Quick and Easy Banana Bread

Don't you just love it when some things in life just come together so perfectly?  I'd gone through a string of not-so-great recipes and then I got super busy so there was minimal posting on my blog (as you may have noticed).  Last week, I wanted some bananas.  I love raw bananas - the greener, the better.  Yes, I'm weird, I know.  My husband doesn't like bananas.  Which, of course, means my husband is even weirder than me!  So I ate the bananas I wanted and I ended up having three sitting on my counter.  They'd started to turn black and since I'm a firm believer of "waste not, want not", I HAD to make something out of these bananas.  Knowing the husband wasn't going to be eating anything, I decided to make banana bread.  While I may not be the biggest fan (I'll eat it if I feel like it), my mom and best friend love banana bread.  I wanted to try out a somewhat simple recipe since it had been SO long since I'd made it.  Luckily, this turned out REALLY good (although not as good as my best friend's banana bread, who currently owns the title of "Best Banana Bread" in our families).  It's super simple and I'd bet you probably have all the ingredients in your pantry right now.

Quick and Easy Banana Bread
adapted slightly from King Arthur Flour

1/4 c. Canola Oil
3/4 c. Brown Sugar, packed (light or dark)
3 Eggs
1 1/2 Bananas, mashed (about 3)
2 1/4 Baking Mix (I used this but Bisquick will work just fine)
1/2 tsp. Ground Allspice
1/2 c. Chopped Pecans (or walnuts)

Preheat your oven to 350.
Spray a 8 1/2" x 4 1/2" loaf pan with cooking spray with flour.
In a large bowl, whisk your oil and sugar until combined.
Add in the eggs and keep whisking til it all comes together.
Add in your mashed bananas, baking mix, and allspice and mix until blended.
Stir in the nuts until its evenly distributed.
Pour into your loaf pan and bake for 60 minutes, laying a piece aluminum foil over the top after 30 minutes to prevent overbrowning.
You'll know its done when a toothpick is inserted and comes out clean.
Allow the bread to cool for 10 minutes before removing it from the pan so it can cool completely on a wire rack.
Eat and enjoy :)

Key Lime Bread

I think I may have mentioned here a couple of times that my husband likes key lime stuff.  Like a lot.  And I could've possibly mentioned that I love King Arthur Flour things... maybe.  My best friend knows that I love KAF stuff so she's given me a subscription to the KAF Baking Sheet (a bi-monthly newsletter full of yummy recipes) for the last few years as a Christmas gift.  (Aren't best friends... the best??)  So when my Spring 2013 Baking Sheet arrived and I saw the recipe for Key Lime Bread, I jumped at the chance to make it.  This was very different from some of the other quick breads that I've made because it packed such a lime punch but it wasn't overpowering.  Most quick breads are very sweet but this is not.  It's a very refreshing change and a perfect bread to eat on a spring day, sipping some sweet tea :)

Typically, I like to always use recipes that don't call for special ingredients because I want these recipes available to everyone, hoping (hopefully) at-hand items.  This recipe, however, does require one special ingredient that is well worth the effort of purchasing - Key Lime Powder.  It is a great way to add lime flavor without having to worry about adding additional liquids.  You can use it in scones (KAF has a great recipe for Mojito scones), cookies, glazes for cakes/quick breads.  It's worth the price - and if you sign up for the KAF emails, you can receive special offers, some of which are for free/really cheap shipping!  (With all the KAF spotlighting I do, I really should be on ten percent... hehe)

Key Lime Bread
courtesy of The Baking Sheet, Spring 2013

6 Tbsp. Butter, salted (if using unsalted, add 1 tsp. salt), melted
2 Tbsp. Canola Oil
3/4 c. Sugar
1/4 c. Lime Juice Powder
2 Eggs, large
Zest of 1 Lime
1 tsp. Vanilla
2 c. All Purpose Flour
2 tsp. Baking Powder
3/4 c. Milk (I used skim, but whatever you have on hand will be fine)
2 Tbsp. Lime Juice
1/2 c. Walnuts, chopped fine

Lightly grease a 9" x 5" loaf pan using a cooking spray with flour (like Pillsbury).
Preheat oven to 350.
Cream the butter, oil, sugar, and lime juice powder together.
Mix in the eggs.
Add in your zest and vanilla extract.
Make sure everything is all mixed together happily.
In another bowl, whisk the flour, baking powder, and salt (if using).
To your butter-sugar mixture, alternate adding the flour mixture and milk (beginning and ending with the flour).
Stir in the lime juice and walnuts.
Pour the batter into your prepared pan and bake for 50 to 60 minutes or until a tester can be inserted and come out clean.
Let cool slightly and remove from pan to finish cooling on a rack.
Glaze if desired (recipe follows).

