5/16/2019 Recipe for banana bread - Google Docs Emily Badgley 

 
RECIPE

A-Peeling  Ingredients  

Gluten-Free 
● 127.6 grams of gluten-free 
all-purpose baking flour 

Banana Bread   ●
●
6 grams of baking soda 
1.42 grams of salt 
(Courtesy of TasteofHome.com)  ● 4 eggs 
● 600 grams of mashed ripe bananas 
(4-5 medium) 
● 198 grams of sugar 
● 125 grams of unsweetened 
applesauce 
● 75.6 of grams canola oil 
● 4.2 grams of vanilla extract 

Preparation 
1. In a large bowl, combine the flour, baking 
soda, and salt. In a small bowl, whisk the 
eggs, bananas, sugar, applesauce, oil, and 
vanilla. Stir wet ingredients into dry 
ingredients just until moistened. 
2. Coat an 8.5x5-in. loaf pan with cooking 
 
spray, then transfer the mixer into the 
Ready in 65 minutes (including preparation)  pan Bake at 350° for 45-55 minutes or 
Serves 10 people (one slice each)  until a toothpick inserted in the center 
comes out clean. Cool for 10 minutes 
1 slice: 140 calories   before removing from pans to wire racks. 
   

Tips 
The bread should be placed on the top oven 
rack.   

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5/16/2019 Recipe for banana bread - Google Docs Emily Badgley 

The Experiment   

For this experiment, I manipulated the 

amount of baking soda to see how it would 
affect the density of the bread. My 
hypothesis was that the bread with the least 
amount of baking soda would be densest and 
that the densest bread would taste best. 
First, I used the recommended amount of 
baking soda (1 tsp.). Then, I used 3 times the 
amount of baking soda to see if there would 
be a stark difference.  

Results 
Both hypotheses on the qualitative and 
quantitative results were wrong. It turns out 
that the bread that used 3 tsp. of baking soda 
made the densest bread. I think this 
happened because the bread ended up 
caving in in the middle, this made the volume   
of the bread smaller and the weight was 
 
more packed in. I also thought that the 
densest bread would taste the best because I 
assumed the densest bread would be moister 
and banana bread is good when it’s moist. 
The Science 
However, according to the survey, 100% of  When sodium bicarbonate is heated, carbon 
testers preferred the bread with 1 tsp. of  dioxide is released. This is because of thermal 
baking soda. They seemed to like that the  decomposition. Thermal decomposition is an 
bread was fluffy compared to the denser  endothermic reaction that breaks the bonds 
bread.    of a molecule using heat (Thermal 
Decomposition, Wikipedia) The carbon 
 
dioxide makes the bread rise and provides 
  texture to the bread. Using too much baking 
  soda will release more carbon dioxide and 
cause the bread to collapse and leave a hole 
  in the middle. This happens because more gas 
  will make the bread rise higher and soon the 
bread won’t be strong enough to hold it’s 
 
shape. The density is affected because, with 
 

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5/16/2019 Recipe for banana bread - Google Docs Emily Badgley 

less space for the mass, it gets more “packed 

together”.  
 
Personal Commentary 
When I was younger my mom used to make 
 
it all the time. I would always look forward to 
her making banana bread. It’s good comfort 
 
food when your sad or you want a good 
snack. When I was diagnosed with Celiac 
Disease, I couldn’t eat food like banana bread   
anymore. Finding a gluten-free recipe for 
banana bread reminded me of my mom and I 
was super excited to be able to eat it again.     

References   
 
https://www.tasteofhome.com/recipes/glute
n-free-banana-bread/    
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Thermal_deco  
mposition  
 

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