May | 2011 | cook with andrea

Banana bread with almond streusal

This banana bread is easy and has great texture. Makes a nice, heavy 9 x 5 loaf, although you can play around with pan sizes. The way it is put together is more like a cake style as opposed to a muffin style, and the result is a nice tight crumb. Velvety texture. If you decide to add the almond topping, it adds a nice sugary crunch, and I find it looks amazing when presented as a gift. So enjoy this as a banana loaf as is, but if you want to kick it up, the streusal is easy and makes your baking look professional.

Ingredients:

2 eggs

1/2 cup light olive oil or coconut oil

1 cup granulated sugar

1 tsp vanilla extract

1/2 tsp almond extract

1.5 cups mashed bananas

1.5 cups all purpose flour

2 tsp baking soda

1/2 tsp salt

1/2 cup chopped toasted pecans (optional)

Stuesal topping (optional)

1/2 cup toasted slivered almonds

1/4 cup brown sugar

2 Tbsp butter, melted

Preheat oven to 325.

In mixer or large bowl with whisk, mix oil, eggs (preferrably room temperature) and sugar. Mix for 3-5 minutes (depending on whether you are using mixer or by hand), until well blended, using spatula to scrape down sides occasionally. Add in vanilla and almond extracts. In separate smallish bowl, mix your dry ingredients, except pecans. Alternate mixing the flour and banana to the egg mixture, ending in flour. Fold in nuts, if using.

Put into greased 9 x 5 pan, or whatever pan you have decided to use. Place that pan on a baking sheet.

Mix up toasted almonds, brown sugar and butter. Place evenly on top of batter.

Bake for 1 – 11/4 hours, check it after 45 minutes and see how it’s doing. Is it baking evenly? If not twirl pan around. Remove when tester, such as a skewer or thin knife, comes out clean or with a crumb or two on it. Let it sit and set up before enjoying. Should last for a few days well wrapped and will freeze perfectly.

wrapped and ready to freeze or to give

One of our fondest food memories of Ireland is the deliciously dense and nutty Irish Brown Bread. It is served with every soup and stew, placed on your table at dinner, and toasted with breakfast. It’s so delicious slathered with butter, with butter and some old Irish cheddar (our favourite car snack) and toasted with jam. We bought a few loaves at Griffin’s Bakery in Galway, were given a loaf by the host of the Vanilla Pod in Killarney, and really liked both the white and brown varieties offered at The Earl’s Court Hotel in Killarney for breakfast.

Upon arriving home, I was eager to try to recreate it. I found an Irish Brown Bread recipe, and modified it slightly by adding molasses instead of sugar, added ground flaxseed… to try to make it a little darker. It’s so fast and easy to make, no yeast or rising required. Everyone should know how to throw this together, it will come in handy when you are out of bread – especially at the cottage, for example, where you don’t necessarily feel like running out to the store. It tastes good the first day, even better the second and will last, well wrapped, for 4 or 5 days.

Irish Brown Bread

makes 1 loaf

2 cups whole wheat flour

2 cups all purpose flour

1/2 cup ground flaxseed

2 tsp salt

1 tsp baking soda

1/2 tsp cream of tartar

2 tsp molasses

1/2 cup olive oil

1 1/2 cup buttermilk

Preheat oven to 400 F. Prepare pan – a 9 or 10 inch round, and I place that on a baking sheet.

Mix together flours, flaxseed, salt, cream of tartar and baking soda. In large measuring cup, combine buttermilk, molasses and olive oil. Make well in center of flour mixture and pour in wet ingredients. Stir to combine, then knead briefly until smooth. Place into a 9 inch round baking pan or a 9 x 5 inch loaf pan. Bake 30-40 mins, until it sounds hollow when tapped. This bread is good the first day, but tastes even better the second, and will keep, well wrapped for 4 or 5 days.