Could we have one too many Banana Bread recipes? Clearly, Laura, who has an entire website/blog dedicated to banana bread would agree with me when I say: NO.

What is it with banana bread that we have hordes of recipes for it? Are all our kitchens swelling with overripe bananas? (Mine is.) Are we predominantly banana eaters? (Or just meaning to eat banana and forgetting about them till they start to get mushy?) Whichever the case for all of you out there, I can pretty much speak for my family and friends that banana bread will always be accepted with wide open hands and mouths.

I know, I know…banana bread is so versatile that it can be adjusted for and with just about anything. Here at Gourmeted, we’ve already given you one that has almond butter and save-till-last cinnamon crumble top and another that is moist, dense and an undeniable indulgence thanks to the butter and cream. This time, I offer you a nice compromise between the two, and then some (nuts).

What’s different with this banana bread? It has vanilla yogurt, most number of bananas among the 3 recipes, and chopped walnuts. It is moist without being too dense, which is an issue for some. There is a good balance of nuts to bread (i.e. not too much) to give it an all around pleasurable bite after bite after bite.  So far, this has all the elements I want in a banana bread. I think I just found my new go-to banana bread recipe!

I made it into 3 little loaves that’s the perfect size to give out. I kept one for myself, gave one to my parents and another to my friend and her fiance. If you want some, you’ll have to make it. I’ve none left to share. Haha. Time to get more bananas because I already used up my frozen ones.

Freezing bananas: If you have any overripe bananas and not quite ready to make something out of it, don’t throw it away. Heavens, no. Peel the bananas and place them in ziploc bags before popping in the freezer. Just defrost in the fridge before using, or simply defrost in the microwave for a few seconds.

Banana Walnut Bread

Ingredients (makes 3 small loaves)

•    2 cups unbleached all-purpose flour
•    4 very ripe bananas, mashed well (about 2 cups mashed)
•    3/4 cup sugar
•    3/4 cups coarsely chopped walnuts
•    1/3 cup vanilla yogurt
•    2 large eggs, lightly beaten
•    6 tbsp unsalted butter, melted
•    1 tsp vanilla extract
•    1/2 tsp salt
•    3/4 tsp baking soda

Preparation

1. Preheat oven to 375°F. Line each small loaf pan with parchment paper, one strip lengthwise and another crosswise. If you use one big loaf pan, adjust the baking time accordingly.

2. In a large bowl, mix all dry ingredients together and set aside.

3. In a medium bowl, mix the mashed bananas, yogurt, eggs, butter, and vanilla extract.

4. Fold the banana mixture into the bowl of dry ingredients until just combined. The resulting batter would be thick. Pour into the parchment lined loaf pans.

5. Bake for 45 to 50 minutes if using small loaf pans, and begin to monitor doneness at 40 minutes. For larger pans, time may vary from 50 to 60 minutes. It’s done when the top is golden brown and a toothpick comes out clean when inserted in the middle.

6. Place the pans on a wire rack and let it cool for 10 minutes before sliding the bread out of the pan. Serve immediately or wait to cool before enjoying.

Hurray!

It’s true, it’s right up there with making a flaky pie crust: I didn’t think I’d ever make it — my own bread. I used to break out in a cold sweat when I thought about it.

While I was in Vancouver a months ago I learned of the book, Artisan Bread in Five Minutes a Day [also popularly referred to ABin5 in Twitter] through Elle. I made a note to myself to buy it when I go back to the US, because I was too busy at the time.

So here I was, got the book, baking stone (well I used a pizza stone), oven thermometer and single edge blades from the hardware store and started baking boulés using the book’s Master Recipe. In fact, I made 8 boules to date. I’m a perfectionist, what can I say? I still have to work on the boules looking like Hershey’s kisses, though. Then I moved on to another recipe: whole wheat bread. The first one in the oven was a disaster because I used the wrong size of pan, so the bread was half loaf, the bad kind — halved horizontally. It looked like a recession bread, haha.

