Banana Bread

Every once in a while, you come across a dud recipe. This time it came to me in the form of Banana Bread. The recipe sounded good. It came from a  Penzey's catalog and the woman who sent it in raved about how good it is. But then again, if I were to submit my recipe to a catalog/magazine, I would rave too. It was a little different than other banana breads I usually make because it calls for buttermilk, which I happened to have in my refrigerator. I will be honest, it made the recipe more appealing.

It's not that the recipe is bad, but it is not worth repeating. We ate the bread, and the boys seemed to like it. We've had better is all. Ray and I thought it was lacking in the banana flavor. With most quick breads, it is better the next day. This bread was actually worse!

The recipe that follows is for a tried and true Banana Bread. It is adapted from Cooking Light. I have made it both ways in the little loaf pans and the big loaf. All depends on what you are in the mood for. The recipe is simple and the bread has a lot of flavor.

Mom's Banana Bread 
Adapted from Cooking Light

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• 1  cup  sugar
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  • 1/4  cup  butter, softened
• 1 2/3  cups  mashed ripe banana (about 3 bananas)
• 1/4  cup  skim milk
• 1/4  cup  low-fat sour cream
• 2  large egg whites
• 2  cups  all-purpose flour
• 1  teaspoon  baking soda
• 1/2  teaspoon  salt
• Cooking spray

Preheat oven to 350°.

Combine sugar and butter in a bowl; beat at medium speed of a mixer until well-blended. Add banana, milk, sour cream, and egg whites; beat well, and set aside.

Combine flour, baking soda, and salt; stir well. Add dry ingredients to creamed mixture, beating until blended.

Spoon batter into 4 (5 x 2 1/2-inch) miniature loaf pans coated with cooking spray. Bake at 350° for 45 minutes or until a wooden pick inserted in center comes out clean. Let cool in pans 10 minutes on a wire rack; remove from pans. Let cool completely on wire racks.

To make one 9-inch loaf, spoon batter into a 9 x 5-inch loaf pan coated with cooking spray; bake at 350º for 1 hour and 10 minutes. 

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Pumpkin Muffins/ Bread

Ah, Snack Day. A big thing for a kindergartener. C knew he wanted pumpkin bread a LONG time ago. It is his turn about every 6-8 weeks. The only rules are that the snack be healthy and have no peanuts - funny how some parents can't seem to remember this! I didn't think his teacher would really appreciate me sending in a few loaves of bread, so I decided muffins, portioned and transporable, and told C to pick which muffin liner he wanted for his pumpkin muffins. Scooby Doo for those interested. I made a double batch so H also brought some into his preschool class for snack.

This bread is so good and so easy. I tweaked the recipe, substituting half of the AP flour with whole wheat just a little to make it a little healthier. I also added ground ginger. I didn't have any buttermilk and used sour milk instead. I made the sour milk before mixing any of the other ingredients. It is 1 tablespoon white vinegar into a 1 cup measure and the remainder of the cup milk. So, for this recipe 1 tablespoon plus 2 teaspoons white vinegar and milk to the 1 2/3 cup. By the time I got to the part of adding the buttermilk, the milk was soured enough. Having 2 helpers also slows things down, in a good way of course. 

Especially when using the wheat flour, this bread is better the next day. Of course, it is good when cooled too. 

Depending on how much you fill the muffin liners, you will get between 24 and 30. I filled mine about 2/3 full and got 30. I forgot to take a picture of the ones I sent to school, so these were the ugly ones I kept home for us to eat. The boys loved having a few extra to eat with breakfast the next couple of mornings too. They really are delicious!

Pumpkin Muffins
Adapted from Martha Stewart's Baking Handbook

1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1 1/2 cups white whole wheat flour OR whole wheat flour
2 teaspoons baking powder
2 teaspoons baking soda
2 1/2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon nutmeg 
1/2 teaspoon ground ginger
1/4 teaspoon ground allspice
1/4 teaspoons salt
2 cups canned pumpkin purée
1 cup granulated sugar
1 cup packed dark-brown sugar
4 large eggs
1/4 cup vegetable oil
1 2/3 cup buttermilk 

Preheat the oven to 375ºF and put liners or grease two muffin tins. Whisk together the flour, baking powder and soda, spices, and salt. In the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the paddle, combine the pumpkin and sugars. Mix until well combined, and then add the eggs and oil. Mix until incorporated, scraping down the sides as needed. With the mixer on low, add the flour in two batches, alternating with the buttermilk, and mix until just combined. 

Bake 19-20 minutes or until a tester comes out clean.Transfer pans to wire racks to cool for 10 minutes. Remove muffins from pan and let cool completely.

For Bread: Coat two 8.5″ × 4.5″ loaf pans with butter. Bake for about an hour, at 350º rotating the pans halfway through. A cake tester should come out clean. Cool the pans on a rack for ten minutes, remove the loaves from the pans, and cool completely.