Lemony Olive Oil Banana Bread

Just can't stay away...

Yup, I'm back on the banana bread kick! And as you can see from my color choices, I made this around Christmas; I just haven't really felt like writing about it until now.

This delicious-sounding recipe came from the popular blog 101 Cookbooks. The blog's author, Heidi Swanson, released her second cookbook in 2011 as well.

I say delicious-sounding because I love anything with lemon and I love olive oil cakes. Add in chocolate and banana and I thought this would be a home run. Much to my taste buds' chagrin, it wasn't.

Part of my problem is that I have never, repeat, never, been able to cook a quick bread in a 9x5 inch pan in the time suggested in a recipe. Never, in my entire life. I always have to reduce the temperature and cook for an additional 10-20 minutes to get the center cooked. The result is that the bread usually dries out and the edges end up overcooked. Now, maybe if I cooked the bread at a lower temperature for the entire time, I would have a more evenly cooked bread. And perhaps I will try that with my next recipe. Honestly, I always just hope that with each new recipe I try I will have better results.

This particular bread was great when it came out of the oven: the top was nice and crunchy and the inside moist and lemony. By day two it was dry and unappealing. You can see that I didn't make the glaze to drizzle over the bread; mainly out of laziness, but also because I knew I wasn't going to eat the whole thing in one day.

So I guess I will keep trying!

Banana Chocolate Chip Bread (Again)

I recently bought three bananas with the specific purpose of allowing them to ripen on my counter so I could try another banana bread recipe. Unfortunately, I did not purchase the other special ingredients that I would need for said recipes, so when the bananas proclaimed themselves ripe this weekend, I had to find a recipe that would work with what I had on hand.

I ended up choosing a recipe from my recipe binder that I had already tried once before, a fact which had slipped my mind. Looking back on my handy blog, I discovered that I made it in April and was pleased with the results. This time, I wasn't convinced. It still had a great crunchy top (and I may have picked the entire top off approximately 10 minutes after it came out of the oven, which is why there is no picture to accompany this post). But it was kind of flavorless otherwise. This time, I used 1/2 cup of mini chocolate chips, and honestly, they didn't add anything (flavor, texture, nada) to the bread.

Another one bites the dust....

Sour Cream Banana Bread

This might be the most perfect looking banana bread I have ever made...

But unfortunately, it isn't the tastiest. In fact, if you ate this with your eyes and nose closed, you wouldn't even know it was banana bread!

This recipe is from Chow and is the second banana bread recipe I have made in the past two weeks. I made it mainly because I had some sour cream to use up. The first one I made was called Perfect Banana Bread and I found it on the blog, I Am Baker. I neglected to take a picture of the first one, which is why it didn't make it onto the blog. Well, that, and I insisted in adding 1/4 cup of flaxseed meal to it, and I think it made it cook a little funky. I think that if I am going to add flaxseed meal, I need to adjust other ingredients. But, even with that mess up, the top was the most flavorful and crunchy top I have ever had. I will be trying it again.

Flour's "Famous" Banana Bread

Any longtime readers of BlB will know that I am always looking for a good banana bread recipe. I have tried one with a messy topping that overflowed onto the bottom of my oven, one with espresso and whiskey to kick start the morning (or any time of day), one with a boozy glaze, one with peanut butter, one that is spicy and chocolatey, and now I have made what could be considered the most traditional of banana bread recipes. And guess what? I wasn't impressed.

I found this recipe on the blog, Ipso Fatto, but Flour's Famous Banana Bread recipe is all over the internet. Flour is a popular bakery in Boston that is always getting written up or visited on some food-interest show. I had high hopes for this bread! I almost didn't include the walnuts, because I don't love them, but I wanted to make the recipe as is and I figured I could use some Omega-3 in my life. Most blogs link to the recipe on the Food Network. Giada visited Flour on her show and Joanne Chang, the chef and owner of Flour, provided the recipe to Food Network. I used the alternate measurements that Ipso Fatto provides from the Flour cookbook.

Yes, this bread created a crunchy top, which, in my opinion, is the most important part of banana bread. And yes, it was moist and the ratio of walnuts to bread was pleasing. But, the downfall of this bread is that it tasted like vegetable oil. It totally masks the 3 1/2 bananas in the bread. I think butter would have blended better. Or maybe a mixture of the two.

