Alright, let me tell you about the time I tried making banana bread from a mix. I’m not much of a baker, you see, but I had these overripe bananas sitting on my counter, and I hate wasting food. So, I figured, why not give this banana bread thing a shot? I went to the store and picked up a box of banana bread mix – I think it was the Krusteaz brand, but I wouldn’t swear to it.
First thing I did was preheat the oven. The box said 350 degrees, so that’s what I did. Then, I grabbed a big bowl and dumped in the mix. It was all powdery and white, with some little brown specks that I guess were supposed to be the banana flakes. I added some water, a couple of eggs, and some oil, just like the instructions said.
I started mixing it all up with a spoon, but it was pretty thick and lumpy. I thought that maybe I was doing something wrong. So, I ended up getting out my electric mixer to really beat it into submission. After a few minutes, it looked smooth enough, so I figured it was good to go.
Next, I greased up a loaf pan I found in the back of the cupboard. I think my mom gave it to me years ago, but I’d never actually used it. I poured the batter into the pan, and it filled it up about halfway.
I popped the pan in the oven and set a timer for an hour, like the box said. While it was baking, I did some cleaning up and tried to ignore the weird fake banana smell that was starting to fill my kitchen. I mean, I love real bananas, but this smell was kind of artificial and overpowering.
When the timer went off, I pulled out the loaf and stuck a toothpick in the center. It came out clean, so I figured it was done. I let it cool for a bit, then I flipped it out onto a plate. It looked alright, I guess – kind of golden brown on top and a little moist inside.
I cut myself a slice and took a bite. It wasn’t bad, I suppose. It was sweet and had a hint of banana flavor, but it definitely tasted like it came from a mix. And the texture was a little dense, not as fluffy as I was hoping for. Also, as it cooled, that fake banana taste got even stronger. Ugh.
- It smelled pretty strongly of artificial banana while baking.
- The final product had a bit of a dense texture.
- The flavor was okay, but definitely tasted like a boxed mix.
- I’ve heard you can store the batter in the fridge for a few days, but I didn’t try that.
Here are some of the things I noticed about the mix:
So, yeah, that was my adventure with banana bread mix. Would I make it again? Maybe, if I was in a pinch and really needed to use up some bananas. But honestly, I think I’d rather just mash up the bananas and eat them with some yogurt or something. Or, you know, actually learn how to bake a proper banana bread from scratch.