Conference turris::cooks

I know of the prejudices against using mixes, but I suggest trying Pillsbury's
Banana Quick Bread.  It is very easy (just like the ads and name suggest)
and relatively inexpensive.  I stock up on it and the Cranberry whenever there
is a sale on the stuff.  It is also pretty good, and has no nuts.  At 15 
months I don't imagine he'll be too fussy about where the bread came from.  
I really like the Cranberry, and whenever I make it people ask me for the
recipe!  When you have your arms full of a toddler it may easier to prepare
than starting with mashing the bananas!

...john

Here is a Banana Bread recipe which has served me well for 15 years!

BANANA BREAD

1/2 cup shortening (either butter or margarine)
1 cup sugar (I usually don't use this much; use about 1/2 cup)*
2 eggs
1 cup (or more) ripe bananas
1 tsp lemon juice
2 cups sifted flour (use 1 cup white; 1 cup whole wheat)
1/2 tsp salt
3 tsp baking powder
1 cup chopped nuts (optional) (raisins can be substituted)


Cream shortening and sugar together.
Beat eggs until light and add to above.
Mash bananas and add lemon juice; blend with creamed mixture.
Sift flour, baking powder and salt together; mix into banana mixture.
Add nuts or raisins if desired.
Bake in a preheated 375 degree (F) oven for about 1 hour.

This also makes great muffins...bake only for 10-15 minutes.

*I've found that most recipes use way too much sugar, and that cutting the
suggested amount in half, or even by 2/3 does not alter the recipe's take or
the quality of the product.  My biggest pet peeve, especially in cooking for
children, is sugar; it's a bad habit to start early.  Although the person who
suggested using a store bought mix had good intentions, these mixes use way too
much sugar, and I try to stay away from them.

The following recipe was in the Confidential Chat column in the 
Boston Globe a few months ago.  I hope it helps you!  

Barbara


Dear Oneday:

Here is the sour cream banana bread you have in mind.  I've been 
making it for 22 years and it's still a family favorite.  

2 cups sugar
1/4 pound butter or margarine
3 eggs
4 large bananas, mashed
1 cup sour cream
2 teaspoons baking soda
3 1/4 cups flour
1 cup chopped nuts
1 teaspoon vanilla

Beat sugar and butter together.  Add eggs and mix, then add mashed 
bananas; blend.  Mix baking soda with sour cream; add alternately
with flour to first mixture.  Mix in chopped nuts and vanilla.  Bake
at 350 F. for 1 1/4 hours in a greased 10-inch tube pan.  Makes 16
slices and it freezes well.  

-- The Needle Painter  

Approximate nutrition information per slice:  

Calories      360
Protein         6 g. 
Fat            15 g. 
Carbohydrate   52 g. 
Sodium        244 mg. 

 

    			Whole Wheat Banana Bread
			------------------------

1/2 C	butter
3/4 C	brown sugar
1	egg
1 C	unsifted whole wheat flour
1/2 C	white flour
1 t	baking soda
3/4 t	salt
1 1/4 C mashed ripe banana
1/4 C	buttermilk or yogurt

1. Preheat oven to 350F.
2. Cream butter and sugar, add egg.
3. Sift flour, baking soda and salt.
4. Mix bananas and buttermilk in a separate bowl.
5. Add dry ingredients, alternately with the banana mixture, to the butter
   mixture, stirring just enough to combine well.
6. Turn into an oiled 9x5 loaf pan.  
7. Bake 50-60 min.  Let cool 10 min. in pan then remove and cool on rack.

    

    All of the above recipes are great.  I've used a reasonable facimile
    thereof.  The ONLY MAJOR difference is, I refuse to use the SALT.
    It really is not needed and does not alter the taste.
    
    

    Re:  .7
    
    No reason to use salt if you choose not to, but I disagree with
    your assertions.
    
    Some level of salt (usually significantly less than recipes call
    for) becomes part of the reactions that take place during the
    cooking process.  This is not a "thought experiment", it's from
    a recent book on the science of food and cooking.  As I recall,
    you would expect to see a reduced leavening effect when the salt
    is *completely* omitted.
    
