We had a snow day last week, so I decided it was a baking day. The bananas on my counter were just begging to be made into banana bread. You know the type. They were darkly speckled, verging on just plain brown, a whole bunch of them.
I mashed and measured and mixed, and baked the banana bread batter.
It didn't smell right.
I peeked at it, and it didn't look right, either. Hmmm.
When it was done, I took it out and let it cool. The top wasn't a lovely glossy brown, the way it usually is. It was rather dull-looking. Once it cooled, I cut a test slice, and confirmed my suspicions: I forgot the sugar.
Given that the bananas were already so sweet, the bread wasn't a complete loss; in fact, my husband rather liked it, especially toasted, with a little butter. It'd also be great for banana bread French toast. However, I still had enough bananas for a second loaf, so I mixed up a second bowlful of batter - and I didn't forget the sugar in this one!
Here's my recipe, based closely on the Baking Illustrated one.
Banana Bread
1 cup unbleached, all-purpose flour (plus extra for dusting the pan)
1 cup white whole-wheat flour (another cup of all-purpose flour may be substituted)
3/4 cup sugar
3/4 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
3 very ripe, soft, darkly speckled large bananas, mashed well (about 1 1/2 cups)
1/4 cup vanilla yogurt (I used Stonyfield low-fat)
2 large eggs, beaten lightly
6 tablespoons (3/4 stick) unsalted butter, melted and cooled
3/4 teaspoon vanilla extract
Adjust an oven rack to the lower-middle position and heat the oven to 350F. (If you use a stoneware pan, as I do, adjust the rack to the middle position.)
Grease the bottom and sides of a 9x5” loaf pan; dust with flour, tapping out the excess.
Whisk the flour, sugar, baking soda, and salt together in a large bowl; set aside.
Mix the mashed bananas, yogurt, eggs, butter, and vanilla with a wooden spoon in a medium bowl. Lightly fold the banana mixture into the dry ingredients with a rubber spatula until just combined and the batter looks thick and chunky. Scrape the batter into the prepared loaf pan.
Bake until the loaf is golden brown and a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean, about 55 minutes. Cool in the pan for 5 minutes, then transfer to a wire rack. Serve warm or at room temperature.
1 cup unbleached, all-purpose flour (plus extra for dusting the pan)
1 cup white whole-wheat flour (another cup of all-purpose flour may be substituted)
3/4 cup sugar
3/4 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
3 very ripe, soft, darkly speckled large bananas, mashed well (about 1 1/2 cups)
1/4 cup vanilla yogurt (I used Stonyfield low-fat)
2 large eggs, beaten lightly
6 tablespoons (3/4 stick) unsalted butter, melted and cooled
3/4 teaspoon vanilla extract
Adjust an oven rack to the lower-middle position and heat the oven to 350F. (If you use a stoneware pan, as I do, adjust the rack to the middle position.)
Grease the bottom and sides of a 9x5” loaf pan; dust with flour, tapping out the excess.
Whisk the flour, sugar, baking soda, and salt together in a large bowl; set aside.
Mix the mashed bananas, yogurt, eggs, butter, and vanilla with a wooden spoon in a medium bowl. Lightly fold the banana mixture into the dry ingredients with a rubber spatula until just combined and the batter looks thick and chunky. Scrape the batter into the prepared loaf pan.
Bake until the loaf is golden brown and a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean, about 55 minutes. Cool in the pan for 5 minutes, then transfer to a wire rack. Serve warm or at room temperature.
1 spoons thrown:
Ghiradelli chocolate chips are a nice addition, too.
Doesn't sound like your "mishap" was really a mishap......seems like you discovered that you can always decrease the sugar amount for those days you want to feel less guilty about calories! At least you know that no sugar is really not that bad!
Laura
from OH
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