My Favorite Banana Bread Recipe

I’ve tried many banana bread recipes and noticed that some call for oil or butter. I find recipes with oil have a greasy taste, whereas butter makes everything taste great! I also think the addition of buttermilk or sour cream is a must.  It makes for an incredibly moist loaf.

After experimenting with over 6 different recipes, I thought the one from Martha Stewart (which I’ve been using for a long time) was the best one.  Recently, I found a new recipe on the back of a Gold Medal flour bag.  I like to buy unbleached flour across the border (Gold Medal or King Arthur). I tried their recipe and now it’s my favorite one. The banana bread comes out moist and flavorful, with just the right amount of ingredients.

If you don’t have buttermilk, you can make your own by adding 1 tbsp vinegar or fresh lemon juice to milk, to add up to 1 cup (½ tbsp for ½ cup). Stir and let sit at least 5 minutes.  If I have sour cream or plain yogurt on hand, I mix it with milk (50/50), and I get great results.

This bread freezes well and we like to take a few slices out for breakfast.  After the loaf has cooled completely, slice it into thick slices and wrap each one individually before placing the batch in a lock and lock container, or a heavy duty Ziploc freezer bag.

H likes walnuts and I prefer pecans; either one tastes great. I like to toast the nuts and let them cool before adding to the mix. Or, you can add chocolate chips/chunks.

My Favorite Banana Bread Recipe

Adapted from goldmedalflour.com
Makes 2 8-inch loaves or 1 9-inch

• 1 cup sugar (do not use less, I’ve already adapted this recipe)
• ½ cup butter (room temperature)
• 2 eggs
• 1 ½ cups mashed very ripe bananas (3 to 4 medium)
• ½ cup buttermilk
• 1 tsp pure vanilla extract
• 2 ½ cups all-purpose unbleached flour
• 1 tsp baking soda
• ¾ tsp salt
• 1 cup chopped nuts or chocolate chips, if desired

1. Move oven rack to centre position.  Preheat oven to 350°F
2. Grease bottoms and tops of 2 8-inch loaf pans, or 1 9-inch loaf pan.  You can also use strips of parchment paper to line the pans
3. In a separate bowl, add flour, baking soda and salt.  Use a whisk to combine, set aside
4. Mix sugar and butter in large bowl until light and fluffy
5. Add eggs one at a time, allowing at least 1 minute between each addition, scrape bottom of bowl to ensure all ingredients are incorporated
6. Add bananas, buttermilk and vanilla.   Beat until smooth
7. Stir in flour mixture just until moistened.   Do not overmix
8. Gently stir in nuts or chocolate chips
9. Pour evenly into pan/s
10. Bake 8-inch loaves about 1 hour, 9-inch loaf about 1-¼ hours, or until toothpick inserted in center comes out clean
11. Cool 10 -15 minutes on a rack.   Loosen sides of loaves from pans; remove from pans and place top side up on wire rack.   Cool completely, about 2 hours, before slicing
12. Wrap tightly and store at room temperature up to 4 days, or freeze

Notes:

• Always check your baking before the baking period has ended, or you’ll end up with overbaked and dry treats
• Mini banana breads make great gifts! To make, grease bottoms and sides of 10 miniature loaf pans, 4 1/2×2 3/4×1 1/4 inches. I prefer to place strips of parchment paper down for easy removal. Divide batter among pans (about ½ cup each). Bake 30 to 35 minutes or until a toothpick inserted comes out clean

Who Likes Homemade Pizza?

I haven’t made homemade pizza in ages!  When H & I returned from our trip to Chicago several years ago, I was obsessed with recreating the deep dish pizzas we devoured.  Click here to read more.

H loves pizza, but I didn’t want to spend hours in the kitchen.  I found an easy pizza dough recipe that was crispy and produced a medium crust (not thin or thick).  I’m not a huge fan of thin crust pizza; I like to be able to hold a slice up without it falling all over.  I tried the recipe from Rachael Ray and Ree Drummond (The Pioneer Woman), and liked both.  H seemed to favor Rachael’s.  I preferred Ree’s (and it was so much easier)!

Since I had to experiment several times, it meant eating pizza for 4 nights in a row!  It was a bit of work, but “Sous Chef H” was up to the task.