    Also, in comparisons I have done (primarily with yeast breads),
    I have found that the salt level *does* alter the taste.  I usually
    start out with about half the salt called for in the recipe,
    because omitting it completely results in (to my palate) a dull
    bread, while -- once you start cutting back on salt intake --
    the full amount is *too* salty.
    
    dq
    

    RE: .8
    
    Have you ever tried "Lite Salt" -- which has the sodium of regular
    salt?
        
    I have had good luck using 1/2 the amount called for in the recipe,
    and using Lite Salt instead of standard salt. This leaves me with
    1/4 of the sodium!
    
    

    re: .7
    
    This is the recipe I use and it has no salt and still tastes fantastic.
    
    Cream 1/2 cup butter
    Add 1 1/2 cups sugan and 2 eggs
    Add 2 1/2 cups flour
    2 1/2 tsp baking powder
    1 tsp baking soda
    Add 1/4 cup milk alternately with 1 cup very ripe bananas(I use
    3) .
    Optional, Add 1 cup chopped nuts.
    
    Bake app. 45 minutes at 350 degrees.  Check doneness with toothpick.
    Makes two loaves                                                    
    
    Enjoy,
    
    Debbi

    				-< Does Bananna Bread freeze well? >-
    
    	Hi,
    	     I love Bananna bread however since I live by myself it
        is hard to eat two loaves in a reasonable time. So, I was
        wondering if Bananna bread freezes well.
    
    					Thank you,
    
    							jim
    

    It sure does, and so do most other quick breads.  You might even
    want to invest in some of those half-size loaf pans, and make
    4+ loaves from the 2 loaf recipe.  If you get the foil ones,
    you can wrap the whole thing and freeze it.  As an aside,
    the little foil pan loaves make nice gifts for office-mates at
    your-favorite-winter-holiday-time.
    
    Another bennie - if you want you can make the batter, fill one pan
    with plain batter, fill another with batter plus something (like
    nuts), fill another with batter plus something else (like choc chips)
    and another with batter plus (raisins?).  The frozen loaves are
    like guest insurance - they thaw quickly and can be sliced and
    arranged on platters for either expected or unexpected guests.
    And the variety of additions makes a pretty platter.
    
    --Louise

    I've tried making a couple of these recipes without the nuts and
    they seem to be missing "something".  They weren't bad but just
    bland.  Is there something else that I can add to make the bread
    more flavorful?  I'm having this same problem with carrot cake.

    You could try adding more spices - cinnamon, cloves, ginger, allspice.
    I usually double spice quantities.
    
    You could also try sprinkling the tops of the loaves with wheat-germ.
    That'd give the loaves a nutty flavor without the nuts.
    
    --Louise

    I sometimes add chopped dried apricots to my banana bread for
    a different twist.
    
    Susie

    
    
    re .14   I tried adding more spices and it really helped.  It's
    still not like the restaurant kind I remember but it's getting there.
    
    Thanks
    Beth
    
    
    

The banannas you use should be so ripe that the skins are black.....
if they are not really overripe, you will get a bland bread or cake...
now, if you cannot stand the smell of overripe banannas (my roomy cannot),
then you have to use regular ripe banannas and a teaspoon of bananna extract
to get that intense flavor you are used to.  I use this technique all the 
time and get perfect bananna bread.

    I have also tried the Pillsbury Banana Bread mix (the Quick one)
    and I suggest you make it from scratch.  The mix had a funny smell,
    from the immitation banana and it comes out dryer than the homemade.
    
    I usually make my own and it takes a total of 1 hour which includes
    the mixing and everything.  The recipe that I use is from the Fanny
    Farmer Cookbook and I am sorry that I don't have the recipe with
    me.

    My Mother-in_law made the most delicious banana bread and used this
    recipe for over 45 years.  I wrap each loaf in a plastic wrap and then
    aluminim foil or freezer paper (eat 1 & freeze 1).  Tastes best the
    second day.  Note:  Use 1/2 cup grape nuts instead of walnuts if
    desired.
    
