One of the highlights of all-American family restaurant Bob Evans’ extensive menu of classics (which include everything from omelets to hearty sandwiches) would have to be the chain’s banana nut bread. Baked daily in its restaurants, it’s been praised for being delectably moist. So, what’s the secret? Bob Evans did publish a recipe for a cinnamon swirl variation of its banana bread that doesn’t give much away, following standard tips about choosing ripe bananas and not using too much flour.
While Bob Evans’ recipe isn’t much help for cracking the code on the chain’s beloved banana bread, we think the key is to focus on nailing the moist bite that diners rave about and there’s one specific ingredient that can help recreate that perfect moistness: sour cream. Blogger Two Pink Peonies recommends using sour cream in place of butter in your banana bread recipe to replicate the Bob Evans version.
Another online hack suggests following a standard banana bread recipe, but sealing it in a zip-top bag after it comes out of the oven to lock in moisture. This goes against general advice to let baked goods cool on a rack so they don’t get soggy, but it may help recreate the sticky top of the Bob Evans banana bread by forcing the sugar and moisture to congeal together.
What sour cream does in baking
There are a couple of reasons why sour cream makes moist banana bread (and it should work for other baked goods, too). One is that it adds moisture — sure, you can do this with oil or milk, but the advantage to sour cream is that it won’t thin out a recipe in the same way. On top of that, it also adds richness and softness thanks to its fat content — full-fat sour cream is 18% fat, much higher than milk or buttermilk.
Bear in mind that sour cream does have a tangy flavor (particularly in comparison to dairy like milk or butter), due to the higher levels of lactic acid in it. That acid also has a potential benefit, in that it can break down gluten and make your banana bread, muffins, or cake more soft and tender. However, just bear in mind that it’s less neutral in taste, so that sourness may make your end product taste a little different with butter — whether this is good, bad, or otherwise, is subjective, of course.
Yogurt also has similar effects in baking, adding moisture and richness of flavor, although it’s lower fat so it may not be an ideal substitute for something like oil or butter. But if you’re looking for a trick to soft, moist banana bread, one of these acidic dairy products can do the trick.
