from Tracey G.
Have you ever picked up an ingredient and then forgotten
what you were going to use it for? I did. And that's precisely how I came to
have my bag of King Arthur Whole Wheat Flour in my cupboard. I have no
recollection as to what I bought it for - I know that I bought it for a
specific reason and recipe, but what that was, I have no idea. I can only hope
that it comes back to me!
So anyway, I have this bag of whole wheat flour and no
idea what I bought it for, so that then makes it fair game right? I need to
find some recipes to use it in, and who better to ask? King Arthur! Well, King
Arthur Flour that is, lol. And since Kris and I decided on bananas this week, I
found a recipe for Whole Wheat Banana Bread (click the link to get to the
recipe!). I'd never really thought to use whole wheat flour for anything beyond
bread, regular whole wheat bread or rolls. So, for me, it was decided - Whole
Wheat Banana Bread it was to be!
It came together very easily, a one-bowl thing is always
welcome! And I am also finding I do love using my kitchen scale and weighing
out ingredients, there's just something fun to me about it, lol. I had
everything on hand for it, which is another thing I look for in a recipe -
especially one that I might want to make on the spur of the moment, so you can
be sure, that now that I've discovered this recipe, I will be keeping whole
wheat flour on hand! The other ingredients needed were of course, bananas, and
eggs, brown sugar, baking soda, salt, vanilla, butter, honey and walnuts.
I
didn't use nuts because Harry doesn't care for them in things - but I do, so
next time I may either make 2 batches or divide the batter, add walnuts to half
and then make mini-loaves out of it or muffins. The only thing different from
the usual banana bread recipe using regular flour, is, you let the batter rest
in the pan 10 minutes before baking as this allows time for the whole wheat to
absorb moisture since it takes a bit longer than regular flour.
I did have a problem with one corner sticking and
therefore ripping my loaf when I tried to get it out of the pan. I have no
idea, why, I lightly greased the pan as called for, and the rest didn't stick
at all - just that one corner. And I think my oven is having temperature issues
or something because I think it came out a little dark - even after tenting the
top with foil for the last 10 minutes as the recipe directed to do. My whole
"outside" of the loaf was brown, over-browned I think, but still
tasted good. Next time I will maybe try reducing the oven temperature or
shorten the bake time. I think it's time to invest in an oven thermometer to
see just what is going on in there! LOL
The bananas I had to use weren't exactly as ripe as I'd
have liked for banana bread, so they didn't really make it too banana-y as I
like it - Jeremy said it tasted more like Brown Bread than Banana Bread, but as
I said I am guessing that it was the not-so-ripe bananas that are the reason
for that. The bread was really good, nice crumb and moist - and tasted pretty
darn good! Plus, I discovered it is even better the next day, I forgot that
quick breads are always better after they've "cured". It's one I would gladly make again, and love
to try experimenting on! I'd like to cut the fat - using either applesauce or
yogurt and add an extra banana or two for moistness, sweetness and flavor.
Doing so I could probably cut back on the honey/brown sugar. There is one other
variation I am just itching to try - substituting the honey altogether with the
Boiled Cider (apple cider boiled down to a syrup) and see what kind of tasty
results that produces! I also had an idea to use the recipe I found on the King
Arthur site for a glaze using the Boiled Cider and drizzle the banana bread
with that...
So many ideas and thoughts! Makes me want to get working on
another batch as soon as I'm done typing this!
Link to the recipe courtesy of King Arthur Flour:
Here's also a link to their step-by-step post on their blog, Flourish:
Have you ever heard the saying, “Life is what happens while you are busy making plans?” I’ve heard it...and I experience it more regularly than I care to admit.
Despite being out of town last weekend and knowing that that would disrupt the rhythm of my life this week, I thought I was on top of things. Whereas Tracey had whole wheat flour needing a purpose, I had frozen bananas. We decided way back on this week's banana theme. I knew what I wanted to make, King Arthur Flour's Banana Cream Cheese Roll. I had my week scheduled so that everything that needed doing would get done. Though it cut things close, that plan called for baking, photographing and writing on Friday. That may make me appear to be a procrastinator on the surface, but in my mind, everything was well scheduled. It would work.
