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When using frozen bananas for baking bread is it ok to use more bananas than called for in the recipe because frozen tend to mash differently and be wetter than ripened fresh bananas?

Spring Cleaning Your Kitchen Means New Desserts

Fran Costigan - Spring Cleaning Your Kitchen Means New Desserts

Recorded

This event was on May 16, 2023

Cleaning out the pantry and refrigerator is like going on a scavenger hunt for hidden treasures. You never know what you might find lurking- a bag of cake crumbs, a jar of cookie bits, or a small container of creams. With a little bit of creativity and imagination, you can transform these forgotten ingredients into a new and exciting dessert. It’s like playing the game of Chopped, but instead of a basket of mystery ingredients, you have your own kitchen to explore. So come on, join Vegan Pastry Master Fran Costigan, and let’s uncover those hidden gems and whip up some delicious treats! Bring your questions and get ready to spring into some new flavors.

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Question

Pat Chiaffa

When using frozen bananas for baking bread is it ok to use more bananas than called for in the recipe because frozen tend to mash differently and be wetter than ripened fresh bananas?

Answer

They do shrink down because some of the water, excuse me, speaking of water, some of the water has as come out of the bananas and I don't tend to use that liquid. I did, I defrosted a lot of bananas and I made a tried and true recipe and I used all of the liquid. And in my head I was thinking, what are you doing? You should do a test. Um, it was too much liquid. So I think you could use some extra bananas. Save the liquid, the dir the liquid that comes off the bananas when it's defrosted to put into a smoothie. That would be, you know, there's nothing wrong with the liquid. In fact, I took a class on making vegan challa and it was given by a wonderful chef who lives where you have to make adjustments for high altitude baking. And she said, for people who were living above sea level to use a, uh, the recipe included a banana. She said a frozen banana that was defrosted. She said, for people living in the high altitude, use all the liquid for people who were living in, you know, where I live. Uh, she said not to use all the liquid. And I thought that was really interesting. So yeah, you can go ahead and use, use some more. This is a place where using weights really matters. You know, a lot of banana recipes and I'm sure some of my early ones will say things like, you know, one medium banana, I would rather know it's a half a cup or this many ounces or this many grams. So we get it kind of right to, to do that.

Fran Costigan

Director of Vegan Pastry

FranCostigan.com

Fran Costigan is internationally renowned as the authority on vegan desserts. Trained at the New York Restaurant School and Natural Gourmet Institute, Fran was a chef in both traditional and vegan pastry kitchens before moving into teaching over 20 years ago. A lifelong chocoholic and long time vegan, Fran’s latest book, Vegan Chocolate: Unapologetically Luscious and Decadent Dairy Free Desserts, (Running Press 2013) is for all who madly, deeply love chocolate desserts, whether or not dietary considerations are an issue. Her previous cookbook, More Great Good Dairy-Free Desserts Naturally (Book Publishing Company 2006) is the basis of the Costigan Vegan Baking Boot Camp Intensive®. For more information, www.francostigan.com.