Banana Sandwich Bread

The finished loaves

     If you remember, the last sweet sandwich bread I baked was not one that I particularly liked even though it was a hit with Jake and Caroline.  There was something about the combination of spice and sweet that I just did not enjoy, so I was a little apprehensive to try this banana sandwich bread. The recipe said that it was the perfect bread for a peanut butter sandwich, and on my budget, that was exactly what I needed to hear to motivate myself to make it.  To me there is little else more perfect for breakfast than peanut butter toast.  I used to wish that my mom would be a Jiffy mom and make me sandwiches with Jiffy and Wonderbread, like some of the other moms.  Once I was in college, I did my own shopping (which if you ask me is the reason for the Freshman 15, not the beer)and bought disgusting white bread and preservative laden peanut butter.  I quickly realized that my mom was right with her combo of whole wheat bread and Adam's All Natural peanut butter that actually had oil on the top of the jar.  I have been a devoted healthy bread and peanut butter lover since that point (especially after I shed some of the extra weight).   

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     The banana is not very prominent in this bread, and takes a back seat to the wheat, cinnamon and orange peel flavors.  It is not the typical overly sweet dessert bread that conventional banana bread is and isn't packed with extra sugar.  The end product looks just like regular wheat sandwich bread but packs a secret punch and makes an excellent Cinnamon/sugar toast.  I definitely prefer this bread to the Swedish Summer Rye but I am also realizing the flavor that the orange peel contributes to both breads.  For some reason, I think of orange flavoring being something sweet, when in fact, it is a little bitter.  The reason the orange works in this bread is because it balances out the sweet flavors of banana and wheat.  I am always one that enjoys a balance, sweet with savory, tart with buttery, crunchy with soft, and this bread definitely satisfies that desire for balance.

The set up complete with the second jar of
active dry yeast I have finished!

Stirring up the yeast, water and sugar.

After the addition of Cinnamon.

...and orange peel.

The yeast doing it's job!

The yeast working over time!
(probably need a bigger bowl)

After mixing in the melted butter and salt.

The dough before kneading.

After kneading, placing in baking pans.

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#10 Banana Sandwich Bread

 From Tassajara Bread Book

2 1/2 cups lukewarm water

2 packages dry yeast

1/4 cup honey

1 cup dry milk

2 bananas, mashed

2 eggs, beaten

2 tablespoons cinnamon

peel of 2 oranges, grated

2 cups unbleached white flour

2 or more cups whole wheat flour for forming the sponge

4 teaspoons salt

1/4 cup butter or margarine

3 cups whole wheat flour

1 cup (approx)whole wheat flour for kneading

Proceed with directions for recipe#1, adding the bananas, eggs, cinnamon, and orange peel after the dry milk.

Extra Basil leads to...

The finished biscuits complete with basil garnish.

    

     After making what felt like a gourmet meal of poached chicken breasts in a lemon herb bath with an herb sauce, I had a ton of basil left over.  After making pesto and still having extra, I flipped through my trusty Tassajara Bread book and found this recipe for Basil and Parmesan biscuits.  There is something really wonderful about adding ingredients (especially fresh ones) to a batter or dough.  The basil provided a beautiful pop of color, and also served as a reminder that my favorite color, which I call spring green, would be popping up all over the place shortly in the form of grasses, leaves, and trees. 



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     These biscuits are delicious, but are a little heavy to have in the morning.  Perhaps a different combination of cheese and herbs would be more appropriate for the coffee hour, but these are quite wonderful with dinner or lunch.  You can make these into small sandwiches, or serve alongside a soup, or as a dinner roll, and they are especially good with a fried egg or two, topped with pesto and a drizzle of good olive oil.  One of the things I love most about this bread book, is that it gives you the basic tools to master, from which you can start to improvise.  I think the combination of gouda and parsley would be nice, or perhaps cilantro and mozzarella or jack, and even gruyere with tarragon or marjoram would be lovely too.  

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Adding the eggs to the well inside the flour butter mixture.



Mixing up the eggs with a fork,
incorporating a little flour at a time.







Mixing the dough until just combined



Folding the dough for flaky layers

Cutting out the biscuits using my favorite cup



Close up



On the sheet, ready to bake

Ta-dah!

#48 Basil and Parmesan Cheese Flaky Biscuits

Ingredients for Flaky Biscuits #47 (here)

1 1/4 cups grated Parmesan cheese

2 tablespoons minced fresh basil leaves

Follow the directions for Flaky Biscuits, stirring the grated cheese and minced basil leaves into the flour-butter mixture before adding the eggs and milk.  Follow the same procedure for shaping and baking the biscuits.