Then life happened.
My well-calculated plan even allowed me to sleep in a little on Friday morning. I got up more rested than I have been in days and began gathering the ingredients for the week's recipe. I knew that had everything that I needed. Grocery shopping had happened right on schedule, earlier in the week. However, I failed to check the size of the jelly roll pan called for by the recipe. Despite a cabinet full of baking pans, I did not have the requisite size, a 9 1/4 x 14 jelly roll pan. Weber graciously volunteered to take me to get one. Great! Problem solved. I could manage a fifteen minute delay in my schedule to run up to Target. Three stores and an hour later, I got home…with no pan. Apparently the required pan is not a standard size. I came as close as I could with a 9 x 13 jelly roll pan. I figured I could make that work by not using all of the batter.
Back on track, I got the batter made and put in the oven. After a few minutes, I realized that I had used all of the batter. At that point, I just had to go with it and hope for the best. When the cake was baked, I pulled it from the oven and, following the recipe instructions, I began the process of rolling it to cool. I bet you know what happens next. It didn’t roll, it cracked because it was too thick. This was definitely “user error” and user error was not in my plan.
I texted Tracey and told her about my failure with the Banana Cream Cheese Roll and assured her that I would go to my Plan B, Banana Chocolate Chip muffins. My forethought had included having a Plan B, but I really didn't anticipate having to use it! Tracey and I discussed the situation back and forth and then I had the idea that maybe I could salvage the project by cutting the cracked roll into three layers and making it a layered cake rather than a roll. We have always been about keeping things real. Sometimes real is pretty and everything works perfectly and sometimes real means nothing works right and you have to punt. We decided that I would keep it real and finish my failed attempt at the Banana Cream Cheese Roll.
Fortunately the roll cracked such that I had three equal pieces. That made going forward not look so bad. I started making the syrup for the recipe. While I’m waiting for the brown sugar and water mixture to thicken, a process that required close supervision and frequent stirring, Weber said, “There’s a black lab on our front porch.” I asked if it was ours and he said, “No.” Being a sucker for animals, I turned off the stove and went to see if I could catch the dog. She was a young energetic pup perfectly happy to come to me. Unfortunately the only collar she had on was one that works with an electric fence. She had no identifying tags. We put her safely in our backyard called our local animal shelter to see if anyone had reported a missing dog. There had been no reports, so the officer came out with his chip reader hoping that the dog had been chipped and we could get her home that way. Fortunately she did have a chip and we found that she lived five or six houses down from us. Animal Control called and left a message for the owner. The owner was out of town and the dog had somehow gotten away from the house sitter, who soon came to retrieve the dog The situation was resolved, but now I was another forty-five minutes behind.
I reheated the syrup and finished cooking it. Made the cream. And put the ‘Variation on a Banana Cream Cheese Roll” together. I really wasn’t happy with the fact that the roll didn’t roll. I set out to do the photos of my “failure,” a process for which I realized I had no interest or energy. I could not get past the fact that it did not look like it was supposed to. Because of that, no photo that I took was good. Again I texted Tracey and said that the photos were ugly and boring. I could not use them. I sent one to her just to prove my case. Her more objective observation was that it was OK. “I think it looks great because it looks homey and yummy and like total comfort food.” Homey comfort food…that’s what I enjoy making. I don’t dress stylishly. My home is not furnished and decorated elegantly. I am about practical and real living. Why should the aesthetics of what I cook be any different? So, I went with it.
According to Weber, who cares not what food looks like as long as it tastes good, this recipe tastes great! So, I share with all of you my "Variation on King Arthur Flour’s Banana Cream Cheese Roll." I used vanilla instead of rum, and I also garnished the top with sifted powdered sugar and sliced banana to give it a somewhat "finished" look. Really, it worked. Lol!
Here's also a link to their step-by-step post on their blog, Flourish:
http://blog.kingarthurflour.com/2013/10/09/banana-cream-cheese-roll/
http://blog.kingarthurflour.com/2013/10/09/banana-cream-cheese-roll/
"Failure is the key to success: each mistake teaches us something."
- Morihei Ueshiba
