Gummy banana bread: check the center and the formula

Separate excess banana, an underbaked center, and warm slicing

Cut a fully cooled loaf through the center and describe what you see. A wet stripe of batter, a compressed crumb, and a warm sticky slice are different observations. The exterior’s color cannot resolve them.

A current recipe change worth checking

Sally’s banana bread now specifies 1½ cups (345g) mashed banana with 250g flour in a 9×5-inch pan. Its 2025 update says the team reduced banana from 2 cups after retesting reports of overly moist, dense loaves that did not bake properly.

That is a publisher-reported formula revision, not our kitchen trial. Compare the saved recipe version and measured banana amount before changing the next batch.

Diagnose this named loaf in order

1. Check measured banana. Compare mashed volume or weight with the current recipe, rather than relying on “four bananas.” Record whether the amount includes extra thawing liquid.
2. Check pan and depth. Confirm 9×5 inches for this recipe. A smaller pan changes depth; a browned top in a deeper loaf does not establish a baked center.
3. Check the center while baking. Use the complete recipe’s center endpoint; a browned exterior can hide wet batter.
4. Finish cooling. Assess a fully cooled center rather than a steaming cut surface. Record whether the gumminess persists after cooling.

Where a thermometer helps

King Arthur’s quick-bread guidance gives 200–205°F at the center as a benchmark for conventional wheat-based banana bread. Keep the probe away from the pan, and use it with the recipe’s other cues. It is not an endpoint for every gluten-free or differently formulated loaf.

What to change next

Correct a recorded mismatch first: banana amount, pan, or stopping before the center was ready. If all three matched, record flour weight and mixing method for a repeat. Do not simultaneously reduce banana, add flour, and extend baking; that would obscure which change affected the crumb. A cooled, inadequately cooked loaf should not be treated as fixed just because its slices can be toasted.