-Other cheeses (cheddar, provolone, smoked) and herbs (rosemary, oregano, sage, thyme) may also be added.

 

The secret ingredient; emotion.

     I'm not sure where I first heard about this book, but the concept certainly grabbed me right away.  The Particular Sadness of Lemon Cake is about a young girl named Rose that can taste the emotions that the people who prepared her food felt when they made it.  When I read the summary of the book on the online library catalog, I thought that this would be a funny interesting book and most likely light-hearted.  But the title itself should have been an adequate enough warning.  This book is sad, Rose's gift (like so many gifts) is most often a curse.  She discovers things about the people who make her food that she doesn't want to know, too much information for a young 8 year old girl to handle. 

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     This odd book is haunting me a bit, and I am feeling a hangover of sorts from reading it all in one day.  Perhaps it is because I care so much about food and enjoy so much making it for others.  Perhaps it is the chilling feeling that we get once we know something that we may or may not have wanted to know, but are unable to be blind to.  This book describes eloquently the inability we sometimes face as humans to communicate with each other, each of us coming from such a different existence, and the loneliness and isolation this can create.  The book also speaks to how difficult it is to go along once you know the pain someone is in, and the crippling effects of depression.  I know that this blog is supposed to be about baking, and I am getting a little off topic, but this book has had an eerie effect on me that I suppose I needed to talk about.  If nothing else, Aimee Bender's vivid description of food is surely inspiring.

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     Perhaps the saddest thing, is that Rose has to turn to vending machine food, or food that is made by a machine in a remote factory and the most difficult things for her to eat are the homemade goods that are loaded with feelings.  I couldn't help but think about the way we eat in the United States and how it is so opposite from the way Rose eats.  If we were all cursed or blessed with Rose's gift, then McDonald's wouldn't exist and there would be very few people who could tolerate the unhealthy and inhumane way that so much of our food is made. I would argue that everything would be organic, free range and humanely raised because the taste of the opposite, is too much for even the cruelest to bear.   So many of us have no relationship with our food, except for a dysfunctional one that involves denial.  So many of us have no idea where our food comes from, or think about how many hands it touches before it gets to our plate.  I haven't always thought about these things myself, but now that I do, I find it almost impossible to revert back to a state of un-wonder.  I think about how bizarre flour is, how it was once a wheat crop, and then it was processed and packaged and then sold to grocer and then to me.  I think about how much work is involved when I go to a grocery store and see all the produce shelves filled to the brim.  I have grown my own food, and I know what it takes to produce even one tomato.  I don't take any of that for granted, but it is very easy to forget when you can just hop in your car and drive to a supermarket and buy anything your heart desires.  

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     What this book reminded me, is that I am putting myself into the meals and breads that I make for others.  The idea that someone can taste my emotions is something that I should keep in mind and I should always bake or cook with that idea in my head.  I have prepared many meals in the past few years and I could definitely sense a difference when I was agitated, or angry, or sad or happy.  Maybe not in the way the food tasted, but in the quality of the end product or in the ease or difficulty of the actual process.  The ingredients seem to mix better when you treat them kindly, the water seems to boil over less when you are paying attention to it, and the vegetables seems to chop more uniformly when you are treating them with the respect they deserve, as the end product of a long, labored process.  

"Food is all those substances which, submitted to the action of the stomach, can be assimilated or changed into life by digestion, and can thus repair the losses which the human body suffers through the act of living"

     -The Physiology of Taste, Brillat-Savarian(Taken from the   introduction of The Particular Sadness of Lemon Cake).

Lemony Delicious

Dusting the cooled lemon bars with powdered sugar

     With each year that passes by, I learn more and more about what I like and dislike and more and more about what makes me me.  I think these two concepts are closely related, a lot of what makes us who we are is what we like and dislike, what we will associate ourselves with and what we will distance ourselves from.  Of course I am speaking to the much deeper decisions we make, but these bigger, deeper decisions are also made up of the little decisions that occur in our everyday life.  One of the everyday conclusions that I have come to, is that besides the occasional square of dark chocolate, scoop of Rocky Road ice cream, or Girl Scout cookie, I most of the time prefer a lighter (as in opposite of heavy, not necessarily healthier), more tart or savory dessert like a slice of pie or fresh fruit with vanilla bean ice cream.

