Not so good bread and super yummy bread

Last night I attempted to make a whole wheat bread I hadn’t yet tried.

It didn’t rise much and turned out to be much more dense than I had hoped. My sweet three year-old enjoyed it… but I think that was only because we put lots of honey on it. The rest of it didn’t take more than one bite. My seven year-old spit his out.

At least my husband had something nice to say: “Thank you for trying so hard.”

Today I had to right the wrong… plus we didn’t have any bread in the house and that is almost never a good thing.

So I went back to the breadmaking I knew and tossed some ingredients in the breadmaker and let it do its thing to make delicious dough. I decided to just go with a simple white bread this time.

After the dough stage I like to take it out and braid it before I bake in a more traditional-sized loaf pan. It just seems more air-y and when it’s a more traditional size, I find it easier for sandwiches.

While that was kneading, inspiration hit again and I started assembling ingredients for a new banana bread recipe using whole wheat.

For the first time I actually added the walnut to my banana bread. I’m not a nut-in-the-cookies type of girl at ALL, so this was a real stretch for me. But my daughter was helping and kept nibbling on some walnuts so I decided to give it a try. And, as it turned out, I really liked it!

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This recipe was different from most in that it wasn’t as soggy/mushy as some recipes turn out… at least for me. It was soft and smooth, though, with a touch of crunch at the crust. I kept going back for nibbles until I finally decided to wrap it up and put it away before I regretted my lack of self-control.

After the banana bread came out of the oven I popped the white bread in for baking. And that, as always, made me smile. It came out beautifully. (And I am certainly no chef in the kitchen. Really. Just to prove it, here’s a link to my very first breadmaker experience. )

The scent of the regular bread is actually taunting me right now, inviting me to make a sandwich. As soon as I type the banana bread recipe, I will be off to enjoy some of that fresh, warm, bread. (You just cannot get it that good and fresh at the store…)

In the event you’re up for some delicious, easy banana bread, here’s the recipe:

Whole Wheat Banana Nut Quick Bread

2 teaspoons baking powder

1 teaspoon salt

2/3 cup sugar

1 2/3 cup whole wheat flour

1 egg

¼ cup heart-healthy butter spread

1/3 cup skim milk

¼ teaspoon lemon extract or 1 teaspoon lemon peel

2 ripe bananas

2/3 cup walnuts, chopped

1. Preheat oven to 350° (Thanks to another Amy for teaching us how to make that symbol appear!)

2. Spray bread pan with olive oil or cooking spray.

3. Combine baking powder, salt sugar and flour. Set aside.

4. Combine egg, butter, milk, lemon and bananas until well-blended.

5. Add flour mixture to wet ingredients.

6. Add walnuts, reserving some for the top of the loaf.

7. Pour in to pan. Sprinkle remaining walnuts on top and bake for 1 hour.

8. Enjoy!

Okay.. I gotta go. That bread is calling my name.

momflower


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