This means that Greece had bananas and they were already starting to experiment with the different ways they could approach the creation of bread.
Eventually these first banana bread recipe attempts would grow into what we now lovingly call banana bread through the addition of a leavening agent. In this case, the leavening agent is baking powder. This single ingredient can give the loaf just enough power to rise without turning it into a yeast bread. Baking powder was brought to the United States in 1875. This addition to the ingredients gives credence to the claim that the first banana bread recipe was developed in 18th century America.
If you want to learn how to bake lots of different types of banana bread at home, try these banana bread recipes from Ben Cook. Ben recommends thisblueberry banana bread recipe to begin with.