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     I am starting to notice that I have the urge to describe all of the dessert recipes from The Tassajara Book as easy to make.  Perhaps it's the comparison between the time it takes for the dough to rise in the bread recipes, or maybe it's just because these desserts aren't fussy or time consuming.  I think the desserts in this book are the way they are for a reason; so that they can be made on a more regular basis and will, at the same time, deter you from eating store-bought crap-desserts made from ingredients you can't pronounce.  These lemon bars make a delicious dessert and are very lemony indeed. My point is that it's possible to have a sensible meal and have dessert and it's also possible to eat bread on a regular basis, contrary to the carb-monster myth that persists today.   

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     I embrace all body types and I know that the reality of a stick thin woman is more rare than the media would lead us to believe.  We have an obesity epidemic on our hands, and the pressure that women (young and old alike) are under to look like a Playboy bunny, is so detrimental to one's confidence and appreciation of one's uniqueness.  Oddly enough, at the same time, the media is dominated by advertisements and commercials for fast food, soda, and junk.  It really is unfair, unhealthy and unrealistic.  Because of this, I am a big believer in moderation and balance rather than deprivation and sacrifice.   As my metabolism begins to slow, it is important to me to know what I actually, truthfully enjoy eating, as wasting calories on something I don't really enjoy will weigh me down. So, I will make and eat lemon bars, but I am trying to learn to pass on the donuts brought in to my office.  One of my bigger decisions is that I would rather enjoy small portions of delicious homemade desserts and meals than a bucket full of deep fried mystery meat.

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Butter and sugar...
I didn't say that this was a light dessert, did I?

The baked lemon bars cooling.

#88 Lemon Bars

From The Tassajara Bread Book

For the shortbread crust:

1 1/4 cups flour

1/4 cup sugar

2/3 cup butter, chilled and cut into 1/2 tablespoon pieces

To prepare the crust, work the flour, sugar, and butter together until they form a dough.  Press this into an 8-inch round or square pan.  Bake in a 300 degree oven for 20 minutes.

For the lemon filling:

2/3 cup sugar

2 teaspoons baking powder

1/2 cup fresh lemon juice

2 eggs

zest of 1 lemon

Prepare the filling while the shortbread is baking. Whisk together the sugar, baking powder, lemon juice and eggs along with the zest.  Pour this mixture over the baked crust and continue baking another 30 minutes or until slightly browned on top.  After it cools, sift a little powdered sugar over the top, if you like.  Cut into squares.

In the near future...

I was thinking the other day about how much I really do like to cook and how important it is to me to try to use local, organic and sustainable ingredients when I cook.  Jake and I have talked about getting a CSA box several times, but then it dawned on me what a great idea it would be to get a subscription, and blog about cooking (and maybe baking) from my CSA box.  It will challenge me to really cook in season, and I think it will be pretty darn fun too.  Look for my next untitled-thus-far blog, coming in the Spring!

Bread Love

The finished garlic-buttery loaves

     The last time I baked was two weeks ago.  It has felt very odd not having my Sunday ritual of flour and yeast and heat.  I was sick last week (still recovering) from one of those colds that makes you realize how lucky you are to be healthy most of the time.  While I was sick, I craved homemade bread.  It's true, I'm not lying, I actually craved a biscuit, or a slice of toast or a muffin, but not just any biscuit, bread or muffin, I wanted something homemade by me, from my own kitchen.  What I really craved most of all, were the loaves that inspired the title "Bread Love."

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 I am in love.  I am sorry Mireille Guliano, I used to think that your French bread recipe from French Women Don't Get Fat were the bread-loves of my life, but I was wrong.  The French bread from the Tassajara Bread Book is perfect in every way, and I am serious about this.  This crusty loaf with a fluffy interior is hard to beat, but topping these loaves with garlic butter straight out of the oven seals the deal and makes them the loaves-of-my-dreams, hand's down. The mixture of wheat and white flour is divine, giving the bread enough weight without making it heavy.  The crust of the bread gets very golden and, well crusty, because of the moisture you coat the loaves in with a squirt bottle while baking.  In the FWDGF recipe mentioned above, a pan of water is baked in the oven with the loaves to provide moisture, but I think that squirting them or brushing them with water is a much better approach, plus it's way more fun. Introducing water not only keeps the crumb of the bread moist, but it allows the exterior to turn a deep golden color and have a much crustier exterior without burning.

Shaping the dough after rolling out
with new French rolling pin (thanks Mom)

Cutting vents in the loaves
on top of a cornmeal dusted baking sheet

A homemade steam injection oven!