So, my epic hunt for the perfect banana bread recipe continues. (I have already found two more contenders this week!)

Banana Chocolate Chip Bread

I know, you all must think I am crazy for posting another banana bread recipe (for those keeping count, this is number 5). Perhaps I should change the name of the blog to The Banana Bread and Fennel Enthusiast. (That doesn't really help my crazy status, now does it?)

This particular recipe is from a blog called Cassie's Kitchen: Adventures of a Laid-Off Lawyer. I don't follow her blog, so I can't tell you anymore about it. I just happened to have a print out of this recipe in one of my recipe binders, which I was cleaning out this past weekend. What interested me the most about this recipe was the whole teaspoon of nutmeg. So I decided to give it a shot!

I followed the recipe as written, except I didn't think 3/4 cup of chocolate chips looked like enough, so I used 1 cup. Don't be a piggy like me, this bread does not need 1 cup of chocolate chips. I happened to have a little bit of slivered almonds lying around, so I threw in about 1/4 cup. I loved the crunch they gave the bread without overpowering the banana and spice flavor. I think walnuts or pecans or some other nut would have been too powerful.

All in all, this recipe is a keeper. The bread formed a crunchy top, which I absolutely love, was moist and had the perfect crumb. Additionally, the spices added another dimension that you don't expect, but complement the banana flavor wonderfully.

Peanut Butter Banana Bread

I had three ripe bananas on the counter and decided it was time to make another loaf of banana bread. I love banana bread, if you couldn't tell by this, this, and this.

I found this most recent recipe on Joy the Baker's blog, which I just love. She is very clever and her pictures actually make her food look good, unlike mine that look like they are taken in a dark cave. (Note to self: find a job that lets you stay home during the day to cook and photograph using natural light.)

This bread turned out well. The only changes I made to Joy's recipe was that I don't have allspice, so I left it out and I decided at the end that I didn't want to add peanuts (even though I dug them out of the cupboard). As you can see in the picture, I did add some mini chocolate chips because I had about 1/3 or 1/2 cup remaining in a bag.

The best part about this bread? The ground flaxseed! The Bananas Foster bread I made a couple weeks ago also had ground flaxseed in it (both recipes are adapted from a Cooking Light recipe. Coincidence? I don't think so.)

Bananas Foster Bread

I really love banana bread and like to try different recipes as evidenced here and here. I found the latest on the cleverly named blog, Ezra Pound Cake. It is, oddly enough, adapted from a Cooking Light recipe.

Well, nice work, Cooking Light! This bread is fantastic! I don't even think it needs the glaze on top. (And beware eating the glaze on its own - it tastes like a shot of rum!) The ground flaxseed is a great addition; I love the way it changes the texture of the bread so much that I think I will add it to all future banana breads.

My only change to the recipe is that I don't have allspice, so I used equal parts ground nutmeg and ground cloves. And I had to bake mine for an hour, which is what the original recipe calls for.

Irish Soda Bread

If the decision to make a dish was a mathematical equation where the ease of executing the recipe was directly proportional to the absolute deliciousness of the completed dish, this recipe for Irish soda bread would be the example given in every classroom as a perfect decision.

Honestly, this recipe, which is one of the Barefoot Contessa's (aka Ina Garten), could not have been easier to make and could not have been more delicious. The crust was wonderfully crunchy and the interior moist, tender and subtly scented from the orange zest. (I chose to leave the currants out of the bread - seemed weird to have fruit in it.) And, the bread only gets better with a generous slather of Irish butter. (Jam doesn't hurt either.)

So if you are craving fresh from the oven bread and can't be bothered messing around with yeast, make this soda bread immediately!

Cranberry Bread

mmmmm cranberries

I bought a couple bags of fresh cranberries before Thanksgiving with the intention of making cranberry orange relish, but I never got around to it. I thought I was going to end up freezing them, but then this glorious bread happened! I printed this recipe awhile ago and just (re)discovered it in my recipe book. Boy am I glad I did. If you like tart cranberries mixed with doughy (in a good way) bread and crunchy sugary crust, try this recipe!

I got the recipe from the Arugula Files blog, but it is a Martha Stewart recipe. (I heart you, Martha!)

