This time of year, I’m seeing tons and tons of posts involving canning, jamming and all of the amazing things friends are making from their gardens. To say our garden was a bit of a bust this year is an understatement. For all of the work that we put into it at the start, things have really fizzled late in the game.
Our hens – however – are bringing it. They have taken our farming game up a notch with a slow but legit start to laying!
Add in that I had a pile of blackening bananas in the kitchen – and it’s banana bread time. I will have something to show for all our farm-to-table freshness after all!
My love for banana bread was reignited when our wonderful neighbor in Hyde Park delivered a warm, fresh and delicious loaf right after we had brought Isai home from the hospital. With all the panic and insanity of having a new baby at home, we needed that bread that day. For the two or three days after, bread time became the single moment in the day when Aaron and I would sit at our breakfast nook table and quietly have a snack despite the madness that surrounded us from all angles.
That’s still how I feel about banana bread.
My most favorite recipe is one from America’s Test Kitchen. It’s dense and moist with precisely the right sweetness. But I’ve adjusted it a smidge for ease in the kitchen:
- I use whatever yogurt is available in the fridge. The recipe calls for plain, but I’ve used vanilla and strawberry – it’s great every time.
- Sub Sugar in the Raw. It’s worth every penny. I love the course grain and flavor it brings in. Plus, I always take an extra handful or two and sprinkle over the top of the bread before cooking. Epic trick from that neighbor bread, I’m telling you.
- Eat it fresh. As often as possible, attack the loaf almost immediately out of the oven. You will never regret it.
Maybe someday I will throw the whole recipe here. Honestly, I’m a little nervous about the copyright so I’ll just go ahead and tell you to snatch up the Baking Illustrated book (it’s bright yellow, can’t miss it). Worth every dime.