Monday, August 07, 2006

especially for Minna: MY GRANDMA'S BANANA BREAD



One loaf:

1 3/4 c. flour
2 tsp. baking powder
1/4 tsp. baking soda
1/2 tsp. salt
1/3 c. olive oil
1/3 c. brown sugar
1/3 c. sugar
2 eggs, beaten
at least 2 bananas, mashed leaving chunks
1 tsp. cinnamon
1/2 tsp nutmeg


Three loaves:

5 1/4 c. flour
6 tsp. baking powder
3/4 tsp. baking soda
1 ½ tsp salt
1 c. olive oil
1 c. sugar
1 c. brown sugar
6 eggs, beaten
at least 6 bananas, mashed, leaving chunks
1-2 tsp. cinnamon
1-2 tsp. nutmeg
walnuts or pecans

I often add craisins and chocolate chips, imagine that!
Bake at 350 degrees for one hour.
Great recipe for mini loaves, too. Reduce baking time.

Wrap while warm to keep moist.

24 comments:

  1. Oh that looks delicious! I may just have to bake some of that tomorrow. I've got some ripe bananas I've got to use.

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  2. Thank you for the recipe! I'll definitely try that.

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  3. After I've converted cups into deciliters and Fahrenheit into Celsius, that is :).

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  4. Yum. Thanks, Cheryl. Don't bananas have to be old when you make banana nut bread?

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  5. Mel, I think so. It makes it more banana-y or something. I've got one banana that is about to turn and 2 in the freezer. Perfect to make banana bread with today!

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  6. AWK! Minna, You're blowing my mind with conversions! I never even thought about that.

    Recipes always call for ripe bananas, and it's certainly a good way to use up those that are past their prime, but it's not necessary. I've used bananas in all stages -- except green, of course.

    And whenever I have a couple left over that are spotting, I peel 'em and stick 'em in a plastic bag in the freezer. They're gross and liquidy when thawed out, but bake up just fine.

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  7. Fortunately there are all kinds of nice things on the internet, like converters that convert from cups to deciliters, celsius to fahrenheit etc.

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  8. Yes, frozen bananas turn to mush when thawed. My daughter likes them mixed with some baby cereal though! Crazy kid.

    Hey Cheryl, can I put this recipe on my message board? I'll give a link back to your blog and also in the title of the recipe.

    Thanks!

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  9. I love banana bread and it's so easy to make! Thanks again, Cheryl!

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  10. Sure, Nickol, use the recipe with credit and link to my blog! I calla it Grandma St.John's Banana Bread. Maybe someone new will drop by.

    Jennifer, I love ya, but I just can't even think about banana pudding without shuddering. Sorry, no recipe. Truth be told (I'm known for being painfully honest, you know) I don't eat the banana bread myself, even though I'm famous for it and everyone in my family loves it. Not my thing. No banana cream pie, either. Bananas should not be eaten hot or mushed or pureed in my opinion.

    I have made the same recipe without nuts or anything for my grandson, Adam. He's a banana bread purist.

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  11. I made this last night w/o the nuts....my husband doesn't like them. We just had some for breakfast, cold. Brie chomped it right down. Me, I could eat the whole loaf!

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  12. What a visual, Nickol! I can just picture your cutie eating her slice of bread!

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  13. LOL...that is okay Cheryl! I still love ya!

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  14. She's actually eating some more right now. She's been on an eating strike lately, so I'm just happy she's eating.

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  15. I've been wondering why banana bread is called "bread", though. Here in Finland something that sweet is called "cake".
    Oh, and I just found a wonderful recipe for a coconut bread.

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  16. The recipe can be found here:
    http://www.bbc.co.uk/food/recipes/database/coconutbread_72906.shtml

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  17. With the heat we've had the bananas have been going bad so fast. I'll have to try freezing them.

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  18. Interessting, Minna. Well, banana is baked in loaf pans like bread. And it's sliced like bread. And we eat it with a little butter spread on it.

    There are many kinds of of sweet breads, as they're called, such as pumpkin bread (one of my favorites), date and and poppy seed bread. Some of these you can even find as a boxed mix in the grocery store.

    I'll try the coconut bread, thanks. My husband would love it!

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  19. I had to look this up:

    Castor or caster sugar is the name of a very fine sugar in Britain, so named because the grains are small enough to fit though a sugar "caster" or sprinkler. It is sold as "superfine" sugar in the United States. Because of its fineness, it dissolves more quickly than regular white sugar, and so is especially useful in meringues and cold liquids. It is not as fine as confectioner’s sugar, which has been crushed mechanically (and generally mixed with a little starch to keep it from clumping).

    If you don’t have any castor sugar on hand, you can make your own by grinding granulated sugar for a couple of minutes in a food processor.

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  20. It still seems odd to me to put butter on top of something that sweet. Oh, well. It's not like we wouldn't have any strange foods in Finland :).

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  21. I guess when you think about it, frosting is just butter and powdered sugar with whatever flavoring you choose.

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  22. Minna, you can eat it without the butter. I like it fresh from the oven when the butter melts into the bread. When the bread is cold, I just eat it plain or I'll toss it in the microwave to warm it up a bit.

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