The Diverse And Interesting History Of The Banana Bread Recipe

Anyone who loves a good banana bread recipe will appreciate all of the evolution that brought it to us. Creating foods has been part of every culture since the Neanderthal. Of course, the more we know about a single food’s history the more we are likely to create a palette that coincides with the food’s original flavor as well as with today’s modern adjustments.

There is no actual record indicating that in such and such a year at such and such location the first banana bread recipe was designed, developed, and baked. Rather, we have to look at the evolution of the various ingredients that would eventually turn into what we now call the banana bread recipe.

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.

Quick bread was the only bread available when tits introduction came about around 12, 000 years ago. This bread was flat, hard and chewy, and lacked any great flavor. But it was filling and cheap and easy to make. Simply grinding up some wheat flour and adding some water to the mixture turned into “bread” when added to hot rocks and ash coverings for the cooking part.

Banana bread recipe attempts were most likely made during this time. In order to create a more pleasant taste there were numerous additions to the bread making process, including fruit and spices. A little mashed up banana in the original bread recipe could definitely help create some flavors that would make the bread much more palatable.

Bread was changed dramatically 6, 000 years later when the Egyptians figured out that bread dough made from wheat could rise provided that there was an appropriate place to ferment the dough. This added air, which in turn created a softer more palatable bread.

The first most obvious banana bread recipe attempt came from the Greeks. Once the Greek philosopher came up with the first ever written botany book, historians can see that there were bananas in Greece which were popular enough to be a primary local food. This meant that the lighter bread with bananas had significantly improved the taste of the food product.

In 1796 North America saw it first cook book, and it also saw its first introduction to leavening with Pearlash. It wouldn’t be until 1875 that baking powder would come to American markets. The 18th century banana bread recipe was made in the United States and very closely resembles the banana bread recipe that sits in your own cook book.

If you want to learn how to bake lots of delicious types of banana bread at home, try these banana bread recipes from Ben Cook. Ben suggests a blueberry banana bread recipe to begin with.