We found that dicing some of the toppings into very small pieces helped to ensure even baking.  I didn’t have time to make a homemade tomato sauce, but I would suggest using a very good quality store-bought sauce.

Pizza Crust #1

Makes 4 small or 2 medium/large pizzas
Adapted from rachaelraymag.com

Ingredients

• 1 cup lukewarm water (105 – 115°F)
• 2 tsp honey
• 2 ¼ tsp active dry yeast
• 3 cups (or more) all-purpose or bread flour
• 1 ¾ tsp coarse salt
• 2 tbsp extra virgin olive oil

1. Mix the warm water and honey in a liquid measuring cup until the honey dissolves
2. Sprinkle with the yeast and let the mixture stand until foamy, about 5 minutes
3. Meanwhile, using a food processor, pulse the flour and salt to mix
4. Pour the yeast mixture and 2 tbsp oil over the flour mixture
5. Process until the dough comes together in a sticky ball, about 20 to 30 seconds
6. Turn out the dough onto a floured work surface and knead, using the heel of your hand, until smooth and elastic, about 5 minutes
7. Lightly oil a large bowl; add the dough, turning to coat. Cover the bowl tightly with plastic wrap. Let the dough stand in a warm, draft-free area until doubled in size, about 1 hour
8. Punch the dough down, and then turn onto a cutting board.  Using a knife, section the dough into 2 or 4 equal rounds (2 medium/large or 4 small pizzas)
9. Place the dough ball on the work surface and cup your hand lightly over it.  Rotate your hand counterclockwise, letting the dough roll on the work surface. Use flour sparingly if needed.  Continue until the surface of the dough is smooth.  Repeat with the remaining dough balls
10. Place each dough ball in a large resealable plastic bag or plastic container with a lid.  Refrigerate for 10 to 48 hours (the dough will continue to rise).  Let the dough sit at room temperature for 1 hour before shaping, or freeze for up to 2 weeks.  Let the frozen dough sit at room temperature for 2 hours before shaping
11. Preheat your oven to 425°F.  Place oven rack in the middle
12. You can use a non-stick round pizza pan or an aluminum pie plate.  If you are using an aluminum pie plate, make sure you grease it well with olive oil
13. Place 1 ball of dough onto your choice of pan.  Press it out with your fingers and hand. The dough will stretch and resist, just keep shaping
14. Spread tomato or pizza sauce sparingly and evenly over dough.  I find too much sauce makes for a soggy pizza
15. Sprinkle with a light layer of mozzarella cheese.  Place toppings next.  We used green peppers, onions, portabella mushrooms, black olives and pepperoni. Layer lightly with more mozzarella cheese
16. Bake until golden brown (from 20-30 minutes, depending on your toppings and oven temperature).  I always use a spatula to loosen the pizza once it starts to brown and to check underneath (to ensure an even brown crust on the bottom)
17. Let sit for at least 5 minutes before slicing

Notes:

• If you don’t have a pizza stone, don’t worry, we made it twice with and twice without.  The pizza stone will ensure a very crisp and evenly baked pizza, but it’s also a nightmare to clean, since you cannot clean it with water, soap or any chemicals.  It will stain and look scary!  We cleaned ours (after it cooled) with a very stiff BBQ brush
• I found little difference in letting the finished dough sit at room temperature for 1 hour before assembling

Pizza Crust #2

Makes 1 large pizza
Adapted from the Pioneer Woman cookbook

Ingredients

• 1 tsp active dry yeast
• ¾ cup warm water (105 – 115°F)
• 2 cups all-purpose or bread flour
• ¾ tsp kosher salt
• 1 tsp sugar or honey
• 3 tbsp olive oil

1. Add sugar or honey to warm water and stir to dissolve
2. Sprinkle yeast over water and let sit until foamy (5 minutes)
3. In a stand mixer, add flour and salt and stir to combine
4. With mixer on low, add olive oil, and then yeast/water mixture
5. Mix until combined
6. Transfer to a lightly oiled bowl and cover with plastic wrap and a tea towel
7. Keep in a warm draft free place and allow to rise for 1 hour
8. The dough is ready to use!  Or, you can keep it in the refrigerator for up to 3 days.  You can also freeze the dough – see steps in Rachael Ray’s recipe above