    				MEMERE'S BANANA BREAD
    
    1/2 Cup Shortening
    1-1/4 Cups Sugar
    2 Eggs, beaten until fluffy
    
    2 Cups All Purpose Flour
    1/4 Teaspoon Baking Powder
    3/4 Teaspoon Baking Soda
    1/2 Teaspoon Salt
    
    1 Cup Mashed Bananas
    1/4 Milk + 3/4 Teaspoon White Vinegar
    1 Teaspoon Vanilla
    1/2 Cup Chopped Walnuts or Grape Nuts
    
    Cream shortening & sugar - add beaten eggs.  Sift dry ingredients
    together & add to creamed mixture.  Fold in bananas, milk & vanilla. 
    Mix until well blended.  Spoon into 2 well greased and floured loaf
    pans.  Bake in a 350o oven for 50-60 minutes or tested done.
    
    

    
    I have the opposite problem - I don't always feel like making banana
    bread when the bananas are ripe.  
    
    My solution... freeze the bananas when they're too ripe to eat.  They
    keep for a long time, and you can thaw them out whenever you're in the
    mood to cook.  When they thaw, they'll have black skins, and be *very*
    liquidy (thawing them slowly in the fridge helps this).  You have to
    sort of pour them out of the skins, but they're fine (in fact they're
    perfect) for banana bread.
    
    
    Sarah
    

    
    re .23
    
    Actually, the skins aren't really a problem.  They keep the banana from
    leaking all over the place when they thaw.  8^)
    
    But now that I think of it... peeling them makes sense.  You can cut
    them up, and put them in a plastic container, taking out however much
    you want when you're ready to bake.
    
    It would make for a neater looking freezer, anyway.
    
    
    Sarah
    

I peel and wrap each banana in freezer wrap..then throw them all into a bag
I've been using for 2 years, freeze.  They are great for baking, and they
make great "shakes" when added to skim milk with 1/2 teaspoon vanilla...or
Slim Fast chocolate Royale...or Weight Watchers chocolate shake mix.  Just
pull one out of the bag, take off the freezer wrap and save for the next
batch of bananas and snap the banana into pieces.  Drop into 8  - 10 ounces
skim milk in blender and blend up - add flavorings and blend well.  You
have something that tastes wickedly rich...for few calories.  This is a great
breakfast drink with Slim Fast.  It sticks with me all morning.

    These banana bread recipes call for "ripe" bananas.......  what do you
    mean ripe???   Is this where the skin is brown and the bananas are
    soft?  I have 3 bananas at home right now that are soft and brown. 
    Would that make BAD bread or is that perfect???
    
    
    

  .26 they sound perfect.

    re -1
    
    Yup. ..I'd agree, the bananas sound just about right!
    
    Jackie

    Wow!  What a difference "ripe" (almost rotten) bananas make!!!!
    
    I've only made the bread twice before and I've used yellow bananas but
    the more rotten the better!!!  
    
    Thanks!

	Definitely, the riper the better!  My sister shared her "trick" with
me.  When your bananas get really ripe, and you aren't going to use them right
away, pop the whole banana (peel and all) in the freezer.  Take them out to
defrost the night before (or defrost in the microwave).  You can cut one end 
off, and the whole banana will easily squeeze out, ready to be mashed.
I add mine to pancake batter, along with chopped walnuts and cinnamon...yummy!

	Laura

    they're not rotten, they're ripe.  yellow bananas may be edible but
    they are not ripe.  :-)
    
    I peel mine and freeze 'em.  When thawed they'll be brown anyway
    and the banana bread never complains.
    
    ed

    Laura (had to think twice about that! ;-) )
    
    Thats a great tip, thanks for passing it on! Now, there wont be any
    wasted banana's in our house.
    
    Jackie

	Jackie,

	The only problem I have is they seem to be piling up in the freezer!
	Guess it's time to bake!

	Laura



	

    
    re -1
    
    Laura,
    
    Knew I shouldn't have returned to the UK so soon!
    
    Jackie