According to the regular updates I've been getting from my Aunt's iPad, my grandmother's iPhone and my cousin's iTouch (okay she also has an iPhone but I wanted to go for the hat trick) my precious cousin Leo went from his first steps to sprinting in a matter of days. While my precious cousin Leo was a scooter, I think we can all agree you have to master crawling before he got to his new breakneck pace (which I cannot wait to see when I make it back to Austin next - an aside, visiting someone in the middle of a Texas summer is a mark of true devotion)..
Baking too needs a crawling period. You need to master the art of something you have a lot of confidence in putting together on a whim before you graduate to the harder stuff. like, oh say this beautiful cupcake house my friend Elana and I constructed at her fabulous confection-filled bridal shower last week.
Banana bread was that step between crawling and walking for me. You know that saying, "first comes pancakes, then comes banana bread then comes a challah loaf as big as your head?" Oh then I guess you were not "raised" in my house (if you're my real friend you will never forgive that pun).
The best part about this recipe is its ability to forgive. Maybe I'm just blinded by my love for this recipe, but I honestly think I could swap out any of these ingredients and end up with something edible and delicious. I have done this bread many an injustice. I have made it with two bananas plus whatever fruit I have on hand (as I did today), I have thrown in dried cranberries, fresh blueberries, chocolate chips, carob chips (which I still contend are gross) and more chocolate chips, swapped in fruit flavored yogurts for buttermilk/sour cream/yogurt, whole wheat flour and the occasional handful of pecans.
This past Saturday morning I attempted several rounds of injustices on this recipe. There were the aforementioned two bananas vs. three minimum, but then there was the matter of what to do once my batter once ready. I've been in my apartment for almost a year and I only just (as in once I was ready to put this puppy in the oven) discovered that the whole time I have been sans loaf pan. Cue 8x8 glass Pyrex to the rescue, with nary a complaint from my taste testers. With old college friends on their way over for brunch, friends who've seen me through many incarnations of myself, I could think of no better recipe to make.
Thanks to my beautiful mother for giving me this recipe (my grandmother even gives her credit in her excellent collection of spiral bound family recipes), but most of all for showing me how to make a recipe that can change with me (and the ingredients in my fridge). And thank you all for forgiving me my Instagram transgressions. Banana bread was never meant to be sepia coated.
Susan's Banana Bread
1/2 cup (1 stick) unsalted butter (softened to room temperature)
1 cup sugar (white or brown or mixed)
2 eggs (room temperature)
1 teaspoon vanilla
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 1/2 cups flour (I use unbleached white whole wheat this time around but you can swap in your preference)
4 tablespoons sour cream (or yogurt or buttermilk)
3-4 ripe bananas (tip, if a banana's too brown for you to eat, throw it in the freezer and take out at least10 minutes before you're ready to make this recipe)
Optional
1 cup "other stuff" which can be a combination of nuts, raisins, blueberries or other kinds of berries (better if they're on the riper side as well). This time around I used a cup of chocolate chips and a cup of blackberries and strawberries (this was in lieu of said third banana).
Using a hand mixer (or a standing mixer if you've got one) cream together the sugar and the butter. One light and fluffy add eggs and vanilla and combine thoroughly. Add salt, baking soda and flour and combine thoroughly.
In a separate bowl mash up the bananas using a fork until they look like something you think your mom would let a baby eat, then add to the batter and combine once more. If you're putting in the "other stuff" that will be your final addition, make sure to combine in using a spatula or a wooden spoon however to protect the integrity of the ingredients.
Pour batter into a well greased large loaf pan (or two medium ones, or one 8x8 pan) and bake at 325 degrees Farenheit for an hour or more. You'll know your bread is ready if it's firm to the touch and it passes the toothpick test.
Lesson learned, if throwing random blueberries into banana bread, DO NOT take the picture on Instagram because the whole world will think you're baking purple Gak.
Baking too needs a crawling period. You need to master the art of something you have a lot of confidence in putting together on a whim before you graduate to the harder stuff. like, oh say this beautiful cupcake house my friend Elana and I constructed at her fabulous confection-filled bridal shower last week.
 |
| My dream house made of cupcake (look inside there is an industrial sized standing mixer). |
The best part about this recipe is its ability to forgive. Maybe I'm just blinded by my love for this recipe, but I honestly think I could swap out any of these ingredients and end up with something edible and delicious. I have done this bread many an injustice. I have made it with two bananas plus whatever fruit I have on hand (as I did today), I have thrown in dried cranberries, fresh blueberries, chocolate chips, carob chips (which I still contend are gross) and more chocolate chips, swapped in fruit flavored yogurts for buttermilk/sour cream/yogurt, whole wheat flour and the occasional handful of pecans.
This past Saturday morning I attempted several rounds of injustices on this recipe. There were the aforementioned two bananas vs. three minimum, but then there was the matter of what to do once my batter once ready. I've been in my apartment for almost a year and I only just (as in once I was ready to put this puppy in the oven) discovered that the whole time I have been sans loaf pan. Cue 8x8 glass Pyrex to the rescue, with nary a complaint from my taste testers. With old college friends on their way over for brunch, friends who've seen me through many incarnations of myself, I could think of no better recipe to make.
Thanks to my beautiful mother for giving me this recipe (my grandmother even gives her credit in her excellent collection of spiral bound family recipes), but most of all for showing me how to make a recipe that can change with me (and the ingredients in my fridge). And thank you all for forgiving me my Instagram transgressions. Banana bread was never meant to be sepia coated.
Susan's Banana Bread
1/2 cup (1 stick) unsalted butter (softened to room temperature)
1 cup sugar (white or brown or mixed)
2 eggs (room temperature)
1 teaspoon vanilla
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 1/2 cups flour (I use unbleached white whole wheat this time around but you can swap in your preference)
4 tablespoons sour cream (or yogurt or buttermilk)
3-4 ripe bananas (tip, if a banana's too brown for you to eat, throw it in the freezer and take out at least10 minutes before you're ready to make this recipe)
Optional
1 cup "other stuff" which can be a combination of nuts, raisins, blueberries or other kinds of berries (better if they're on the riper side as well). This time around I used a cup of chocolate chips and a cup of blackberries and strawberries (this was in lieu of said third banana).
Using a hand mixer (or a standing mixer if you've got one) cream together the sugar and the butter. One light and fluffy add eggs and vanilla and combine thoroughly. Add salt, baking soda and flour and combine thoroughly.
In a separate bowl mash up the bananas using a fork until they look like something you think your mom would let a baby eat, then add to the batter and combine once more. If you're putting in the "other stuff" that will be your final addition, make sure to combine in using a spatula or a wooden spoon however to protect the integrity of the ingredients.
Pour batter into a well greased large loaf pan (or two medium ones, or one 8x8 pan) and bake at 325 degrees Farenheit for an hour or more. You'll know your bread is ready if it's firm to the touch and it passes the toothpick test.
Lesson learned, if throwing random blueberries into banana bread, DO NOT take the picture on Instagram because the whole world will think you're baking purple Gak.
 |
| Not Gak.
Definitely Gak.
The final round of injustices to this recipe I refuse to take responsibility for. My friends dove in before I had a chance to take a picture of the final product.
Whoops.
Happy baking!
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