The book is beautiful, it is a Williams-Sonoma book after all, and is full of lush (and fattening) recipes.
There are no corners cut in Home Baked Comfort (Williams-Sonoma): Featuring Mouthwatering Recipes and Tales of the Sweet Life with Favorites from Bakers Across the Country
Often with cookbooks I will try a banana bread recipe if there is one. I can make a batch while dinner cooks and slide it in the oven as we sit down, with dessert and snacks for the next days lunch baked as I clean up dinner. Simple and easy! I’ll be honest, it wasn’t my favorite banana bread I have made but there were two reasons: first off was my issue – I used white whole wheat flour that I ground myself so the bread was “earthier” if you will, but the second was the small size of the loaves. The bread should have been 1 loaf or 2 mini loaves, it called to be baked in two standard loaf pans which led to 2 thin loaves. Granted that means they bake fast, in about half the time of a standard loaf…still…the pieces were so small! The flavor though is quite nice. I shouldn’t complain – Walker loved it! That toddler loves banana bread and happily munches it.
Yesterday of said lil’ toddler, at our library. Now onto the bread:
Banana Bread, adapted from page 55
Ingredients:
- 2 cups all-purpose flour (although I used white whole wheat flour)
- 2 tsp baking powder
- ½ tsp baking soda
- ½ tsp kosher salt
- ½ tsp ground cinnamon
- 1/8 tsp ground nutmeg
- 3 very ripe large bananas, mashed
- 2 large eggs, room temperature
- 1 cup dark brown sugar, packed
- ½ cup sour cream or plain yogurt
- 1 tsp pure vanilla extract
- 4 Tbsp (½ a stick) unsalted butter, melted and cooled
Directions:
Position a rack in the middle of the oven and preheat to 350°F. Generously butter or spray two 9 by 5 inch loaf pans.
In a bowl, sift together the flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt, cinnamon, and nutmeg. In a large bowl, whisk together the bananas, eggs, brown sugar, sour cream, vanilla, and butter. Add the dry ingredients and stir to combine.
Divide the batter between the prepared pans and sprinkle with turbinado sugar (if desired, I didn’t). Bake until a toothpick inserted into the center of a load comes out clean, about 35 minutes. Let cool slightly in the pans, then turn the loaves out onto a wire rack to cool.
Makes 2 loaves. (They freeze well)
~Sarah
FTC Disclaimer: We received a copy of the book for potential review.