Ah-hem? Is this thing on?? Ok…*nervous laugh*
I am finally getting some headway on baking. With a busy summer behind me I finally mustered up some motivation to get moving on my dream. Writing a blog…a food blog.
I’m not sure what it is about fall in Michigan, but it just makes me want to curl up by the fireplace with a great cup of soup or homemade bread. This Sunday was one of those days.
Since we are in the first few days of fall, we are still enjoying great weather of an Indian Summer. (It was nearly 75 so turning on the fireplace was NOT an option!). The only real hint of fall is that the days are getting shorter and leaves are starting to change their color (so were my bananas!) So instead of wasting, what is a girl to do but make banana bread!
I found this recipe awhile ago, when I still lived at home. My mother used to get these recipe cards in the mail. She didn’t really use them and knew I enjoyed cooking, so she would always let me have them. I kept one with a banana recipe and I still use it to this day. Why? Because it works, and it’s so darn good!
I hope you enjoy it…as banana bread smells have filled up my entire house!
For the recipe:
I am a big fan of weighing out my ingredients. You can still do that if you would like, but this recipe only provided measurements. I have used this recipe many times (even before I realized the importance of weighing out ingredients) and this recipe is not finicky so just be sure to measure properly and it should turn out great!
Recipe from “Grandma’s Kitchen”. Photos from ME!
Banana Bread
5 T. Butter
½ Cup Granulated Sugar
½ Cup Firmly Packed Light Brown Sugar
1 Large Egg (room temp)
2 Egg Whites (room temp)
1 t. Vanilla Extract
1 ½ Cups Mashed Ripe Bananas (about 3)
1 ¾ Cups All Purpose Flour
1 t. Baking Soda
½ t. Kosher Salt
¼ Cup Heavy Cream
Ingredients measured out
Directions:
Bowl#1 : Combine Flour, Baking Soda, Baking Powder, and Salt. Wisk gently to combine.
Bowl#2: In a separate bowl, beat butter on until smooth and creamy. Add both sugars, beat on LOW and gradually increase the speed to MEDIUM until well combined. Add egg, and egg whites one at a time waiting until egg is incorporated. Add vanilla. (I tend to be heavy handed with the vanilla…feel free to add a bit more J ). Then add mashed bananas and turn the speed up to high for about 30 seconds.
Creaming Butter and Sugars Mashing up the bananas
Use the creaming method to combine the flour and heavy cream to the ‘butter’ mixture. To do this, start out by adding a little bit of the flour mixture to the butter mixture while on low speed, and alternate with adding the heavy cream. End with the flour mixture. DO NOT OVER MIX. Too much gluten will develop making your bread tough.
This is what the batter should look like
Pour batter into greased loaf pan. Put on middle rack in oven and bake for about an hour at 350 degrees. (I used mini loaf pans, so I had 8 tiny tins that I baked for 25-30min).
My mini loaf pans, sprayed with pam Pouring Batter in the pans
Batter in, ready for the oven! Bread, hot from the oven!
The fact that I could slice this,
and not eat it before taking a picture
is award winning. Trust me.
I am finally getting some headway on baking. With a busy summer behind me I finally mustered up some motivation to get moving on my dream. Writing a blog…a food blog.
I’m not sure what it is about fall in Michigan, but it just makes me want to curl up by the fireplace with a great cup of soup or homemade bread. This Sunday was one of those days.
Since we are in the first few days of fall, we are still enjoying great weather of an Indian Summer. (It was nearly 75 so turning on the fireplace was NOT an option!). The only real hint of fall is that the days are getting shorter and leaves are starting to change their color (so were my bananas!) So instead of wasting, what is a girl to do but make banana bread!
I found this recipe awhile ago, when I still lived at home. My mother used to get these recipe cards in the mail. She didn’t really use them and knew I enjoyed cooking, so she would always let me have them. I kept one with a banana recipe and I still use it to this day. Why? Because it works, and it’s so darn good!
I hope you enjoy it…as banana bread smells have filled up my entire house!
For the recipe:
I am a big fan of weighing out my ingredients. You can still do that if you would like, but this recipe only provided measurements. I have used this recipe many times (even before I realized the importance of weighing out ingredients) and this recipe is not finicky so just be sure to measure properly and it should turn out great!
Recipe from “Grandma’s Kitchen”. Photos from ME!
Banana Bread
5 T. Butter
½ Cup Granulated Sugar
½ Cup Firmly Packed Light Brown Sugar
1 Large Egg (room temp)
2 Egg Whites (room temp)
1 t. Vanilla Extract
1 ½ Cups Mashed Ripe Bananas (about 3)
1 ¾ Cups All Purpose Flour
1 t. Baking Soda
½ t. Kosher Salt
¼ Cup Heavy Cream
Ingredients measured out
Directions:
Bowl#1 : Combine Flour, Baking Soda, Baking Powder, and Salt. Wisk gently to combine.
Bowl#2: In a separate bowl, beat butter on until smooth and creamy. Add both sugars, beat on LOW and gradually increase the speed to MEDIUM until well combined. Add egg, and egg whites one at a time waiting until egg is incorporated. Add vanilla. (I tend to be heavy handed with the vanilla…feel free to add a bit more J ). Then add mashed bananas and turn the speed up to high for about 30 seconds.
Creaming Butter and Sugars Mashing up the bananas
Use the creaming method to combine the flour and heavy cream to the ‘butter’ mixture. To do this, start out by adding a little bit of the flour mixture to the butter mixture while on low speed, and alternate with adding the heavy cream. End with the flour mixture. DO NOT OVER MIX. Too much gluten will develop making your bread tough.
This is what the batter should look like
Pour batter into greased loaf pan. Put on middle rack in oven and bake for about an hour at 350 degrees. (I used mini loaf pans, so I had 8 tiny tins that I baked for 25-30min).
My mini loaf pans, sprayed with pam Pouring Batter in the pans
Batter in, ready for the oven! Bread, hot from the oven!
The fact that I could slice this,
and not eat it before taking a picture
is award winning. Trust me.
Ready to be sent over to the neighbors for a taste test!
Check out http://www.joyofbaking.com/ButterCakes.html#Creaming for great tips and descriptions on how to make a great cake! (This also applies to other baking goods too!) If you are anything like me…and ah-hem, are a total geek love to research, these tips really explain the reasoning and true science behind baking.
