How To Tell When Banana Bread is Done

Banana bread is a great way to use up too ripe bananas. Plus it's a quick bread which makes it really easy to make. Simply mix the ingredients together in a bowl, pour into a loaf pan, and bake.

But how do you know when your banana bread is done?

Here are several ways to make sure you have perfectly baked banana bread every time.

If you have a sourdough starter you might like my recipes for sourdough banana bread or chocolate sourdough banana bread.

If you don't have a sourdough starter I also have this recipe for one-bowl browned butter banana bread.

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Three ways to tell when your banana bread is done

No one wants to slice into their banana bread only to discover a gooey uncooked mess inside.

So if your recipe said to bake the bread for 60 minutes and your 60-minute timer just beeped it should be fully cooked. Right? Possibly.

Baking times for all recipes are only suggestions. The actual baking time will vary depending upon your oven. It is helpful to know your oven and worth purchasing an inexpensive oven thermometer. Oven temperatures can vary as much as 50 degrees plus or minus.

Also, make sure your oven is fully preheated. Often an oven will say it is preheated before it actually is. An oven thermometer is a great way to verify that your oven is actually fully preheated.

1. Visual Clues

There are a few clues to look for to tell when your banana bread is done. Most loaves of quick bread will crack on top when they are fully baked. This happens because the crust sets before the loaves have finished rising.

You can also gently poke the top with your finger. If it leaves an indent bake for a few minutes longer. If it springs back your bread is probably done.

2. Toothpick Test

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Use a toothpick inserted into the center of the loaf to check for doneness. If it comes out clean or with just a crumb or two sticking to it your banana bread is done. If there is uncooked batter on the toothpick bake the banana bread for a few minutes longer.

Toothpicks can be rough and may make an unnecessarily large hole in your banana bread. Try using an inexpensive cake tester instead of a toothpick.

Another tip is to test several spots in the banana bread. The center will always take the longest to cook. So if you test too close to the edge your results may be inaccurate.

3. How to check if banana bread is done without a toothpick

Probably the most reliable way to check is by using an instant-read thermometer. This one from ThermoWorks is my favorite.

Once the center of the loaf has reached 200 - 205 degrees Fahrenheit the loaf is done.

Note: Gluten-free quick breads should have a slightly higher finished temperature of 205 - 210 degrees Fahrenheit.

How to fix undercooked banana bread

So what if you accidentally undercooked your banana bread? Can you fix it?

Once you've sliced into a loaf of quickbread and discovered it is undercooked it is too late to finish cooking it by putting it back in the oven. Doing so would cause the crust to dry out before the interior finishes baking.

My favorite trick is to cut the banana bread into slices, then melt a little butter in the skillet. Saute the slices in the butter for a couple of minutes on each side as you would a slice of french toast.

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