I made another one the following evening using the proportion for two loaves for make up for the larger pan. [Insert angelic chorus...] See:

The hardest part for me with these breads is waiting for the bread to cool down so I can slice it. I waited 1.5 hours to slice this brown babe.

The crust is not hard, but not too soft, either. It’s perfect. The bread has a hint of sweetness from the honey, but you can barely taste it. It is perfect for making sandwiches. I’m completely happy just slathering butter on it. It’s a very filling snack, too. One slice is enough.

I’m so happy. I did it, I did it! I made a loaf bread and it didn’t suck. I fully credit the book, which I think you should get right now if you’re even thinking about trying to make bread. It is no knead bread. You don’t need a stand mixer with a dough hook. The latter is important to me because my Kitchenaid is in Vancouver, hehe. And you know what — and trust me when I say that I can’t believe I’m saying this:

Making bread is easy!

I’m now one of those who join the chorus in praising Artisan Bread in Five Minutes a Day as THE book that changed my attitude towards baking breads and completely turned me into that Crazy Bread Baking Lady.

This is also our very first entry into any cooking/baking challenge among the food blogging community. It really is hard for me — for us — to join them because of everything going on, including my regular travel. But I’m committing to 3 challenges per month, including Ben‘s Homemade Food Challenge. This month is for Homemade Bread. I think when I saw Ben’s announcement, it was after I baked my first boule, and it couldn’t have been better timed!

Here’s the recipe from the book: Continue Reading

It sounds like Ruth’s Chris Steakhouse, right? Haha.Here’s the story behind it: I got the recipe from Tita Thess, who got it from her husband, who got it from his co-worker. See how this works? Plagiarecipism! :) This recipe’s been around, alright, but it’s still as fantastic as when it was first discovered. I love that it doesn’t have vegetable oil as I’ve seen in other recipes (and also used in my Almond Butter Banana Bread with Cinnamon Crumble Topping). I don’t know…something about the oil that makes me want to substitute it whenever possible.

So back to the baking…how did it fare? The baked bread is dense, moist, full of the banana taste and the ‘crust’ is the best part! I’m not sure if it was because of the pan, but I had a beautiful even crust all around the bread. The slices look beautiful and the taste definitely lives up to the inviting facade.

I’m so glad I tried Tita Thess’s recipe (I love getting recipes from family and friends!!!). I followed it, including her recommendation to use 2 cups of mashed bananas, and skipped the nuts and raisins. This is a winning recipe with Dan, who does not like bananas, but ended up LOVING the bread.

For the loaf pan, I used the ceramic kind and lined it with two sheets of parchment paper along its length and width. No need to grease it with oil.

I like this method better than spraying it with oil because it makes it so easier and neater to take out the bread once it’s baked.

Look at it! I honestly do not know how I was able to wait overnight before I ate slice after slice…after slice.

This is one bread that would really leave a mark/aroma not only in your kitchen. In fact our apartment smelled of delicious banana bread the entire night and woke us up in the morning.

We still have more than half a loaf to ourselves. I’m going to try warming it up and slathering it with heavenly butter (I love, love, love, butter) for breakfast, then OJ…mmm. Dan and I are driving out to the Desert Botanical Garden to see the Chihuly exhibit so we can pack some up to go, too. Better than store bought. ;-)

I urge you to try it this weekend! Continue Reading

What could be better?

I love butter. I want my butter all fat and all full of flavor. Give me real creamy butter or deprive me of it. I won’t hold high anything in between.

For a person who loves butter this much, you’d think I’d try to make it sooner. But neither did I know I could, nor how. As with a lot of things, it’s more special when it happens at the right time. (Haha…I crack myself up.) This butter would not be here if we did not have leftover heavy cream that we did not want to consume in one sitting of strawberry with crepes. I don’t know, I just didn’t want it to go to the dairy purgatory and find out later we have a bad cream. And it was such a nice “experiment” with excellent results.

