Top Secret Banana Bread

Top Secret Banana Bread is courtesy of http://ift.tt/1nr27gs

Have you ever eaten banana bread that was dry, or maybe it starts out good when it’s warm but by the next day it’s gotten hard? And don’t even get me started on banana bread mixes – that’s just wrong! Everyone should be able to turn overripe bananas into moist and tasty banana bread with a just a few ingredients that should be found in any well stocked pantry. (If you need a gluten free banana bread recipe with no refined sugar, we’ve got you covered, too.) And with this recipe, we’ve got a couple of “secret ingredients” that add a little extra flavor and help keep it moist and tender. My youngest loves this one.

Top Secret Banana Bread Recipe

Adapted from The Quick Bread Cookbook by Nancy K. Adams

Ingredients

• 2/3 cup butter, softened
• 1 1/4 cups sugar
• 1 1/4 cup mashed ripe bananas, fresh or thawed
• 2/3 cup sour milk, buttermilk or milk kefir*
• 2 1/4 cup all purpose flour
• 1/4 cup ground flax
• 1 1/4 teaspoon baking powder
• 1 1/4 teaspoon baking soda
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 2/3 cup nuts (preferably crispy nuts) or unsweetened coconut, optional

Preheat oven to 350 and prep two 8×4 or 9×5 loaf pans. The pans I use are stoneware pans, and I rub them down with lard and put a strip of parchment in the bottom to avoid sticking. You could also use butter or coconut oil if you prefer.

*For the milk in this recipe, you have several options. What you are looking for is enough acidity to activate the leavening agents (primarily the baking soda). To sour pasteurized milk or fresh raw milk, add 2 teaspoons of apple cider vinegar to the 2/3 cup milk (at room temperature), and allow to stand for five minutes. Alternatively, you can use raw milk that has naturally soured. Do not use pasteurized milk that has gone bad. It rots instead of souring. If you have buttermilk or milk kefir available, feel free to substitute either. They will also work well. Using soured or cultured milk is one of the “tricks” that set this bread apart from other recipes I’ve tried. You can also use this trick in recipes that call for buttermilk. If you don’t have buttermilk on hand, substitute soured milk or milk kefir.

Cream together butter and sugar in a large bowl. Add in soured milk (or buttermilk or milk kefir) and smashed bananas and mix until smooth.

You could mix all your dry ingredients together in another bowl and then dump them into the wet ingredients, but I confess, I never bother. Instead, I add the flour, and then sprinkle the flax, the baking powder, the baking soda and the salt over the top of the flour. Once all the dry ingredients are in the bowl, then I mix everything together until just blended. Mix in nuts or coconut if desired – or – wait until batter is in the pans and sprinkle some nuts or coconut on top. Pour into two loaf pans.

Bake for around 45 to 50 minutes, until a toothpick inserted in the center of the loaf comes out clean.

Remove from oven and transfer to a cooling rack to cool completely. (Love my extra large grid cooling rack, BTW. Nothing falls through and it’s very sturdy.)

The flax is our second somewhat unusual ingredient. It adds a subtle nutty flavor to the banana bread, even if you don’t add nuts. My youngest is not a big fan of nuts, so I often make one loaf with and one without nuts. By sprinkling them on top of the loaves, it’s easy to see which is which.

I have also used Namaste Gluten Free Flour blend in this recipe with good results.

And that’s all there is to it. I store in a sealed container at room temp for several days, or frozen, well wrapped, for longer storage.

Next time life gives you overripe bananas, make some banana bread. The sour milk and flax will be our secret…

Top Secret Banana Bread 2016-02-15 15:55:13 Moist and delicious homemade banana bread recipe with two "secret" ingredients that give it great flavor and texture - not dry and crumbly! Write a review Save Recipe Print 4108 calories 554 g 338 g 194 g 63 g 88 g 1185 g 4158 g 283 g 5 g 93 g Nutrition Facts Serving Size 1185g Amount Per Serving Calories 4108 Calories from Fat 1678 % Daily Value * Total Fat 194g 299% Saturated Fat 88g 441% Trans Fat 5g Polyunsaturated Fat 28g Monounsaturated Fat 65g Cholesterol 338mg 113% Sodium 4158mg 173% Total Carbohydrates 554g 185% Dietary Fiber 32g 129% Sugars 283g Protein 63g Vitamin A80%Vitamin C32% Calcium77%Iron57% * Percent Daily Values are based on a 2,000 calorie diet. Your Daily Values may be higher or lower depending on your calorie needs. Does this look wrong? Ingredients

1. 2/3 cup butter, softened
2. 1 1/4 cups sugar
3. 1 1/4 cup mashed ripe bananas, fresh or thawed
4. 2/3 cup sour milk, buttermilk or milk kefir*
5. 2 1/4 cup flour
6. 1/4 cup ground flax
7. 1 1/4 teaspoon baking powder
8. 1 1/4 teaspoon baking soda
9. 1 teaspoon salt
10. 2/3 cup nuts (preferably crispy nuts) or unsweetened coconut, optional

Instructions

1. Preheat oven to 350 and grease two 8×4 or 9×5 loaf pans.
2. Cream together butter and sugar in a large bowl. Add in soured milk (or buttermilk or milk kefir) and smashed bananas and mix until smooth.
3. Add the flour, and then sprinkle the flax, the baking powder, the baking soda and the salt over the top of the flour. Once all the dry ingredients are in the bowl, then I mix everything together until just blended.
4. Mix in nuts or coconut if desired – or – wait until batter is in the pans and sprinkle some nuts or coconut on top. Pour into two loaf pans.
5. Bake for around 45 to 50 minutes, until a toothpick inserted in the center of the loaf comes out clean.

Notes

1. *For the milk in this recipe, you have several options. What you are looking for is enough acidity to activate the leavening agents (primarily the baking soda). To sour pasteurized milk or fresh raw milk, add 2 teaspoons of apple cider vinegar to the 2/3 cup milk (at room temperature), and allow to stand for five minutes. Alternatively, you can use raw milk that has naturally soured. Do not use pasteurized milk that has gone bad. It rots instead of souring. If you have buttermilk or milk kefir available, feel free to substitute either. They will also work well. Using soured or cultured milk is one of the “tricks” that set this bread apart from other recipes I’ve tried. You can also use this trick in recipes that call for buttermilk. If you don’t have buttermilk on hand, substitute soured milk or milk kefir.
2. Remove from oven and transfer to a cooling rack to cool completely.
3. Store in a sealed container for up to one week, or freeze for longer storage.

Adapted from The Quick Bread cookbook beta calories 4108 fat 194g protein 63g carbs 554g more Adapted from The Quick Bread cookbook Common Sense Homesteading http://ift.tt/1zQyHsW
Originally published 2013, updated 2016.
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