Brushing the loaves, straight from the oven with garlic butter

mmmmm...garlic butter

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     Next time I make these loaves (and I know there will be many more times)I plan to let them bake a little longer.  The crust was still delicious, but I think it could have been a more golden shade of brown.  This recipe also opened the door to all kinds of savory and sweet butters: butters with fresh herbs like Cilantro or Basil, with cinnamon and orange peel, or with ginger and lime.  I am pretty sure that I could live off of bread and butter, especially now that I have made this recipe.  Well, maybe I'd like to add beer to that list. 

#15 A French Bread

From The Tassajara Bread Book

Crusty, with good wheat flavor.  Try a combination of whole wheat and white flour, or use all white flour if you prefer.

3 cups lukewarm water

3 packages dry yeast

2 tablespoons honey or sugar

2 cups unbleached white flour and 2 cups whole wheat flour

4 teaspoons salt

1 1/2 cups unbleached white flour and 1 1/2 cups whole wheat flour

wheat flour for kneading

Proceed with directions for Recipe#1.  With the additional yeast, rising times will probably be somewhat shorter.

To shape the loaves, cut into two pieces, roll each out into a rectangle about 1/4 inch thick on a floured board.  Then roll up the dough tightly, as you would roll up a carpet.

Pinch the seam together and roll the loaf about to shape it evenly.  Place the finished loaf, seam down on a baking sheet that has been sprinkled with cornmeal.  Let rise for about 20 minutes.

Brush with water.  Bake at 400 for 10 minutes, and then spray or brush the loaves with water.  Continue baking at 350 until well browned--another 35-45 minutes.  For added shine and a bit of flavor, brush the tops with garlic butter as soon as the loaves are removed from the oven (a must).

Pop-Pop-Popovers!

The end result; chaotic, spontaneous, popovers.

     After a somewhat hectic week at work, I was looking for an easy recipe that I could knock off my list.  I was looking for something that did not require kneading, rising, or too many ingredients.  Popovers seemed somewhat low maintenance, except for the fact that the only other recipes that I had seen for popovers had been from a Martha Stewart baking cookbook that required the use of a certain popover pan (which I, of course do not have).  I hoped that since none of the other recipes required special equipment, that this one wouldn't either, and I was right.  Turns out that Popovers can be made in a regular muffin tin.  

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     This recipe seemed dangerously similar to a souffle, which I have never actually made, but from watching several cooking shows with people trying to pull one off successfully, I know that it can collapse at any moment if taken out of the oven too soon, if moved to quickly, or if someone sneezes in the other room.  In that way, a souffle, and to a lesser degree popovers, are like science experiments, all the elements have to come together just right to make it work.  Luckily, popovers are not as temperamental as souffles and if you follow the instructions of this recipe, they are very simple to make.  As long as you keep the oven shut for the first 30 minutes of baking (which is all I needed in my oven)they should bake into perfect puffs of yummy soft baked goods that are like a hybrid creation of croissant, muffin and souffle.  

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  I normally avoid the word "magical" because it's often used to describe things that have an explanation (therefore, it's not magic!) but, I do feel like the way that these little suckers bake is pretty magical.  They pop up in a chaotic, spontaneous way that is unique for every popover.  The extra amount of eggs in the batter is what makes these rise and bake too fast for their own good which produces a hollow eggy roll which can be filled with any number of ingredients.  The origin of these delicious rolls is somewhat unknown, but apparently, food historians generally agree that the recipe was derived from an American adaptation of Yorkshire Pudding, which has been made in England since the 17th century.  The next time I make these, I want to try out filling them with something; cheese, pesto, hummus, nutella...okay, maybe they are a bit magical...



Popovers, ready for their close up.




Yum!





#44 Popovers

From The Tassajara Bread Book
Makes 12 popovers

1 cup unbleached white flour

1/2 teaspoon salt

3 eggs, beaten

1 cup milk

2 tablespoons melted butter

Preheat oven to 425 degrees.

Use a popover pan or  regular muffin tins.  Mix ingredients thoroughly.  Grease the muffin tins and heat in the oven for 5 minutes.  When hot, fill each cup one-third full with popover batter.

Bake at 425 for 20 minutes, then reduce the heat to 325 and bake another 10-20 minutes.  DO NOT OPEN the oven until after 30 minutes of baking of the popovers may fall.

Serve with butter, jam, or cheese.  Or serve for dinner with stuffed meat or vegetables in cream or cheese sauce; with grains, vegetables, or stuffing; or with a mushroom filling.  Heck, or just plain buttered.