I remembered reading about people putting heavy cream in a gallon bottle and shake it until the butter forms. We don’t have that kind of bottle and I wasn’t about to labor for it that long. I also read that you can use your hand mixer and I can deal with that. So the cream transformed from this:

To this:

To something that resembles butter, which I thought would never come:

Then into butter AND liquid (I read in some places that this is buttermilk):

Oh, hello!!!

And it went right into my toast.

I will add that I only got a bite of this because before I knew it, Dan finished it.

And what did I do with the remaining liquid (buttermilk?)? I used it to soak chicken tenders. Nothing’s wasted.

If you’re up for it, here’s you need to make (unsalted) butter:

• Heavy cream
• Hand mixer or stand mixer
• Deep bowl (the liquid will start to splatter once the butter starts forming)

And all you need to do is beat the cream until butter forms. For about 10 minutes, I think. I lost track of time. You’ll see the yellow butter form. Don’t stop the first time you see it. Mix it further for about 5 minutes until the solids separate in clumps from the liquid. After that, you just need to squeeze out the liquid (I used clean hands) and transfer it to a container or measure it out in tablespoons or cups as you wish.

You can also put the butter in a separate mixing bowl and add salt and whatever spices and herbs you like, then roll it in parchment paper. I think homemade butter would be perfect for making butter with herbs.

BUT WHAT ABOUT THE TASTE of homemade butter? SO GOOD. I might have to make butter for our toasts from now on. It’s worth the effort, definitely.

I like banana bread and I often have it with hot chocolate when I order my poison [i.e. dark hot chocolate from Blenz]. I also like coffee cake when I need that extra sugar rush. When I saw this recipe and the description said that it’s a cross between a banana bread and coffee cake…I heard ding-ding-ding in my head.

Patience is not the strongest suit in my cards, that’s for sure. When I see something I want, I get it. If I want to accomplish something, I get it done. Then I just sit back and admire my handiwork with all that extra time. When faced with a must-cook recipe, I don’t waste time either. I just make it!

This life ‘formula’ doesn’t always work out perfectly. Like when I made these, I accidentally ate the 3rd banana that was to complete this recipe’s 1 cup of mashed bananas. Ooops! But I had to have banana bread right that instant so I improvised. I thought of something equally thick and mushy to add: almond butter. I don’t usually have almond butter in my cooking arsenal, but my recent diet changes due to my not-so-stellar health has brought a jar of it in the kitchen. It’s not sweet at all and it definitely covers the thickness/richness factor. I was also too excited to notice that instead of using sugar as the original recipe called for, I used golden yellow one. Oops, again. At that point, I just had to go with the flow and see how it goes. I was just hoping it was edible.

It wasn’t just edible. It was wonderful!

It was good fresh. After I let it sit overnight on the counter, it was perfect. The bread became a little moist (but not too much so it’s perfect for those who dislike super moist banana bread), a little packed…and oh my god the crumble topping is meant to be saved for last.

It was gone in a couple of days. I gave some to friends and my parents had the privilege of devouring them, and taking some on their road trip. The ‘mistakes’ were a success!!! Awesome. You better try it. It could actually be healthy, too…but don’t quote me on that.

Here’s the recipe: Continue Reading

Getting back to our routine, I finally tried my hand at baking flatbread. The July 2008 Gourmet issue had an inspiring, super-easy flatbread recipe that really, I had no excuse not to make it. I LOVE flatbread and I look forward to ordering appetizers that are served with it. Admittedly, I sometimes cave in to buying those horrendously expensive bag of them from the store. I think I’ll stick to making them now:

I still have this slight phobia with bread making, and this recipe increased my hopes for bread nirvana. It was light, crispy (but not abrasive for the roof of your mouth, if you know what I mean) and with a nice flavor.

It was sooo nice to bite into.

