The Secret Ingredient Martha Stewart Uses For The Most Flavorful Banana Bread

Of the silly mistakes you're making when it comes to banana bread, not using sour cream is high on the list. Before you turn up your nose at what sounds like a crazy addition to a sweet treat, know that this hack comes from Martha Stewart herself. Yup — the queen of the kitchen has an unexpected secret ingredient for the perfect banana bread, and it's probably something you already have in your fridge.

Sour cream enhances banana bread for a few different reasons. First of all, this tangy condiment contains fat, protein, and acid, all of which contribute positively to the physical structure of the dessert, bringing both support and tenderness. Plus, the sourness of the sour cream is a very pleasant counterpoint to the natural sweetness of the ripe bananas in the bread. Sour cream is also meant to be used as a swap for the fat you would usually use in your recipe, be it oil or butter. Note that this trick works best for a traditional preparation, and not the shortcut (but super yummy!) three-ingredient banana bread recipe that uses boxed cake mix.

Baking is a science, and the reason sour cream works is all due to the chemistry happening when you bake. Quick breads like banana bread don't use yeast, which makes them "quick." A chemical reaction takes place between the dry ingredients, eggs, bananas, and liquid, and turns into the fluffy, heavenly-smelling loaf you pull from your oven. Each ingredient is a rung on the ladder to a perfect bread, and sour cream can stand in as a strong foothold.

Stewart recommends using ¾ cup of sour cream in your batter and removing ¼ cup of oil and ½ cup of bananas from the recipe amounts. Sour cream goes in with the wet ingredients. Bake as usual. You'll notice that your bread is perfectly moist and that a knife goes through it with ease. And, of course, the flavor will be so good that you'll want to down the entire pan. And, for one more parting banana bread hack: before you pop your bread in to bake, you can use your warm oven to speed-ripen the bananas if they are too firm for mixing.