Sunday, January 25, 2009

Banana Bread (Pan de Banana)

I am labeling it as American because this type of bread is well, easily found in American places, and I haven't seen it in other ethnic stores only in American, and it's usually sold pre-packaged and in plastic (like most American sweets) so I'm guessing it's American.

This is my version of banana bread. It is VERY SIMPLE and BASIC, I know there's people that add sour cream, or only use oil, etc. but I like to keep it simple and with bold flavors I like.

This recipe in my blog is MY recipe BUT it is from a recipe that I altered slightly to suit my families taste and preference. If you want to see the original recipe see below:

http://allrecipes.com/Recipe/Banana-Banana-Bread/Detail.aspx

Anyways so here is my alteration and version

Ingredients:

-2 cups all purpose flour
-1 tsp. ground cinnamon
-1 teaspoon baking soda
-1/4 tsp. salt
-2 1/3 cups mashed ripe bananas (it doesn't have to be exact I used like 7 small bananas, I'm sure 5 medium to large is fine to, also bananas can be black to, I just make banana bread whenever I have to many bananas and they are starting to get passed their prime haha)
-1 stick of butter (1/2 a cup)
-3/4's cup of dark brown sugar or "piloncillo" (unrefined raw cane sugar, if using Piloncillo I grind it in a mortar with a pestle made from lava rock, I didn't have any on hand so I used dark brown sugar which has a similar taste)
-2 whole eggs
-1/2- 1 cup chopped walnuts (I wish I had some they would've added wonderful texture, if you have them or have time to go get some do it and add it to the bread you won't regret it, unless of course you hate nuts or are allergic to them for some reason)

Directions:
(1)Pre-heat oven to 350 degrees, grease and dust with flour a baking dish (like a loaf pan, if you don't have one use whatever you want)

(2)Sift flour, salt, baking soda, and cinnamon set aside in a large bowl.

(3)Mash bananas with whatever you have (I mashed it with a fork) set aside.

(4)In a seperate bowl beat butter and dark brown sugar until creamy, then beat in eggs, after incorporated beat in mashed bananas.

(5)Now add the banana mixture and walnuts (if using walnuts) to the flour mixture AND DO NOT I REPEAT DO NOT OVER BEAT!!! Gently fold it with a spatula quickly to get it incorporated. If you over beat it you will get a tough bread.

(6)Add batter to the baking dish, shake a bit so it sets evenly. Put in oven in the center and bake for about 60- 70 minutes (until center is not raw, peoples ovens vary so check it towards the end by inserting a knife in the center, if the knife comes out clean it's done)

P.S.

The reason I used dark brown sugar or "piloncillo" and cinnamon as the only flavoring is because in my house we are used to eatng fruit in syrups made with piloncillo and cinnamon so it would appeal more to us.

I'm sure you can add a teaspoon of vanilla extract or even a small dash of rum or dry white wine.

7 comments:

The Compassionate Hedonist said...

this is a very interesting banana bread. I make mine with dates, but want to try yours now.

Unknown said...

Nathan, this looks delicious! I love to put walnuts in mine too. Sometimes I add orange juice or coffee to the bananas for a different flavor, but you can't miss with butter, brown sugar and cinnamon!

The other thing I love to do with overripe bananas is to peel them and then freeze (whole)in a zip-top bag to use for smoothies and protein shakes. They are easy to separate and cut up even when frozen. (If you cut them up first, you have to guess how many frozen pieces is one banana!) Actually, I often buy bananas just for this purpose and let them "age" on the counter!

Núria said...

Vaya... qué fácil, I'm surprised!!! I should try it immediately... got tones of walnuts that I don't know how to use!!! To me it looks a bit like a bizcocho... Mmmm que rico, I have to try it :D

Nathan said...

La Vita Deliziosa,
Once again, thanks for visiting my blog, mmmmm I love dates they are so sugary and sweet I think it's the fruit with the highest sugar content once dried :)

Karen Brown Letarte,
The coffee sounds really good! Mmmmm a "Coffee Banana Walnut Bread" or something like that sounds tasty. I to do the same thing with bananas (freezing, etc.) sometimes I like to eat them alone with milk or with peanut butter spread, other times in peanut butter sandwiches, and even sometimes with the Cuban bean stews if I have no plantains I'll eat the bean stew with little pieces of banana.

Nuria,
Ah Nuria. you know what else you can do with those walnuts since you lucky enough to live in Catalunia, you can get some "Mato" cheese, and sprinkle lots of toasted walnuts then drizzle generous honey over it mmmmm I love "Mel i Mato"

Yeah I think it's the same as "Bizcocho" just a Banana one.

Oh yeah did you get some measuring cups? Since I remember you had a tough time once with a cake recipe that used cups.

If it helps know that 8 ounces of water is what fits in 1 measuring cup. So I guess you can use that as your guide sorta, I don't know.

Pilar - Lechuza said...

Yo tengo una receta muy parecida que me enseñó una amiga de Uruguay. La mía no lleva canela pero está buenísima. Tengo que probar esta receta cuanto antes.
un abrazo

Nathan said...

Pilar Lechuza,
Quando la agas dejame saber como te gusta, ami se me olivido meterle "extracto de vanilla" creo que le viera levantado el sabor.

¿Gusta Usted? said...

Nathan, has probado hacer el pastel volteado de plátano. Se prepara el molde igual que el de piña, y pones las rebanadas de plátano y la preparación del pastel. Queda rico y muy bonito.

Gracias por prestarme tus fotos de pollo al mojo de ajo.

Mi blog lo estoy recuperando, alguien me hackeo y borro todo, pero ya casi estoy terminando de recuperarlo.

Saludos!