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Harper's Kitchen: Banana Bread!
Harper's Kitchen: Banana Bread!
Now, there's this myth that Southern (American) cooks never reveal their secrets, but ih. Do you want to know the secret of fantastic banana bread? I mean, on the off chance you don't already know it?
The secret of fantastic banana bread, all other ingredients aside, is really, really, really ripe bananas.
And by really really really ripe, I mean bananas that inspire, "Ooh, time to throw that away!" impulses in nearly all of us, particularly teenagers who are a little squicky about food preparation to begin with.
So sometimes, particularly when you live with someone who loves to eat banana sandwiches, it's hard to keep bananas in the house for long periods of time. These particular bananas that I'm using tonight are left over from our trip to the Brick Lane Market three weekends ago, so they are just about right. I purposefully hung these in a plastic bag, out of the way, then kept them in the refrigerator for the last several days since I knew they were getting just about ready and I didn't want them to get all moldy on me. Now, if you don't have that kind of time-- if you want your banana bread soon, then I suggest you buy the ripest bananas you can find. You are not going to find ripe bananas in a grocery store: even over here, they sell 'em green. Go to a greengrocer, a market stand, anywhere that sells stuff off a truck, and you should be able to find what you're looking for. And if you still can't, there are still options. First, you can mush up not-ripe bananas and they will work OK; the flavour just won't be as good. The other method is to ripen the bananas in a brown paper sack. Yes, that's what I said. Put them in a brown paper sack, label them clearly with the date (because if you forget them, ew!), and leave them for a couple of days. I've always known about the seriously ripe banana thing, but it took![[livejournal.com profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/external/lj-userinfo.gif)
caomhan to explain to me about ripening bananas in paper bags. Because he really is all that.
OK, Harper: stop preaching about bananas and get on to the recipes!
Yeah, yeah, yeah. Ungrateful people. I'm going to give you two recipes for banana bread. Neither of them contain nuts, I'm afraid, because my G doesn't care for nuts, so I don't bother. However, you can add half a cup or so of the nut-o-your choice (most people go for pecans or walnuts, though I have had very good banana-cashew bread) to either of these recipes and it should be OK.
Maple Banana Bread
I love this recipe, and I may make one batch tonight, but I have to make two batches (lots of bananas, no freezer space), so only one of them will be this stuff. This recipe makes two loaves of maple banana bread. Ready?
You need:
1 cup melted butter
1 cup maple syrup
2 eggs
4 ripe bananas
1 teaspoon vanilla extract (there is such a thing as maple extract; if you can find it, more power to you)
1/4 cup plus 2 tablespoons milk
4 cups plain flour
2 teaspoons baking soda (bicarbonate of soda)
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/4 cup plus 2 tablespoons white sugar
How to make it:
Preheat oven to Gas Mark 4/350 degrees F/180 degrees C. Grease 2 5x9 inch loaf pans (I generally use butter, but ymmv).
In a large bowl, mix the melted butter and maple syrup. Beat in the eggs and bananas, leaving a few small chunks. Stir in the vanilla extract and milk. In a separate bowl, mix the flour, soda, and baking powder, and stir into the banana mixture just until moistened. Transfer to the prepared loaf pan. Sprinkle sugar evenly over the batter. If you add nuts, you want to toss them together with the sugar and add them at this point.
Bake 50 minutes in the preheated oven, or until a knife inserted in the center of the loaf comes out clean. You should have about 24 delicious slices of maple banana bread.
Seriously Banana-y Banana Bread
--for when you don't have maple syrup, or if you're just a banana freak. ;) This recipe makes one bigger loaf of bread, or you can put it in a pyrex baking dish to have a shallower bread, but remember to check it after less time than the recipe here calls for.
You need:
2 cups plain flour
1 teaspoon baking soda (bicarbonate of soda)
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup butter
3/4 cup brown sugar
2 eggs, beaten
2 1/3 cups mashed overripe bananas
How to make it:
Preheat oven to Gas Mark 4/350 degrees F/180 degrees C. Lightly grease a 9x5 inch loaf pan.
Combine flour, soda and salt.
In a separate bowl, cream together butter and brown sugar. Stir in eggs and mashed bananas until well blended. Stir banana mixture into flour mixture; stir just to moisten. Pour batter into prepared loaf pan.
Bake in preheated oven for 60 to 65 minutes, until a toothpick inserted into center of the loaf comes out clean. Let bread cool in pan for 10 minutes, then turn out onto a wire rack.
