baking - banana bread and beyond

Last week I really wanted banana bread and I had a bunch of old bananas so I made some. We ate it all. I was supposed to go to a pot-luck and I had more bananas so I made more - I didn't go and so we ate that too.

I haven't made banana bread in many, many years but I love it. I'd forgotten how quick and easy it is.

This weekend I wanted more. But something a little different. I don't know why but lately my tastebuds have been craving something rather elusive - I don't know what I want but there's something out there that, in theory, will fill the mouthwatering craving I'm experiencing.

So, we experimented. Yesterday we started with the basic banana bread recipe (Joy of Cooking - see below) and then, instead of nuts, added some grated orange peel and cranberries. That was pretty good. After that I made regular banana bread too.

Last night we walked down the street to hear a friend play some music and brought part of each loaf for the friend who was meeting us there. So, today one loaf was gone when we woke and the other was gone shortly thereafter as it was our breakfast.

This evening I experimented some more - sweet potato bread. It's fresh out of the oven, butter-melting warm and rather tasty.

Here's how I made it:

Start with the same Joy of Cooking banana bread recipe but scratch the banana, instead you need one soft-baked sweet potato. You'll also need some cinnamon and brown sugar. I left out the nuts but the next time I might try it with some pecans.

When making the flour mixture I added about 1/4 teaspoon of cinnamon. It's a rough estimate as I had about 1/8 teaspoon but then threw in a few more shakes right before adding it to the butter mixture.

When creating the butter mixture I added about 1/8 cup of brown sugar. I also increased the butter by a little bit, something I tend to do anyway but you don't have to. The exact amount of butter is really hard for me to determine as it's not sold in American style cubes with the marker on the paper indicating tablespoons and 1/4 cup - it's in grams so lately I've had to literally measure it all out... it's time consuming, difficult if the butter is hard, and wasteful as so much sticks to the measuring unit so I've made some rough estimates. Pretty soon I'll get a scale and do the conversion - that should make it a little easier. You're most likely using the American system or have a scale. (I really should have a scale already but I cook stuff so rarely I really haven't need one yet... I'll get there.)

Instead of banana, add in one cup of smooshy sweet potato. For us, that was one sweet potato but obviously it will depend on the size of your potato. I had three on hand.

Bake as normal but make sure you check it at about 50 minutes. Again, I'm using a Celsius oven and it doesn't have a clear marker for the converted temperature so it's not exact, but I found that just under 170C for 50 minutes is perfect... if you've got a Fahrenheit oven then no worries, just follow the directions.

Let it cool a bit, dump it out of the pan, cut off a chunk and take a bite. Hopefully it'll taste as good as ours - if not, blame it on me... maybe I forgot something :)

Joy of Cooking

1 1/3 cups flour
3/4 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/4 teaspoon baking powder
5 1/3 tablespoons unsalted butter
2/3 cup sugar
2 large eggs, lightly beaten
1 cup mashed, very ripe bananas (2)
1/2 cup chopped walnuts (optional)

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Grease a 6-cup loaf pan. (I don't have a 6-cup loaf pan, I have no idea what size it is, but it's not the same as my American bread loaf pan... just use a bread loaf and don't worry about it.)

Sift together the flour, salt, baking soda and baking powder. In a large bowl, beat the butter and sugar together on high speed until lightened in color and texture, 2-3 minutes. Beat in the flour mixture until blended and the consistency of brown sugar. Gradually beat in the two eggs. Fold in the banana and walnuts (if using) until just combined.

Scrape the batter into the pan and spread evenly. Bake until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean, 50-60 minutes. Let cool in the pan on a rack for 10 minutes then unmold and allow to cool completely on the rack.