Wednesday, August 26, 2015

Quick

My very first introduction to the Civil War was by reading the epic “Gone with the Wind”. Most memorable to a naive 14 year old was Scarlett O’Hara’s tiny waist size, (an unimaginable 17 inches!) and smashing Rhett Butler’s famous line: “frankly my dear, I don’t give a damn”. Of course there was also the brutality of the war.

Oddly enough, during this time in history, the basis of banana bread was laid. As people were starving and labor was in short supply, cooking and baking needed to be quick. Traditional bread making took too long, so breads were leavened with baking soda instead of yeast and called quick bread. A lot less time consuming, it needed just a few basic ingredients: flour, baking soda or powder, eggs, shortening or such and some kind of liquid, like milk. By adding sugar and other flavorings, a palatable bread was made.


I like all kinds of quick breads, but most of all, I like banana bread. It just hits the spot sometimes. It works great when I need something speedy in the morning, or when I am on a road trip. If I can find a coffee shop with a proper latte, then there is usually a piece of quick bread that goes with it. The thick, moist slices come wrapped in glossy plastic, and I can never resist the bright colors of a pumpkin or lemon bread.

Here’s the problem with baking banana bread: it calls for super ripe bananas. And while I like eating my bananas firm and yellow without a hint of a brown fleck, Kevin likes them very ripe. And just when the bananas that I have set aside for baking have reached that mottled-with-brown-spots stage, Kevin finds them, and they are gone!

But once in a while, I can salvage a few, and then I bake them into my very favorite banana bread. It has chocolate in it too, so it’s very decadent and smells just so unusually good when it comes out of the oven; the earthy sweetness of warm bananas with melted chocolate and cinnamon. I sneak tiny pieces whenever I go into the kitchen, and then the quick bread is gone way too quickly.

But.....
after all, tomorrow is another day.

Banana Bread
Recipe from Orangette with just a few minor changes
This quick bread is a little unusual as it has no fat of any kind and so it’s a little more springy than your typical quick bread. Also, it’s baked in a square pan instead of a loaf pan.


3 very ripe bananas (the size doesn’t much matter; medium to large works)
2 large eggs
1 ½ cups unbleached all-purpose flour
1 cup granulated sugar
1 tsp. baking soda
2 tsp. ground cinnamon
1 tsp. pure vanilla extract
3/4 cup dark chocolate, chopped into small pieces (no bigger than chocolate chip-size)

For topping:
2 Tbsp. granulated sugar
1/8 tsp. ground cinnamon


Preheat the oven to 375 degrees Fahrenheit. Butter or spray an 8-inch square pan and dust lightly with flour.

In a medium mixing bowl, mash the bananas well with a fork or potato masher. Add the eggs, and stir well to combine. Add the flour, sugar, baking soda, cinnamon, and vanilla, and stir to mix. Add the chocolate and stir briefly. Pour the batter into the prepared pan, and set aside.

In a small bowl, stir together sugar and cinnamon. Sprinkle the mixture evenly over the batter in the pan.

Bake for 35-40 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean. Let cool in the pan on a wire rack for at least 15 minutes before serving.

5 comments:

  1. I can never get too much banana bread.
    Good recipe!

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  3. Yum! Good writing! How's that for Quick? ;)

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  4. Yum! Good writing! How's that for Quick? ;)

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  5. Banana Bread during the heat of summer months, bring back childhood memories of setting a table and chairs under the big umbrella trees in our front yard and having afternoon tea with nibbling on banana nut bread. Lotte, your recipe is much more intriguing. I never thought of incorporating chocolate however. Your posts are always enjoyable, and I look forward to each new one.

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