Wednesday, June 17, 2009

BAKING NOOBS, UNITE!!!! Simplest banana bread ever.

Don't hate on the tattered green oven mit. It's my favorite.

Ok, so everybody knows that I kind of don't like baking. I have the utmost respect for patissiers and zealous home bakers. Such precise measurements, various factors that can make or break the dish, and I've always been a savory/salty girl. Mix in a few bad baking adventures, and voila! I'm a pretty lousy baker and I do not enjoy baking.

But.

this.

BANANA BREAD! AHHHH!

All fellow baking n00bs/haters, huddle over here! Heck, even if you DO have baking skills, try this recipe. It's so simple, so moist, and rich with banana goodness. Found the recipe via TasteSpotting, and the original recipe is from a lovely lady named Ms. Hockmeyer, who has sinced passed. I think it's really sweet how she lives on every time this recipe is discovered and loved! Recipe found here, my adapted version below (because, AGAIN, I didn't have all the ingredients).


Simple Banana Bread
Adapted from Ms. Hockmeyer's banana bread recipe, via Simply Recipes

3 or 4 ripe bananas, smashed (I only had 2 bananas, so I added the puree of 1 peeled small red apple. This provides the missing nanners' sweetness/moisture/some texture)
1/3 cup melted margarine
3/4 cup sugar
1 egg, beaten
1 teaspoon vanilla
1 teaspoon baking soda
Pinch of salt
1 1/2 cups of all-purpose flour

No need for a mixer for this recipe. Preheat the oven to 350°F (175°C). With a wooden spoon, mix butter into the mashed bananas in a large mixing bowl. Mix in the sugar, egg, and vanilla. Sprinkle the baking soda and salt over the mixture and mix in. Add the flour last, mix. Pour mixture into a buttered 4x8 inch loaf pan. Bake for 55 minutes or until a toothpick comes out clean when inserted. Cool on a rack. Remove from pan and slice to serve.

C'MON! How much simpler can it get? The outside crust is TO DIE FOR. Slightly caramelized, crunchy, and sweet, giving way to the moist banana-y inside... Mmmm...

I like it slightly chunky.. Look at all those banana bits :D

Sometimes, when I scroll through my photos, I cringe at the thought of how cloyingly sweet or rich everything would be as a daily diet. It's at these times that I have to remind myself that I don't gorge myself on all these things, all the time hahah. Hmm maybe I should post up some healthier things next :D Believe it or not, I do eat salads and such!

Random food fact: Starburst was created by the European confectionery Mars Inc. in 1960 and was originally named Opal Fruits.


Cheers,
T

6 comments:

  1. I came here to see your savoury cheese bites and find you have baked the same banana bread I cooked a few weeks ago! It was the first thing I baked since a child, and it's so nice. Second time around, I added walnuts, nutella and 50g of chopped dates, and it was delicious.

    ps - it was a sad day when Opal Fruits changed its name! Mars also changed the chocolate bar 'Marathon's' name to 'Snickers'. I still like Marathon!

    ReplyDelete
  2. I have childhood memories centered around banana bread too, Riz! It always tastes of good times :)

    ReplyDelete
  3. Trish! You've probably already heard of this [http://cvillain.com/] site, but it made me think of youz. Though I like your reviews better, to be compleeeeetely honest.

    ReplyDelete
  4. I love bannana bread. In my findings, there is two types of bannana bread. The heavy thick doughy type, and the light fluffy dryer type. Which type would you say this one is?

    ReplyDelete
  5. christy- i totally forgot about that site, actually!! thanks for sending the link. and my reviews cannot compete -_- but thanks for always being sweet hehe :)

    ryan- DEFINITELY a dense and moist banana bread. that's how i like it ever since i was a kid :D it's not extremely doughy though.. it has a nice texture. my family ate all of it within minutes of discovering i'd baked it -_-

    ReplyDelete
  6. I loveeee baking. With our skills combined, we would have the bestest potlucks, handsdown.

    ReplyDelete