The recipe makes 3 rustic flatbreads. For my first batch in the oven, I followed 450ºF temperature and checked it after 8 minutes. It was dark, dark brown on one side. I tried it at 400ºF for the second one and baked it for 12 minutes and it was perfect. It was light brown and just golden brown in the right areas — PRETTY. I used the store-brand coarse salt from Whole Foods. It worked out really well.

The bread was seriously delicious. Dan and I split one over a bowl of fresh corn and chicken soup. It’s great to eat on its own as well. I probably ate one whole bread today. It’s completely addicting.

You’ll notice from the recipe that it calls for the use of parchment paper. Well, this is what happens when you leave your boyfriend in charge of the apartment: your boxes of parchment and aluminum foil magically disappears into the kitchen abyss. Haha. So anyway, I just used my trusty Silpat and it delivered fantastic results as usual. I LOVE consistently good products.

Flatbread is one of those foods that you start making and it will change the way you look at the store-bought varieties. It is so good fresh out of the oven! 

CRISP ROSEMARY FLATBREAD

Ingredients (4 servings)

• 1 3/4 cups unbleached all-purpose flour
• 1 tablespoon chopped rosemary, plus 2 (6-inch) sprigs
• 1 teaspoon baking powder
• 3/4 teaspoon salt
• 1/2 cup water
• 1/3 cup olive oil plus more for brushing
• Flaky sea salt such as Maldon. You can easily substitute with kosher salt.

Preparation

1. Preheat oven to 450°F with the oven rack positioned in the middle, and place a heavy baking sheet on it.
2. Mix together flour, chopped rosemary, baking powder, and salt in a medium bowl. Create a well in center and pour water and oil into it. Continuously stir together the dry and wet ingredients with a wooden spoon until the dough forms. Transfer on a clean work surface and slowly knead the dough with your hands for 5 minutes.
3. Divide and form dough into 3 balls. Take one and leave the remaining ones covered in plastic wrap). Roll out 1 ball on a sheet of parchment paper until you form a 10-inch round disk. Dough should be thin, but you don’t have to make a perfect circle. It’s meant to look rustic.
4. Lightly brush the top of the disk with olive oil and sprinkle rosemary leaves on top, pressing in slightly. Sprinkle with sea salt.
5. Carefully slide and transport the dough on parchment paper onto the preheated baking sheet. Bake until pale golden and slightly browned raised areas, about 8 to 10 minutes.
6. Transfer flatbread, without the parchment paper, onto to a cooling rack. Repeat steps #3 to #6 for the remaining dough balls, working on each one at a time on fresh parchment. Do not  brush the disks with oil or salt until just before baking them. Break into pieces before serving.

Notes
You can bake the flatbread 2 days in advance. Cool completely before keeping in an airtight container stored at room temperature.

I’ve always daydreamed of making pretzels. Then as soon as I visualize the work involved, I just go on with my day. I don’t know what I’ve been afraid of now that I’ve made my first batch. It was so fun to make, too. Plus they’re cute. [Dan laughs at me when I describe any food as "cute".]

To ease my way into the pretzel making world, I picked a recipe that didn’t require ‘cooking’ the dough on the stove. Baby steps, baby steps. Also, the scientist (or OCD?) in me kicked in and wanting to have uniform results, I weighed each pretzel dough at 50g, and I was able to produce 15 mini pretzels. They were delish and lasted us for two days.

Making pretzels

A note on these pretzels:

As I said earlier, I took the no-dough-cooking route. I’m not sure if that’s the reason, but these pretzels did not have that fine dough texture when you eat it. It’s not similar to Wetzel’s Pretzels, nor did it have a crust like Auntie Anne’s. BUT this is a pretty easy pretzel recipe with very decent homemade results — it was soft and chewy. Dan loved them. Consider this note a warning from someone who’s overcritical about her cooking.

Here’s the recipe:

Continue Reading