Free to Be...Banana Bread and Me
As a "food professional" (lol), I usually lack the time and energy to cook when I'm at home. For the first time in a loooong time, I'm home for a week and living my best life cooking at home. I don't need to be in my clogs, apron, have my hair tied up with a bandana, or keep my work station clean (okay, okay I still do that). Cooking at home for me = pajamas & slippers, rewatching The Office (again) on my iPad or listening to 2000s party jams on Spotify (this song slaps).
The first thing I made was Smitten Kitchen's double chocolate banana bread. I love Deb's recipes because they work and are perfect for cooks in a small kitchen.
Here's how my process went down:
- Spend 5 minutes looking for my loaf pan, only to realize I don't actually have one. Curse myself and settle for a deep square brownie pan lined in spray & parchment. (Pro tip: start buying parchment paper! It's by the far the best for lining baking pans and also great for savory cooking.)
- Everything's going according to plan! I melt my butter and let it cool (instead of turning it to brown butter because I've forgotten about it).
- I start to sift the dries into the wets, and can't find any AP Flour. Oh god, did I run out of flour?!? Well sheet, I am indeed out of flour (rip me).
- I am blessed to have a Vons down the street from me, should I go? I mean, by now I just have a bowl of mashed bananas, sugar and eggs so I'm pretty committed to this.
- I change from pajama pants to sweatpants and run down the street. GUESS WHAT, Vons is out of flour....the entire section is empty (like my soul at this moment).
- I go home and give myself a pep talk (you went to culinary school! you can do this!). I dig around my cupboard and find a small bag of double o flour I was saving for pasta and an opened bag of rye flour (that I've had for 2-3 years?).
- I decide to go rogue...double o flour has a lower protein count than AP flour, but it could work because I want a soft crumb! (Higher protein = more gluten structure) I scale about 100g.
- Instead of going all double o, I throw in some rye flour to give it some depth. (Overall, I scale 140g of flour instead of the 125g of AP the recipe calls for.) (Pro tip: get a scale and weigh all your ingredients when baking!)
- Lastly, I mix in a combination of semi sweet chocolate chips and some high quality 70% dark chocolate chunks because I like a balance of sweet and bitter (just like me).
- Since I have an extra banana, I split it and lay it on top of the batter because I see people do it on Instagram and it looks cool. (Final pro tip: exposed fruit tends to look dry once it's baked, so sprinkle some granulated sugar over the fruit before baking for a nicer finish.)
- After baking, I let the banana bread cool completely (j/k I'm impatient - it was still warm) then I dig in. It's actually pretty good! Soft crumb & good texture! Not sure if the rye did anything, but I'm going to tell myself it gave the banana bread some "depth."
- I take 2 photos in low light with no styling. *chefs kiss*
Thank you for going on this banana bread journey with me!
The first thing I made was Smitten Kitchen's double chocolate banana bread. I love Deb's recipes because they work and are perfect for cooks in a small kitchen.
Here's how my process went down:
- Spend 5 minutes looking for my loaf pan, only to realize I don't actually have one. Curse myself and settle for a deep square brownie pan lined in spray & parchment. (Pro tip: start buying parchment paper! It's by the far the best for lining baking pans and also great for savory cooking.)
- Everything's going according to plan! I melt my butter and let it cool (instead of turning it to brown butter because I've forgotten about it).
- I start to sift the dries into the wets, and can't find any AP Flour. Oh god, did I run out of flour?!? Well sheet, I am indeed out of flour (rip me).
- I am blessed to have a Vons down the street from me, should I go? I mean, by now I just have a bowl of mashed bananas, sugar and eggs so I'm pretty committed to this.
- I change from pajama pants to sweatpants and run down the street. GUESS WHAT, Vons is out of flour....the entire section is empty (like my soul at this moment).
- I go home and give myself a pep talk (you went to culinary school! you can do this!). I dig around my cupboard and find a small bag of double o flour I was saving for pasta and an opened bag of rye flour (that I've had for 2-3 years?).
- I decide to go rogue...double o flour has a lower protein count than AP flour, but it could work because I want a soft crumb! (Higher protein = more gluten structure) I scale about 100g.
- Instead of going all double o, I throw in some rye flour to give it some depth. (Overall, I scale 140g of flour instead of the 125g of AP the recipe calls for.) (Pro tip: get a scale and weigh all your ingredients when baking!)
- Lastly, I mix in a combination of semi sweet chocolate chips and some high quality 70% dark chocolate chunks because I like a balance of sweet and bitter (just like me).
- Since I have an extra banana, I split it and lay it on top of the batter because I see people do it on Instagram and it looks cool. (Final pro tip: exposed fruit tends to look dry once it's baked, so sprinkle some granulated sugar over the fruit before baking for a nicer finish.)
- After baking, I let the banana bread cool completely (j/k I'm impatient - it was still warm) then I dig in. It's actually pretty good! Soft crumb & good texture! Not sure if the rye did anything, but I'm going to tell myself it gave the banana bread some "depth."
- I take 2 photos in low light with no styling. *chefs kiss*
Thank you for going on this banana bread journey with me!
This bread looks delicious, but what I really want to know is what other songs slap from your 2000s party jams? Are there any songs about California on there? I bet there are. I bet there are songs about California on your Spotify that really slap.
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