Banana Beer Bread

I have an inability to finish all the bananas before they get brown and mushy because I seem to misjudge how many bananas I eat ("Seven?  That's a good number of bananas").  I wanted to do banana bread, but with a new twist, so I searched for banana beer bread.

And... of course it  exists!  I found a great recipe over at Life, The Universe, and Everything Delicious.  This blog has a ton of amazing-looking food with lots of recipes.  Go visit it!  (I did make 2 changes: used white flour and added a pinch of pumpkin pie spice.)

 The recipe calls for 2 bananas and 1/4 cup of beer.  I used Pacifico and it worked wonderfully!  Not as beer-y as true beer bread, but there is a nice hint of it.

And here's how it looks inside.  Super moist!  That's the great thing about banana bread. 

Whole Wheat Sandwich Bread

I created another bread recipe today.  This time it has an unusual ingredient... cocoa powder!  I had already added the onion and garlic powder and was trying to figure out what else to add when I saw the cocoa powder.   Why not? I thought, and added a little.

Ingredients

• 2 2/3 cup warm water
• 2 Tbsp. sugar
• 1 1/2 Tbsp. active dry yeast
• 1/4 cup butter, softened
• 1 Tbsp. salt
• 2 Tbsp. milk powder (added because I didn't have milk on hand and wanted a little creamier batter)
• 1 tsp. onion powder
• 1/2 tsp. garlic powder
• 1/2 tsp. cocoa powder
• 3 cups whole wheat flour
• ~5-6 cups white flour

Instructions:

1. Mix warm water, sugar, and yeast together and let sit for about 5 or 10 minutes to make sure it foams up a little.
2. Mix in butter, seasonings, and 3 cups of whole wheat flour.
3. Start adding the 5-6 cups of white flour, kneading when it gets too stiff to stir.  I used only enough flour to get to a sticky dough state, and didn't knead in more to make it more elastic.
4. Knead 8-10 minutes.
5. Let rise in a greased bowl for 45 minutes to an hour, or until doubled.
6. Punch down and divide in half, forming 2 loaves in greased loaf pans.
7. Let rise 45 minutes.
8. Bake at 350F for 20 minutes, or until golden brown.

Enjoy!

Italian Savory Bread

I love being in the kitchen and love baking, but making cookies and other sweets all the time isn't super healthy.  I satisfy my baking needs by making bread, which I can tell myself is sorta healthy.

Today I tried a new recipe and did something new... added seasonings!  The base recipe is from The Rickett Chronicles (thank you Pinterest!).

Two loaves of my Italian Savory Bread.  Top is crunchy and the rest is nice and soft!

 

Here is my altered recipe that I also doubled because why not?
Italian Savory Bread

• 2 cups warm water
• 1/4 cup sugar
• 5 tsp active dry yeast
• 1/2 cup vegetable oil
• 3 cups whole wheat flour
• 3 cups white flour
• 1 Tbsp salt
• 1 tsp onion powder
• 1 tsp garlic powder
• 1 tsp Italian seasoning

1. Mix warm water, sugar, and yeast together, then let sit for about 5 minutes to make sure it is foaming up.  Yay for proofing!
2. Add oil and salt.
3. Mix in the seasonings.
4. Add 3 cups flour, then stir in remaining until you can't stir anymore.  Turn out onto floured surface and knead for 10 minutes so that the dough is smooth and elastic, and no longer sticky.
5. Put in oiled bowl and allow it to rise for 1 hour.
6. Punch down, then form loaves, rolls, or whatever you're making.
7. Allow them to rise for 45 minutes.
8. Bake in 350F oven until golden brown (20 minutes).