Glaze:
2 Tbsp. Lime Juice
1 Tbsp. Lime Juice Powder
1/2 c. Powdered Sugar
2 Tbsp. Heavy Cream
Zest of 1 Lime

Combine together and brush over the warm bread.

Eat and enjoy!!

Bread Basket: Homemade Focaccia Bread

If you've read this blog before, you know that I love bread.  I really love bread.  (My hips?  Not so much.)  I've made some pretty basic breads in the past - sandwich breads, hamburger buns.  But I've been itching to try something different so the other night, I made one of Ryan's favorite meals - homemade spaghetti and meatballs.  He really loves it when I cook that.  It brings back some fond memories for us.  See, when he and I first met in person (we had "met" online many, many months before), this was the first thing I made for him.  Well, I made spaghetti.  I didn't add the meatballs until a while later.  I really wanted to impress this guy that I really, really liked with my cooking and I knew that was the best thing I made.  Ladies, there is a reason why "The way to a man's heart is through his stomach" is a cliche.  It's true.  I made him that meal and, now, we're married!  No, I won't give up my spaghetti recipe - it's a secret.

When I was making him spaghetti and meatballs last night, I wanted to make some sort of Italian bread.  Because you cannot have spaghetti without having some sort of bread product.  Unfortunately, I couldn't find a bread recipe that took less than two hours to finish (with rising times and all that jazz) until I looked on the back of my King Arthur Flour Italian-Style Flour bag.  (Ryan says I'm obsessed with flour.  I have no idea why he would say that.  I only have fourteen* different kinds of flour in our pantry.)

This bread can be made in just over one hour.  Which is almost a miracle when it comes to yeasted breads.  If you're just getting started with breads, this is an excellent bread to start out with since its so simple.  And it's really, really good.

Focaccia Bread
courtesy of KAF's Italian Style Flour bag

Bread:
3 3/4 c. All Purpose Flour (I used my Italian-Style but AP works fine)
1 1/2 tsp. Salt (Kosher works best in breads)
1 Packet of Instant/Active Dry Yeast (if measuring, use 2 tsp.)
2 Tbsp. Olive Oil
1 c. Water + 2 to 4 Tbsp., divided

Topping:
2 Tbsp. Olive Oil
Italian Seasoning

In a mixer or using your hands, combine all your ingredients and knead for 5 to 6 minutes, using 1 c. water plus 2 Tbsp.  If you dough is dry, add the additional 2 Tbsp. of water.  You want the dough to be sticky.
Cover the dough for 15 minutes.
Remove the dough from the mixing bowl and place onto a large piece of parchment paper and knead gently a few times just to redistribute the growing yeast.
Transfer the dough and the parchment to a baking sheet and pat into a 10"x15" rectangle.
Brush with olive oil and sprinkle with Italian seasoning.
Preheat your oven to 425.
Lightly spray a piece of plastic wrap and place over the dough and allow to sit in a warm place for 30 minutes.  (I let mine sit next to my oven.)
Just before baking, using your fingers, gently press down to the top of the dough to make little dimples.
Bake for 15 to 18 minutes or until golden brown. 
 

(I neglected to add enough olive oil to the top.  Don't make my mistake.)

* - My fourteen (technically fifteen) different kinds of flour:

  1. All Purpose

  2. Self-Rising

  3. Whole Wheat

  4. White Whole Wheat

  5. Bread

  6. Cake

  7. European Style

  8. Italian Style

  9. Barley

10. Pastry

11. Graham

12. Irish-style Wholemeal

13. Kamut (of which I have two)

14. Potato 

(yes, each and every last one of them is from King Arthur Flour.)

Apple Cinnamon Muffins/Bread

Apple and cinnamon?  Yum.  "Yes, please" and, "Please, sir, may I have another?"

I'm sure you recall the Blueberry Muffin Bread recipe where I had too much batter and ended up having to use the remaining batter to make bread.  Well, I did the same thing here only I really don't know how it happened.  Unlike with the Blueberry Bread, I followed the directions, using white whole wheat flour and all-purpose instead of substituting white whole wheat for regular all-purpose.  This recipe is SUPPOSED to yield 12 happy muffins.... yeah, not for me.  I don't understand why or how it happened but I'm just glad it did!  To think that I now have the knowledge to turn muffins into bread.... OH THE POWER!!!!!  Oh, did I say that out loud?  Do forgive me.  I'm not that power-hungry... usually.

