Am I bananas, or just nuts?

I haven't mentioned it until now, but I love baking, and I especially love eating baked goods: cakes, muffins, pies, cookies, yeast breads, and quick breads.  Let's be honest, is there a more enticing perfume in the world of food than that of something, anything, baking?  I think not.  And I don't just mean that warm, homey sensation you get when you smell cookies in the oven, I'm also talking about the mouthwatering effect of driving by a bread factory and getting that first whiff of something as mundane as Wonder Bread in an industrial furnace.

Now, I've been known to dabble in quick breads, and, to my mind, THE quintessential quick bread is banana bread.  Of course, just because it's the standard bearer doesn't necessarily mean it's best of breed -- frankly, I think banana bread ranks far behind its cousins in terms of taste, texture, and moisture.  Let's face it, most banana bread is usually dry and crumbly, and what little flavour exists is derived entirely from the banana itself.  So I set out to build a better banana bread.

As I see it, the problem is with the supporting cast.  Eggs, granulated white sugar, flour, milk, and fat don't bring much flavour to the table.  Many recipes for banana bread include chocolate and nuts, two ingredients that do add a lot of flavour and, at least with nuts, some much needed texture.  I'm all for the nuts, but the chocolate just seems like cheating to me, so I never add it. Cheating?  Yes, cheating.  If you ask me, adding chocolate to a baked good is like adding gratuitous action or nudity to a movie.  Sure, it makes the end product more enjoyable, but it does so without forcing the creator or the consumer to put any real effort into the experience; it's a shortcut.

I ended up making some substitutions.  I replaced the granulated sugar, which does little more than add sweetness, with good, old-fashioned, Canadian maple syrup.  Bananas and rum are a classic combination, so I replaced some of the milk in the recipe with spiced dark rum.  Finally, I added a little bit of high quality vanilla extract.

How was it?  Quite good.  The first thing I noticed upon cutting a slice was a strong whiff of rum and alcohol.  The loaf was very moist and rich and had a pronounced banana flavour, as well as a noticeable walnut crunch to add yet more flavour and some needed texture.  So far, so good.  I was a little disappointed that the other new flavour I introduced, the maple syrup, was AWOL, but I still think it made a better loaf because it added so much moisture.  Would I make this again?  Yes.  Will I continue to tinker?  You bet.  Of course, I'm still open to any suggestions for improving banana bread (like this one).

Rob's Banana Walnut Maple Rum Bread

525 grams, unbleached all purpose flour (approx. 4 cups)
6 tsp, baking powder
1 tsp, baking soda
1 tsp, salt

3/4 cup, maple syrup
2 eggs, lightly beaten
250 ml, whole milk
75 ml, dark rum
60 ml, vegetable oil
1 tsp, vanilla extract
400 grams, peeled ripe bananas (approx. 6 bananas), mashed

125 grams walnuts

Preheat oven to 350F.

Grease two 9x5x3 loaf pans.

Sift together flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt into large bowl.  Stir in nuts.

Combine maple syrup, eggs, milk, rum, vanilla, vegetable oil, and bananas.

Add wet ingredients to dry ingredients, and beat until just combined.  Divide evenly between loaf pans, then bake in pre-heated oven until toothpick inserted in centre comes out clean, approximately 50-60 minutes.

Comments

[Jill]

I make banana bread mini-loaves at least twice a month and I have a tendency to throw anything I have in the kitchen in them but I've never thought of maple syrup or rum. And I've never used white sugar. I tend to add oatmeal, brown sugar, walnuts, bran, coconut, and baby food prunes. The prunes help the moistness factor without having to add additional oil/eggs/milk but since I know that Rachel has baby food issues, I don't expect that prunes will ever make it into your banana bread! I think the debate is if you start adding oatmeal or bran; are you still making banana bread or are you making multi-grain muffins that happen to have banana in them?

[Rob]

Hey Jill,

Thanks for adding your two cents. I'm intrigued about adding other fruit to the mix. I don't know if you looked at the link in my post, but the recipe there includes a substantial amount of cranberry.

I'm a little weary about adding oats to the mixture as they could dry things out a little.

Any other loaves you make on a regular basis?

Rob

[Jill]

I have three basic loaves that I tweak depending I what I feel like (these are all adapted from the Moosewood Restaurant basic muffin recipe and have the same basic wet and dry ingredients)

1. Banana as discussed above
2. Blueberry/bran/walnut
3. Apple/cinnamon/prune/pecan (I just cut the apples into small pieces and toss them in)

I am weary of some fruit (actually cranberries - I made biscotti last night and omitted the cranberry requirement) but I'm thinking of branching out and adding a raspberry lemon type loave to the rotation.

In terms of dryness and oats, I found that it seems to make the loaves a little crunchy but not dry. However, I am the type of person who prefers a dryer banana bread to moist versions so that could be why the slight dryness does not bother me.

[Rachel]

Hi Jill!
I'd be willing to try baking with baby food if you recommend it (and I would describe it as "pureed fruit" to maintain my dignity). Does it change the colour of the loaf?
I think using a higher-fat milk would help to give the loaf moisture, since we tend to use the skim that I buy for my cereal. Brown sugar is a great idea -- waaaay more flavourful than white.
I really like cranberries in my baking. Dried, frozen, or fresh, they add a lot of zing. Don't base your judgement on what they're like before baking. I think they're virtually inedible when raw.

[Rachel]

PS. I am pro-chocolate in banana bread. It makes it more of a dessert... and that's OK. (Once I put white-chocolate chunks into banana bread. They melted almost completely away, but it was very moist and delicious).

[researchgirl]

Well, I was quite amused by this site, but it is so you! Anyhow, I have never found a really good banana bread recipe so I was quite anxious to try this one.
After some thought regarding your comments about the maple syrup, I decided to substitute honey for syrup. After all, the Greeks have been matching honey and walnuts for millenia, and toddy afficionados have been combining honey and rum, so I thought it might be a good idea. The results were excellent. Quite the best banana bread I have ever baked!

[Rob]

Honey, eh?

I'm very intrigued. How much honey did you use? Is it a straight substitution for the syrup?

I'll definitely give that a try, so thanks very much for the tip.

Rob

[northontguy]

It was actually one of the better banala loaves she's made. Mind you she has created some exceptional ones but this one I like. Not to sugary sweet... very moist... but what do I know? I like my lamb chops done very well!!!!

[northontguy]

typo in previous post. should read: banana loaves......

[northontguy]

Your mother-in-law says it's a straight substitution.