Sweet, cakey, and delicious, there’s nothing like banana bread to munch on for breakfast, snack during the day, or serve to friends at brunch.
The perfect banana bread should be fluffy and moist but not too wet. Otherwise, you might as well dip a banana in batter and eat it!
Don’t worry, you can salvage your banana bread if it comes out too soggy or gummy. Here’s a guide on how to fix wet banana bread:
1 – Use Fewer Bananas
Banana bread gets its moisture from wet ingredients, namely milk, butter/oil, and banana. Most recipes even call for overripe bananas, which contain more moisture than regular bananas.
While most people tend to be careful about the amount of milk and butter they add because they can see its witness, many people overestimate the number of bananas they can add to the batter.
They end up using too many bananas, resulting in a wet and stodgy loaf.
Recipes for a single banana bread loaf typically require no more than 4 medium-sized or 3 large bananas, so don’t go overboard.
2 – Use the Right Pan Size
After you whip up the batter, check that the size of your baking pan matches the amount of batter you’ve prepared according to the recipe you’re following.
If you use a too-small baking pan, the banana bread loaf will be thicker than it’s supposed to be. As such, it’ll take a longer time for the middle to cook all the way.
If you’re not aware of this and you don’t prolong the baking time, you’ll take the load out before it’s thoroughly done. The result will be wet banana bread.
3 – Bake at Proper Oven Temperature
You could leave your banana bread in the oven for a long enough time but still end up with a soggy loaf. In this case, you’ve probably set the oven to a temperature that’s too low or too high.
A too-low temperature leads to an underbaked loaf all over. A too-high temperature will cause the outside of the banana bread to cook quicker than the inside, resulting in a browned crust while the middle is still wet.
The key to avoiding both outcomes is to choose the proper temperature for baking and keep an eye on the cooking duration.
Generally, you should bake banana bread at a temperature between 300 and 350 degrees F for about 15 to 20 minutes.
It also helps to cover the loaf in the baking pan with aluminum foil. This prevents the crust and outside portion of the banana bread from cooking much sooner than the center.
4 – Rebake Immediately
If you find out that your banana bread is still too wet right after you take it out of the oven, there’s a chance you can fix the problem if you move quickly.
Cover the pan with aluminum foil and stick the loaf back in the oven immediately.
If you leave your wet banana bread to cool for a while before rebaking, the edges may become too dry or burn while the middle portion stays undercooked.
5 – Add Less Fat
One of the main wet ingredients in a banana bread recipe is the fat component. Usually, it’s either butter or oil.
If you use too much fat in your banana bread batter, the loaf will probably come out too wet. Not to mention, your banana bread will be less healthy.
As such, you should check the amount of fat the recipe calls for and don’t go overboard.
Also, consider substituting the butter or oil with applesauce if you want to cut down a bunch of calories but still have a moist loaf.
6 – Add More Flour
Just as adding too much of the wet ingredients can make your banana bread gummy and heavy, using too little of the dry ingredients can also give you a stodgy, wet loaf.
A common example of this mistake is not adding enough flour to the batter. The resulting banana bread loaf will have a too-moist texture or even a loose, unstructured shape.
Typical recipes for a single banana bread loaf require no less than 2 cups of flour. If your banana bread tends to come out gummy or wet, try increasing the amount of flour you usually add.
7 – Check for Doneness Before Removing it From the Oven
One of the best ways to avoid ending up with a gummy or stodgy banana bread loaf is to check its doneness before taking it out of the oven.
This saves you from dealing with the whole “underbaked” hassle and allows you to take corrective measures on the spot.
You can’t tell that your banana bread is done cooking just by looking at its crust. While it can serve as an indicator of doneness, the color alone isn’t a definitive sign that the center is also finished.
You can make sure that the middle portion of the loaf isn’t too wet by poking it with a knife or a skewer.
If it comes out clean, it means your banana bread is cooked all the way and is ready to be taken out of the oven. If it comes out with bits of dough sticking to it, then you should let the loaf cook for more time.
8 – Don’t Add Liquids at Once
A common mistake among baking enthusiasts is adding all the amounts of liquid ingredients to the batter at once.
While this may save you a few minutes, you don’t get the chance to evaluate the wetness of the batter while mixing. As such, if your batter is too runny, you’ll bake it as is and end up with excessively wet banana bread.
It’s best to put in the liquid ingredients gradually while mixing so you can stop when you arrive at the right batter consistency. You want it to be a bit thicker than pancake batter.
9 – Let It Cool Properly
You may do everything above right only to have your banana bread come out too wet. In this case, your mistake is probably something that happened after baking such as wrong cooling.
If you leave your banana bread in the baking pan to completely cool down after you take it out of the oven, chances are the bread will turn soggy, especially at the bottom.
When baking, the fat components in the bread batter produce a leavening effect that forms steam and traps gas bubbles within the dough. This is the reason behind the fluffiness and moisture of banana bread.
However, improper cooling can cause condensation of the steam, which leads to excess moisture within the bread loaf and at its bottom.
The solution here is to take the banana bread out of the baking pan after a maximum of 15 minutes and transfer it to a wire rack.
Let it cool on the rack for no longer than 20 minutes. This should be enough time for the steam to escape but not dry out the bread.
10 – Toast It in the Oven
What if you find out that your banana bread is too wet after it’s been sitting outside the oven for a while? It’s now too late to rebake, but does it mean you’re stuck with a gummy loaf?
Luckily, no. You can fix this problem by toasting the banana bread in the oven.
Start by taking the bread loaf out of the pan and slicing it into appropriate portion sizes.
Then, place the bread slices on a baking tray lined with parchment paper and stick them in the oven at 300 degrees F for about 10 to 15 minutes until the center is golden brown.
11 – Turn It Into Another Dish
When life gives you wet banana bread, make banana bread pudding or croutons.
You can turn stodgy banana bread into a pudding by cubing it and then combining it with milk, sugar, egg, and vanilla. After that, pop the mixture in the oven for about 30 minutes at 350 degrees F.
To turn gummy banana bread into crispy croutons, start by dicing the loaf. Then, toss the bread cubes in butter or oil and place them on a baking tray.
Bake at 350 degrees F for around 15 to 20 minutes until the croutons are golden brown.
Final Thoughts
If your banana bread comes out stodgy or soggy, don’t lose hope! This guide on how to fix wet banana bread offers you 11 solutions to turn it yummy once again.
I have a bachelor’s degree in Film/Video/Media Studies, as well as an associates degree in Communications. I began producing videos and musical recordings nearly 15 years ago. I am a guitarist and bassist in Southwest MI and have been in a few different bands since 2009, and in 2012 I began building custom guitars and basses in my home workshop as well. When I’m home, I love spending time with my three pets (a dog, cat, and snake) and gardening in my backyard.