Great Northern beans are fine, BUT they are softer than Navy beans....some say they are the same bean, I disagree. They [great northern] are prone to overcooking, which is fine for beans and ham, not so delectable for baked beans when you have a lot of skin and less whole beans at the finish.
Pinto beans are [OK] for baked beans, but they are heartier and not as sweet....meaning they are larger, and even with maple syrup and brown sugar as a sweetener, they have more 'pulp' taste.
Black beans are also fine, if you prefer their flavor, but they hold up to the process well and stay together, but not near as sweet and delectable to the general crowd that loves baked beans.
Kidney beans definitely stay together, but have even more of a 'pulp' taste than 'frijoles pintos' [pinto beans], but may be the healthiest bean available to us.
You can use red mung beans, which are smaller than navy beans....they are sweet, hold together well, and I have used them for HOT BBQ beans at chili cook-offs......and they were a big hit, but they were for a 'different' style to gain in competition. I have NOT made baked beans with them [I would/should give them a go] and I regularly use them mixed with other beans.....like a 3 or 4 bean pot.
As white beans are more tender [generally] and less 'pulpy' tasting, better all around for baked beans [heeding the above], absorb more of the spices you use that result in an overall flavor.
Other than a 'white' lima' bean [butter bean] which I don't 'think' would make a good baked bean other than a casserole, there is another choice if you can find them dry [order online for best results].....
Cannellini beans.....also called 'common bean', or Phaseolus vulgaris........a white kidney bean that is hearty, less pulpy than any large bean, sweet and tender, and I have made baked beans with them with great results.Usually with venison [backstrap] and green chilies, pink [Himilayan]salt, fresh ground Malabar peppercorns, and fresh crushed garlic. Yowza !!!!!! [served on fresh baked French baquettes...or hot pan cornbread made with cream-style corn and a 1/2 cup of heavy cream poured into the center of the batter just before baking....Yowza Yowza !!!!!!! But I digress........
I have cooked dry beans for decades......learned from my '*******' relatives.....that don't cook dry beans !!!!!! WTF?
Well, my relatives didn't......per se.....they always had a big stew pot [stock pot] sitting on the back of the stove......and always added to it, daily, depending on what was brought home that day......from the shrimp docks, the store, from Uncle Boudreax on the swamp [fish, gator, duck, etc] , When I was a kid many didn't have refrigeration to store perishables, lived in a stilt cabin in the swamp. If someone brought perishables, they were cooked and eaten, or dried on the porch, depending. The fire never went out on the stove, and things were added daily to the pot......when someone [uncle, cousin, etc. was not available to hunt/fish.....going to work a couple days for cash] then the rice and/or beans were added to the pot. I remember drying out wood on the wood stove top, from the swamp, to use in the firebox of the stove. [Sorry for the reminiscent ramble]
Today, I usually cook multiple beans at a time. Black, Pinto, red or black mung, great northern, etc. because I believe we need variety in food for health, and beans should be eaten everyday. [whether your 'mate' appreciates it or not.....poot-poot.......
But I have progressed to a system that is ingenious, and simple, and easy, and fast.
I believe all dry beans should still be checked for dirt clods and rocks.......despite the great
modern harvesting techniques and machines, but I am an old dog, maybe it isn't necessary
anymore, but I still bark at the full moon......yet I have progressed with modern technology !
Nothing beats the 'new' electric pressure cookers !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
I use a Wolfgang Puck 8qt bought from HSN.com but there are others that are digital,
Power Pressure cooker XL is one if you want the pre-set buttons and have it think for you. [check out Chef Eric Theiss on YouTube. I like the WP because it is simple and analog, and I can think for myself.
I still believe dry beans should be soaked for at least a while......rinsed, soaked again, and rinsed again before cooking.....even if it it only a matter of a couple of hours. [or if you use the heat method]
I am surely no expert [at 70]......beans have been around far longer than my meager time.....
but they have been perfected in a million ways. Never take beans for granted.
The addage "it don't mean beans to me" came from the days that beans were the cheapest form of food available.......haha.......not any longer.
Ishootback......I would seriously invest in an electric Pressure cooker.......it is almost my most versatile kitchen appliance.....I cook FROZEN chicken breast for my cats [18] every other day, whole chicken for guests, entire frozen turkey breast, well, unlimited menus......
Look at youTube about electric pressure cookers.......the right research will only cost your budget 'beans'.......and your at-home results will be filet mignon.
Let me know if I can help.
God bless,
Ozo