When baking with apples, you have to be careful about which type of apple you choose.  A Red Delicious, for instance, is great for eating but terrible for baking.  They disintegrate.   So much you won't even be able to tell there's apple in it.  My favorites?  Granny Smith and Braeburn, all of which are readily available in your local grocery store.  When I bake pies, I enjoy using a mixture of both those apples.  The Granny Smith is very tart and the Braeburn helps to cut through that tartness.  Honeycrisps are my favorite for eating around the holidays (because that's usually the only time you can find them) and are the apples most commonly used in apple cider.  See, you can learn new things on baking blogs!  For a quick overview of apples for baking, here's a quick link from allrecipes.com for you.  Due to the sweetness from the sugars and cinnamon chips, I chose to use a Granny Smith apple here to help even out the flavors but you can choose whatever variety you like.

Apple Cinnamon Muffins/Bread 
courtesy of the KAF Cinnamon Flav-R-Bits package

1 c. White Whole Wheat Flour
1 c. All-Purpose Flour (or 2 c. All-Purpose)
1 tsp. Baking Powder
1 tsp. Baking Soda
1/2 c. Butter, at room temperature (salted - if using unsalted, add 1/4 tsp. salt)
1/2 c. Sugar
1/2 c. Brown Sugar
1 Egg
1 c. Buttermilk
1 large apple, peeled, cored, and chopped (I used Granny Smith)
1/2 c. Cinnamon Chips

Preheat the oven to 450°F.
Line a muffin tin with paper cups.
Combine the flours, baking powder, baking soda, and salt, if using.
In a separate bowl, beat the butter with the sugars until fluffy.
Add your egg and mix well.
Mix in the buttermilk to the egg and sugar-butter mixture.
Fold in your dry ingredients, apple, and cinnamon chips.
Divide the batter evenly among the prepared muffin cups.  Should you find yourself with extra batter (which somehow, I did), spray 2 3x5 pans with cooking spray and divide the batter into the pans.
Bake for 10 minutes, reduce the heat to 400°F, and bake for an additional 8 to 10 minutes, until a toothpick inserted in the center of a muffin comes out clean.
If you're baking breads, tent some foil over the pans and bake for an additional 10 minutes (30 minutes total).
Don't fret if your muffins come out dark - they're supposed to thanks to the brown sugar.
Cool the muffins for 5 minutes in the tin, then turn them out onto a rack to cool completely.

Blueberry Muffin Bread

In an effort to reduce the number of muffin recipes (especially blueberry muffin recipes), I've decided to try my hand at baking muffin breads (albeit not intentionally... ).

You see, my dad is diabetic (which was completely tragic, let me tell you) and he can no longer have regular white flour (oh the humanity!).  I had a conversation with him not too long about about if he can have white whole wheat flour.  Which turned into a debate over whether or not WWW was the same nutritionally as regular WW.  I was steadfast in my stance that *King Arthur Flour* White Whole Wheat was the exact same as regular Whole Wheat.  I said, "I went to a KAF seminar on whole grains, thank you very much.  So I know what I'm talking about.  I cannot, however, vouch for any other companies's white whole wheat."  (Although in my house, you don't bring in other flour.  It's pretty much sacrilegious.)  Anyhoo, the wheat berries used by KAF are the exact same as the wheat berries used in their whole wheat flower except the berries are really light in color versus the red berry color used in whole wheat flour (hence the color difference).  He agreed to try something baked with KAF's WWW and this is what I whipped up.  Of course, my husband happened to mention that he wanted me to bake some muffins for him for breakfast this week so it killed two birds with one stone.  (I've still yet to figure out why my husband asks me such things.  He thinks I like to cook!)

This recipe originally made 12 muffins using all purpose flour.  By all means, substitute all purpose flour and you'll end up with 12 happy muffins.  However, if you're me and remember that whole wheat flours require additional liquid AFTER you've already divided your extremely thick dough into muffins and STILL have batter left over.  Which I promptly poured into aluminum 3x5 pans thus making Muffin Bread!  Yay for thinking on the fly! And even more Yay! for the fact that it all worked out extremely well.

