An Easy 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.

12, 000 years ago bread was initially developed and became a staple of the dietary needs. It began to grow onto a more flavorful and delicate recipe much later. The simplest version of bread is nothing more than wheat flour and some water that was mashed together and then placed on hot rocks. In order to speed the heating process, the flat rocks were also covered from the top with hot ash.

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.

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.

The banana bread recipes we know today have been significantly altered from the original breads that were made from what we now know and eat today. One of the most significant improvements to the bread included leavening. Instead of fermenting wheat dough, adding water and mashed bananas to cook quickly on hot stones, adding lightness to the bread would improve its taste and desirability

While these original banana bread recipes are not the same as our favorites today, they were the very origin that led to the banana bread recipes that even we pass on from time to time. Today, we add baking powder to our banana bread recipe to create leavening. This helps the bread rise. Yeast would make the bread rise too much while no leavening ingredient would create flat, hard, and chewy bread. In 1875, almost 100 years after the first American cookbook was written, baking powder would become an American staple. Thus, it is said that the first banana bread was created in the United States in the 18th century.

If you want to learn how to make lots of different types of banana bread at home, try these banana bread recipes written by Ben Cook. Ben suggests a blueberry banana bread recipe to begin with.