Sometimes the name of a baked product can lead to confusion, or even controversy, over what that product actually is.  

Is banana bread a cake or bread is one such area for discussion. If it doesn’t carry quite the importance as the jaffa cake debate, it’s still an area of interest for both consumers and producers.  

Also, defining a product’s identity based on its actual baking qualities is an important facet of commercial baking. And it’s one where the use of a baking quality analyser is especially useful.  

 

What is Banana Bread?

One definition of banana bread is:  

A quick bread made from mashed bananas.  

Some descriptions of banana bread use the words cake-like. But it's called banana bread and you bake it in a loaf tin.  

Why is the cake or bread status of banana bread making the news?  

Baking enjoyed something of an upsurge during the peak of the pandemic and subsequent lockdowns. Loaf cakes, including banana bread, accounted for 36% of people’s bakes during lockdown.  

Naturally, this trend has led to people wanting to know whether it's really bread at all, or, alternatively, a cake.  

 

Bread or Cake? 

The ingredients of banana bread are:  

  • Plain flour 

  • Bicarbonate of soda 

  • Salt  

  • Butter 

  • Caster sugar 

  • Eggs 

  • Bananas 

  • Buttermilk 

  • Yeast extract.  

The results are very cake-like. Banana bread tastes delicious, sweet and comforting.  

And one notable baking authority thinks it's technically a cake – Paul Hollywood has said as much on social media.  

However, technically, what does make a cake different from bread, if you analyse both baked products objectively?  

 

What C-Cell Says About Cakes and Bread 

C-Cell is an objective baking quality analyser. It takes a digital image of a sample slice and, from this, provides detailed data about its essential characteristics.  

These characteristics include: 

  • Internal cell shape 

  • Cell size and uniformity 

  • Cell wall thickness 

  • Porosity 

  • Colour. 

If you imagine looking at this image-derived data for a cake and a bread sample without knowing in advance what either sample was, how would they differ?  

Some types of bread have a fine crumb structure, making them much denser than others. Similarly, cakes will have a greater density than most bread.  

Then there will be other key characteristics to watch out for, including colour, crust and texture.  

Based on these parameters, a typical loaf will have many more spaces that allow for air. It will have an overall lighter texture. By contrast, the banana bread sample will share more characteristics with a slice of cake.  

It will retain more moisture, with much more closely aligned and solid cells. 

Why should any of this matter, if the end product tastes satisfying either way?  

 

The Importance of Baking Analysis  

For bakers and other baked goods producers, the difference in quality doesn't come down to cake or bread, but rather a consistency within single product ranges.  

Ingredients in baked goods are natural and are therefore subject to change and variation. Bakers must watch out for this if they’re going to meet consumers’ expectations.  

The C-Cell baking quality analyser helps them maintain consistent quality control.  

For more information, please contact Calibre Control.