Blueberry Muffin Bread (or just muffins)
adapted from Down Home with the Neelys

8 Tbsp. (1 stick) Salted Butter, melted (if using unsalted, add 1/4 tsp. salt)
2/3 c. Sugar + 1/3 c. Splenda (or just 1 c. Sugar)
2 Eggs
1 tsp. Vanilla
1/2 c. Sour Cream (Daisy Light)
1/2 c. Milk (2%)
2 1/4 c. White Whole Wheat Flour (or All-Purpose)
2 tsp. Baking Powder
1/2 tsp. Baking Soda
Small Carton of Fresh Blueberries

Preheat the oven to 350.
Line a 12-cup muffin tin with liners and spray two mini loaf pan with cooking spray (if going the WWW route).
In a large bowl, cream together your butter and sugar.
Add eggs, one at a time, and mix together.
Now you'll add your vanilla, sour cream, and milk until combined.
Slowly mix in your flour, baking powder and soda, and salt (if using).  (If you're using AP flour, your mixture should be pretty smooth.  If you're using WWW flour, your mixture is going to be crazy thick.)
Fold in your blueberries with a spatula.
Evenly divide your batter into your muffin tin with a measuring cup (I use a 1/4 c. measure).  If you're using WWW flour, you should have a large amount of batter left over which you will divide into two 3x5 pans.
Bake for 20 minutes.
Remove muffins and set aside to cool on a wire rack.
Tent aluminum foil over your mini bread pans and bake for an additional 10 minutes.
Cool on a wire rack.

Bread Basket: Homemade Hamburger Buns

November is National Bread Month.  I knew I loved November for reasons beyond Thanksgiving and the birthday of yours truly.  I love bread.  I mean, I REALLY love bread.  And bread loves me.  At least I like to think it does.  When Ryan and I got married, the wedding gift I gave to myself (because, hey, you should always pamper yourself every once in awhile) was a bread machine.  I love that thing.  When we moved into our house, my bread machine was the first thing I put in its proper place.  (Not to mention when we went to look at the house, I turned to Ryan and said, "Look honey!  It's the perfect spot to hold my bread machine!"  Seriously.)

I had never made bread before - ever.  But I loved bread and really wanted to try making it myself and I thought the quickest and easiest way would be to purchase a bread machine and then buy tons of cookbooks on bread machine baking.  This bread machine cookbook is by-far my favorite and go to for recipes besides the ever trusty King Arthur Flour website.  I really enjoyed baking bread in my bread machine and as time went on, I wanted to try my hand at baking breads OUTSIDE of my bread machine.  Now, kneading by hand is time consuming albeit a great upper body workout (you try kneading bread dough for ten minutes and see how you feel) and I do enjoy doing it sometimes.  Like when I'm stressed or had a really bad day and need something to beat into submission (because husbands are out of the question).  Yet there is a lovely setting on all bread machines - Dough.  Yes, you let your bread machine do all the hard work while you sip a daiquiri do housework (hehe).  This is a wonderful thing, truly.

Yeast breads seem to be a bit daunting to people and, truth be told, it was to me at first too.  But now I have it down to a science.  I know what temperature to have the water at to get the best reaction out of my yeast (which I buy in bulk, by the way).  The more you do it, the easier it becomes.  One of my greatest discoveries was how to make my own hamburger buns!  Hamburger buns!!  The recipe I use makes eight total.  Now, it's just me and Ryan so what to do with the other?  Freeze them!  They really are easy and always taste really, really good.

I'm not one of those crazy people who thinks you need to go organic for everything or only purchase gluten-free, low-fat everything.  But I do draw the line at preservatives.  I'm not a fan of them so I try to avoid them as much as I can.  And making your own bread is not only cheaper but always better for your health.  The hamburger buns you purchase at the grocery store has so many ingredients (many of which you can't pronounce unless you have a PhD in Chemistry) that its unreal.  Yet homemade hamburger buns only have SEVEN ingredients.  SEVEN!

For comparison purposes, here are the ingredients in Wonder Hamburger Buns: 

Enriched Wheat Flour [Flour, Barley Malt, Ferrous Sulfate  (Iron), B Vitamins (Niacin, Thiamin Mononitrate  (Vitamin B1), Riboflavin  (Vitamin B2), Folic Acid)], Water, Sweetener (High Fructose Corn Syrup, Sugar), Yeast, Soybean Oil, Contains 2% or Less of Wheat Gluten, Salt, Calcium Sulfate, Dough Conditioners (May Contain Sodium Stearoyl Lactylate, Tricalcium Phosphate, ethoxylated Mono And Diglycerides, Datem, Dicalcium Phosphate, Mono And Diglycerides, Calcium Dioxide, and/or Sorbic Acid), Vinegar, Soy Flour, Yeast Nutrients (May Contain Ammonium Chloride, Ammonium Phosphate, Diammonium Phosphate, Ammonium Sulfate, Monocalcium Phosphate and/or Calcium Carbonate), Cornstarch, Wheat Starch, Enzymes, Calcium Propionate  (to Retain Freshness), Soy Lecithin.

I use Granular Lecithin in some of my breads to aid in preservation but that's it.  Now, how many of you can pronounce all those ingredients?  And can tell me what all they do?  Yeah, didn't think so.  If you really want to take good, active steps towards making your family healthier, baking your own breads is a very good place to start.

