Banana Bread: Hacked

I am not a fan of bananas. I ate one once when I was a kid (like pre-k age) and it turned my teeth grey. Yes, the trauma of being teased on the playground will stay with you forever! But also banana bread is delicious so let's get past this, okay? Okay.

So as someone who doesn't like bananas, they still manage to find their way into my kitchen on a weekly basis. Yup, weekly. Because they're good at hiding in things like smoothies or coated in peanut butter on toast or in banana bread! That's all the ways I hide bananas in my food, three is a solid number.

The hardest part about banana bread? Planning. Because you have to let the bananas ripen before you can eat them but grocery stores are all like 'oh we don't want these bananas to go bad before you can eat them so here are some green, not even remotely ripe yet bananas you can eat in 2-5 days from now'. Then add another 2-5 days to get banana bread-ready bananas.

 

But alas, ain't no one got time for that. So here's a hack. You can stick the bananas in the oven and 'ripen' (I'm pretty sure we're cooking them) bananas that way! I did this on the preheat, just heat the oven to 300F (something like 125-150C is what I did here in the UK) and bake the bananas until they're black. You may need to turn the bananas over.

Allow them to cool before you add them to the batter or use mits because they are hot hot hot. But also mushy! So you can just blend them right in. And then you can have delicious banana bread whenever you want! Go-to recipe from my fav (and wannabe maj), Joy the Baker.

Banana bread/life hacked.

Recipe

• 1 cup sugar
• 115g (1/2 cup) unsalted butter, room temperature and cut into chunks
• 2 eggs
• 2 softened bananas
• 1 teaspoon vanilla
• 2 cups flour
• 3 teaspoons baking powder
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1 generous cup of chocolate chips
• Chopped walnuts (optional)

1. Preheat the oven to 300F/150C (ish). Place two bananas in a pan and roast until blackened. Set aside to cool.
2. In a large bowl, mix together the sugar and softened butter until creamy.
3. Add the eggs (officially one at a time, unofficially still don't have time for that).
4. Mix in the bananas. If they're squishy enough, you can just mix them in with a hand mixer, otherwise give them a preemptive mash with a fork before incorporating. 
5. In a small bowl, mix together the flour, baking powder and salt. Or don't and just add it to the large bowl.
6. Mix the wet and dry ingredients together until there is no flour visible.
7. Fold in the chocolate chips and nuts if adding.
8. Bake for 45 minutes until golden brown and no longer wobbly (or a knife/skewer poked in the middle comes out clean).

Honey Banana Bread

Let's talk about impulse shopping for a moment. I wouldn't say I love shopping because I don't. I find it stressful and frustrating when I'm trying to find something specific and nothing fits right and I try on all of these things that are too small (because when do I feel bad that something is too big) and my hair gets all messed up from pulling sweaters over my head and fitting room lighting is just not flattering. But I also love a good deal so this really conflicts with my general distaste for fitting rooms.

Shopping for the home is totally different and shopping for the kitchen is just joy. I've debated purchasing a Kitchen Aid mixer for awhile. That would be the ultimate splurge/deal/treat yourself for a baker. I looked at some Black Friday deals but never quite took the plunge. Plus, there's that whole the Kitchen Aid is what you get when you get married thing. 

Well, turns out it's a good thing I didn't get one for myself because I got one from my family for Christmas (combo gifts are the best)! It's silver and shiny and strong and its name is Bessie. It took me weeks to actually use it which is so sad but I wanted to find the right thing to make to christen it. What better than classic banana bread with a twist? Some sticky delicious honey is just the glue we need to challenge Bessie. 

 

This comes from the Williams-Sonoma cookbook, Dessert of the Day. I have many bookmarks in there. The batter was thicker than other banana bread recipes I've followed in the past and was made in a square pan instead of a loaf pan. 

What I like about this recipe is its simplicity: 2 bananas, 2 eggs, 1 teaspoon of cinnamon, baking powder and baking soda, I don't have to worry about mixing up the baking soda and baking powder, wooo!

 

Butter and sugar are creamed together before adding the eggs and bananas. I tried to be really cool and break the eggs into the running mixer and completely dropped the egg in. What a champ. Dry ingredients are gradually added, which is a thing we can add gradually because the mixer is mixing while my hands are pouring. 

Baked for 30-45 minutes and golden perfection, this bread came out denser than most breads but more like a cake. I highly recommend adding walnuts, pecans or chocolate chips.

 

Recipe

from Dessert of the Day cookbook

• 1/2 cup (1 stick) plus 2 Tablespoons unsalted butter
• 1/2 cup brown sugar
• 2 eggs
• 2 ripened bananas
• 2 1/4 cups all-purpose flour
• 1 teaspoon baking powder
• 1 teaspoon baking soda
• 1 teaspoon cinnamon
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1/2 cup walnuts, pecans or chocolate chips (optional)

1. Preheat the oven to 350. Grease a square baking pan (8x8 or 9x9).
2. In a medium bowl or the body of a mixer, cream the butter and brown sugar.
3. Gradually add the eggs and ripened banana.
4. In a separate bowl, sift together the flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt and cinnamon.
5. Gradually add the dry ingredients to the wet ingredients.
6. If adding nuts or chocolate chips, fold in once the dry ingredients are completely incorporated.
7. Pour the batter into the prepared pan.
8. Bake for 30-45 minutes until golden brown and firm. A toothpick inserted in the middle should come out clean.
9. Serve warm or next day with coffee (optional).