A little of this, a little of that

[ksmith]

Made banana bread yesterday. It’s my go-to recipe, simple as drool, and fairly flexible with regard additions. This time, I pretty much turned it into raisin-ginger-spice bread, given that I added a good 1/2c or more of golden raisins and the balance of the tipsy ginger from last week’s cookies–maybe 1/3c. Also added cinnamon. Ground ginger. Some cracked grains of paradise. 1/4 tsp Fiori di Sicilia, a damned strong citrus flavoring.

I worried that maybe I had stretched the forgiveness of this recipe with the amount of alcohol, but I just had a piece and it came out great. I mean, Damn. I waited almost 24 hours to cut into it–spiced stuff always tastes better if you let it sit for a time. It’s dense, with a smaller crumb, like a spiced, rummy pound cake. Heavier than usual, which I think has to do with the amount of rum I added–it moistened the batter, but didn’t soak the gluten. Or something.

Hope I remember what I did. Must make more tipsy ginger.

Mirrored from Kristine Smith.

Comments

[mevennen.livejournal.com]

My go to banana bread recipe is from a Hawaiian cookbook - the author cooked two, for a competition, and one was beautiful and one was squashed, but the latter tasted better and won! She includes both recipes, IIRC.

[kristine-smith.livejournal.com]

Good that the judges ranked taste over appearance--I don't think they always do.

I often alter this recipe so much that it's "banana" in name only. In this current iteration, I can't taste them. It doesn't help that they weren't really ripe enough to use in bread. But the fiber and sugar do pull in the moisture and keep things soft.

[eglantine-br.livejournal.com]

That sounds delicious. I am sure banana and ginger play well together.

And it is a pretty loaf.

[kristine-smith.livejournal.com]

Thanks--it came out looking nice. Touch and go for a time, however. The recipe calls for 1 hour baking time. In my oven, it's usually more like an hour 10 minutes. This loaf baked for almost an hour and a half--the crown didn't rise until after the one hour mark, and the toothpick test indicated mush just beneath the surface until five minutes or so before I took it out. I'm guessing it was due to the rum.

Rum. Bananas. Ginger and other spices. Yup, it all works.

[seachanges.livejournal.com]

Ooo. I've been looking for a good banana bread recipe, gonna have to give this one a shot. Thank you!

[kristine-smith.livejournal.com]

I'd advise a bit more than a pinch of salt--maybe 1/8 tsp. And if you don't add any extras, make sure the bananas are good and ripe.

I did reduce the sugar for this loaf, and didn't notice the difference. Of course, I added lots of dried fruit....

It's a good recipe which allows a lot of room to maneuver. I've added everything from dried fruits to nuts to chocolate chips, and used anywhere from 2 small bananas to 3 large--the less banana, the lighter/drier the bread.

Hope you like it!

[seachanges.livejournal.com]

Thanks for the tip about the salt! I'll probably stick with the original amount of sugar, at least for the first time I bake it. No dried fruit for me--too many sulfites--but I may toss in some chopped walnuts. That's how my mom used to make banana bread. OTOH, chocolate chips sound really good, too.

[threeoutside.livejournal.com]

Sounds drool-worthy!

I cleaned out my chest freezer this week, and found 8 mini-loaves, still in the tins, of banana bread that I have no memory of making. I thawed one out to see if it was salvageable. Seems to be a little bit under-done, so I sliced it in half horizontally and toasted it in the frying pan - oh, my, these will do JUST FINE! A little reward for a long-delayed task.

[kristine-smith.livejournal.com]

I love finding treasures in the deep freeze. Last week, I excavated a few slices of cranberry cake. Today, Swiss steak from a batch I made in August, which is what's for dinner.

I just need to remind myself to take the time to LABEL EVERYTHING. WITH A DATE. Too many times, I told myself that I would remember what something was, then not be to ID it without defrosting it first. That, or forget when I made it and thus how old it was.

[threeoutside.livejournal.com]

Oy, I know! Or if I used tape, it's fallen off. What IS this frozen lump wrapped in aluminum foil? Meat? Veggies? Soup? Bread? Can't see through the frost in the bag it's in. It's like Cuisine Roulette!