Homemade Hamburger Buns
courtesy of KAF's Baker's Companion

3/4 to 1 c. Water (around body temperature.  You can determine the temp the same way you do a baby bottle - feeling with the underside of your wrist.)
2 Tbsp. Butter, melted
1 Egg
3 1/2 c. All-Purpose Flour (or whole wheat)
1/4 c. Sugar
1 1/4 tsp. Salt (kosher is preferred)
1 Tbsp. Instant Yeast
1 Tbsp. Butter, melted (to brush on buns before baking)

1.  Combine all ingredients together and mix until well combined, using 3/4 c. of water to start with. 
Note:  Why the variation in the amount of water?  Well, first off, if you're using whole wheat flour, you'll need to add more water because whole wheat needs additional water to really make it cohesive.  Secondly, yeast doughs are affected by a lot of different factor - the temperature inside your house, the humidity, etc.  If your dough is too dry, you'll add a little more water or if it's too wet, you'll add more flour.
2.  Knead dough by hand for ten minutes, until you have a smooth and supple dough.  (If using a bread machine, use your machine's instruction on how to add the ingredients.  Mine is liquid-dry-yeast.)
3.  Cover and let dough rise in a warm place for 1 to 2 hours or until doubled in height.  (If using a bread machine, allow it complete its dough cycle.)
4.  Using a knife or dough scraper, sprayed with cooking spray, divide the dough into EIGHT portions (I use the pizza slicing method to make sure they're all the same size).
5.  Now you shape the dough into smooth balls (my method means turning the dough in my hand while pushing the dough inward so it gets all smooth on top).
6.  On a large baking sheet, covered in parchment or sprayed with cooking spray, evenly spread out your balls of dough.
7.  Gently press down the dough until it is about 3 to 3 1/2 inches wide.
8.  Cover the buns and allow to rise for 1 hour (they won't look doubled).
9.  While you buns are rising for the second time, preheat your oven to 375.
10. Brush with melted butter (you can top with sesame seeds now if you like!).
11. Bake for 15 to 18 minutes or until golden.

 

For more detailed instructions and pictures, please visit the King Arthur Flour Baking Banter blog.

Applesauce Oatmeal Bread

Here I go again with King Arthur Flour.  It isn't my fault these wonderful people have such awesome recipes!  Nor is it my fault that my best friend ordered me a subscription to their magazine (which only fuels my addiction).  Ryan has asked many times if there is a KAF Addicts Anonymous.  I asked them and they replied, "There are many ways to feed your addiction ;)"  So they aren't helping either.  Oh well, we'll just carry on anyway!

I'm actually getting ready to bake a second loaf of this bread.  I baked one loaf for myself to use a breakfast bread (which is wonderful when you're leaving home at 6:30 in the morning to go pet sitting) and I brought some slices to share with my coworkers (one of which just happens to be my mother) and the bread was quickly eaten.  When my mom told my dad about it, he was slightly irritated that I had not saved him a slice.  So, for my "bad daughter"-ness, I'm making a whole loaf just for my parents.  Does that make my horns into a halo?  If you ask my dad, he just says the halo hides the horns ;)  Which is true, I suppose.... hehe ;)  I also made this bread for my mom for Mother's Day!  (Nothing beats a homemade gift!)

So let's get started!


Applesauce Oatmeal Bread
(recipe courtesy of kingarthurflour.com)

1 c. Sugar
2 Eggs (or 1/2 c. Egg Beaters)
1/2 c. Canola Oil
1 1/2 tsp. Vanilla (Neilsen Massey Vanilla Bean Paste)
1/2 c. Whole Wheat Flour (or White Whole Wheat - KAF)
1 c. All Purpose Flour (KAF)
1/4 tsp. Baking Powder
1/2 tsp. Baking Soda
2 tsp. Pumpkin Pie Spice (my go-to spice blend!)
1/2 tsp. Salt
1/2 c. Rolled Oats
3/4 c. Applesauce (natural applesauce - no added sweeteners, please!)
1/2 c. Chopped Walnuts

Preheat oven to 350.
In one bowl, mix the sugar, eggs, oil, and vanilla.
In another bowl, mix the flours, baking powder and soda, and pumpkin pie spice.
Add the flour mixture to the wet ingredients and mix well.
Now add the oats, applesauce, and walnuts.
Pour the mixture into a 9x5 loaf pan.
Bake for 55 to 60 minutes (or until a toothpick/cake tester comes out clean).
Remove from oven and cool completely.

Calories - 252 (using EggBeaters and Whole Wheat Flour - serves 12)