Banana Bread

Please excuse the lack of picture, although seeing as the quality of my pictures are usually what's lacking, perhaps my dear readers won't mind a picture-less post!

I made this "Morning-after Banana Bread" this past weekend to use up 3 very ripe bananas that were threatening to dissolve into a nasty black mush on our counter and I am happy to report it is delicious!! I love the subtle espresso undertones. So yummy. And while I think this recipe is great, I think it would be even better with the addition of some oats or a crumb mixture of oats, cinnamon and sugar on the top. And although I don't like nuts in my bread, if you were so inclined, I think walnuts would work well with this recipe.

Blueberry-Oat Quickbread

Wow, that picture is so dark, do you live in a cave?

I know, I took the words right out of your mouth. 

So I was trying to find a way to use up some of the remaining buttermilk from the cupcake baking extravaganza last weekend and decided to try this recipe for Blueberry-Oat Quick Bread that I had printed awhile ago. It turned out ok. It baked for 75 minutes (recipe says 50-60 minutes), which is absurd and it ended up really dense. I have come to the realization that this dense bread and my dense vanilla cupcakes last weekend may be because my baking powder expired in 2006. Yes, folks, that's right, 4 years ago. It must have been laughing at me the past 4 years: "You want your food to rise and be fluffy? Ha! You fool!" So yeah, lesson learned and a new container of baking powder was purchased this weekend. The baking powder's ineffectiveness unfortunately does not explain my oven's ineffectiveness.

Banana Bread

I had three bananas sitting on my counter threatening to turn into a big pile of black mush, so I decided to make banana bread this past weekend. I have lots of different recipes for banana bread and decided to use one from the Arugula Files blog that I had printed months ago. She adapted Mark Bittman's banana bread recipe and added a sugary buttery crumb topping. Let's just say that I am still cleaning up the mess this bread made. 

Looks harmless, right?

The buttery sugary topping overflowed the loaf pan and dripped all over my pizza stone that was on the rack below it (I usually take it out of the oven when baking other things, but decided to keep in this time - big mistake) and the bottom of my oven. Nasty greasy mess. The recipe says to bake for 45 to 60 minutes, or until the top is browned and a toothpick comes out mostly clean. Well, it all looks brown because of the crumb topping, so that is not a helpful indicator. Many toothpick pokes at 50 minutes came out clean, so I pulled the bread out. The end pieces are delicious, but the middle ended up being a battery uncooked mess (dear toothpick, why did you fail me?). And the topping has since sunk into the goopy mess.

If I were to make this again, I would certainly use less topping and cook longer. But I think I will try a different recipe next time. This one tasted too bread-y to me. Maybe I would like a banana cake, instead of a bread. But then I would have to feel guilty eating it for breakfast!

Banana Crumb Cake Wonderment

from the Arugula Files Blog

Ingredients

1 stick butter, room temperature

2 cups all purpose flour (Mark Bittman's original recipe called for 1 1/2 cups all purpose flour and 1/2 cup whole wheat flour - if I had looked that up prior to making this, I probably would have use the ww flour)

1 1/2 teaspoon baking powder

1 teaspoon salt

3/4 cup sugar

2 eggs, room temperature

3 very ripe bananas, mashed

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

1/2 cup walnuts (I omitted)

1/4 cup coconut (I was weary to add coconut, but it was quite delicious)

Crumb Topping

1/2 stick butter, room temperature (use less - your waistline and your oven will thank you!)

3/4 cup brown sugar (again, use less)

1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon

1/2 teaspoon ground nutmeg (I used about 1/4 teaspoon and it was almost too much)

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Grease a 9x5 in loaf pan.

2. Mix together dry ingredients in a large bowl. Cream the butter and beat in the eggs and bananas. (I did this in my stand mixer.)

3. Stir butter/banana mixture into the dry ingredients; do not mix more than necessary.

4. Gently stir in the vanilla, nuts and coconut.

5. Pour the batter into the loaf pan. ("Pour" is not quite the right term, I would say "transfer". This batter is so thick that it does nothing resembling the common useage of the word "pour".)

6. Mash the topping ingredients together in a bowl with a fork and add to the top of the batter.

7. Bake for 45 to 60 minutes, until nicely browned or a toothpick inserted in the center comes out mostly clean.