Note: Sweet quick breads taste better if you can stand to leave them overnight. I swear they do.
Now, there's this myth that Southern (American) cooks never reveal their secrets, but ih. Do you want to know the secret of fantastic banana bread? I mean, on the off chance you don't already know it?
The secret of fantastic banana bread, all other ingredients aside, is really, really, really ripe bananas.
And by really really really ripe, I mean bananas that inspire, "Ooh, time to throw that away!" impulses in nearly all of us, particularly teenagers who are a little squicky about food preparation to begin with.
So sometimes, particularly when you live with someone who loves to eat banana sandwiches, it's hard to keep bananas in the house for long periods of time. These particular bananas that I'm using tonight are left over from our trip to the Brick Lane Market three weekends ago, so they are just about right. I purposefully hung these in a plastic bag, out of the way, then kept them in the refrigerator for the last several days since I knew they were getting just about ready and I didn't want them to get all moldy on me. Now, if you don't have that kind of time-- if you want your banana bread soon, then I suggest you buy the ripest bananas you can find. You are not going to find ripe bananas in a grocery store: even over here, they sell 'em green. Go to a greengrocer, a market stand, anywhere that sells stuff off a truck, and you should be able to find what you're looking for. And if you still can't, there are still options. First, you can mush up not-ripe bananas and they will work OK; the flavour just won't be as good. The other method is to ripen the bananas in a brown paper sack. Yes, that's what I said. Put them in a brown paper sack, label them clearly with the date (because if you forget them, ew!), and leave them for a couple of days. I've always known about the seriously ripe banana thing, but it took
caomhan to explain to me about ripening bananas in paper bags. Because he really is all that.OK, Harper: stop preaching about bananas and get on to the recipes!
Yeah, yeah, yeah. Ungrateful people. I'm going to give you two recipes for banana bread. Neither of them contain nuts, I'm afraid, because my G doesn't care for nuts, so I don't bother. However, you can add half a cup or so of the nut-o-your choice (most people go for pecans or walnuts, though I have had very good banana-cashew bread) to either of these recipes and it should be OK.
Maple Banana Bread
I love this recipe, and I may make one batch tonight, but I have to make two batches (lots of bananas, no freezer space), so only one of them will be this stuff. This recipe makes two loaves of maple banana bread. Ready?
You need:
1 cup melted butter
1 cup maple syrup
2 eggs
4 ripe bananas
1 teaspoon vanilla extract (there is such a thing as maple extract; if you can find it, more power to you)
1/4 cup plus 2 tablespoons milk
4 cups plain flour
2 teaspoons baking soda (bicarbonate of soda)
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/4 cup plus 2 tablespoons white sugar
How to make it:
Preheat oven to Gas Mark 4/350 degrees F/180 degrees C. Grease 2 5x9 inch loaf pans (I generally use butter, but ymmv).
In a large bowl, mix the melted butter and maple syrup. Beat in the eggs and bananas, leaving a few small chunks. Stir in the vanilla extract and milk. In a separate bowl, mix the flour, soda, and baking powder, and stir into the banana mixture just until moistened. Transfer to the prepared loaf pan. Sprinkle sugar evenly over the batter. If you add nuts, you want to toss them together with the sugar and add them at this point.
Bake 50 minutes in the preheated oven, or until a knife inserted in the center of the loaf comes out clean. You should have about 24 delicious slices of maple banana bread.
Seriously Banana-y Banana Bread
--for when you don't have maple syrup, or if you're just a banana freak. ;) This recipe makes one bigger loaf of bread, or you can put it in a pyrex baking dish to have a shallower bread, but remember to check it after less time than the recipe here calls for.
You need:
2 cups plain flour
1 teaspoon baking soda (bicarbonate of soda)
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup butter
3/4 cup brown sugar
2 eggs, beaten
2 1/3 cups mashed overripe bananas
How to make it:
Preheat oven to Gas Mark 4/350 degrees F/180 degrees C. Lightly grease a 9x5 inch loaf pan.
Combine flour, soda and salt.
In a separate bowl, cream together butter and brown sugar. Stir in eggs and mashed bananas until well blended. Stir banana mixture into flour mixture; stir just to moisten. Pour batter into prepared loaf pan.
Bake in preheated oven for 60 to 65 minutes, until a toothpick inserted into center of the loaf comes out clean. Let bread cool in pan for 10 minutes, then turn out onto a wire rack.
Note: Sweet quick breads taste better if you can stand to leave them overnight. I swear they do.