Beard on Bread (27 page)
[1 large loaf]
½ stick (¼ cup) butter
½ cup granulated sugar
½ cup honey 2 eggs
1½ cups mashed, very ripe bananas (3 heavy ones should do it)
1½ cups all-purpose flour
½ teaspoon baking soda
½ teaspoon salt
½ cup sliced nuts, almonds or your choice
Cream the butter with a wooden spoon. Add the sugar and honey and beat till creamy and light. Add the eggs, one at a time, then thoroughly mix in the bananas. Sift together the flour, soda, and salt and blend thoroughly into the mixture. Finally fold in the nuts.
Butter a 12 × 4½ × 2½-inch loaf tin and pour in the batter. Bake in a preheated 350° oven 1 hour, or until a knife inserted in the center comes out clean.
Bread
This is another banana bread, which I find lighter and perhaps more flavorful than the previous one, although both are extremely interesting breads. You might experiment and decide for yourself.
[1 loaf]
2 cups sifted all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking soda
½ teaspoon salt
½ cup butter or other shortening
1 cup granulated sugar
2 eggs
1 cup mashed, very ripe bananas (about 2 bananas)
⅓ cup milk
1 teaspoon lemon juice or vinegar
½ cup chopped nuts
Sift the flour with the soda and salt. Cream the butter and gradually add the sugar. Mix well. Add the eggs and bananas and blend thoroughly. Combine the milk and lemon juice, which will curdle a bit. Slowly and alternately fold in the flour mixture and milk mixture, beginning and ending with the dry ingredients. Blend well after each addition. Stir in the nuts, then pour the batter into a lavishly buttered 9 × 5 × 3-inch pan and bake in a preheated 350° oven for 1 hour, or until the bread springs back when lightly touched in the center.
Like all fruit breads, this is moist and rather rich and sweet. It is a delicious bread for breakfast or for tea, and it is good for certain types of sandwiches, such as those with fillings of fruit and nuts or olives and nuts. Also, since pork and prunes are complementary, cold pork or ham sandwiches on prune bread make an excellent and novel combination. Be sure to start the prunes marinating the day before you make the bread.
[1 large loaf]
2 eggs
1 cup milk
¼ cup sherry or Madeira, in which the prunes have marinated for 24 hours
½ cup granulated sugar
½ teaspoon salt
½ teaspoon ground cinnamon
2 cups all-purpose flour
3 teaspoons double-acting baking powder
1 cup finely chopped prunes, previously marinated and drained
Mix the eggs, milk, and sherry or Madeira in a mixing bowl, and sift in the sugar, salt, cinnamon, flour, and baking powder. Stir until well mixed, and finally add the prunes. Pour into a well-buttered bread pan or soufflé dish or any 6-cup mold you choose; a round loaf is rather pleasant in this case.
Bake in a preheated 350° oven for 50 to 60 minutes, or until nicely browned. There will probably be a crack across the top, which is usual with baking-powder breads. Let it cool in the mold for 5 minutes, then turn out and cool on a rack.
With baking powder or soda breads you will notice that very often the bread cracks across the top, although otherwise it gives you a beautiful even crumb and slice. Don’t worry! Such breads are wont to break during the baking period because they are usually somewhat heavier. If you find doughy or hard lumps in the slice it is certain that you did not mix the original dough well.
Bread
Like all of the fruit breads made with baking powder, the apricot loaves are quite rich and have beautiful color and rather tight texture. They also have a wonderful bouquet. Don’t be disturbed if the loaves crack slightly in the middle as they bake. This seems to be par for the course.
[2 loaves]
1 cup boiling water
1½ cups (1 package) dried apricots
½ teaspoon baking soda
1 cup granulated sugar
2 eggs
2¾ cups all-purpose flour
3 teaspoons double-acting baking powder
1 cup chopped nuts
Pour the boiling water over the apricots and let stand until just tender; don’t oversoak them. Drain off the water and reserve it. (If you don’t have 1 cup, add more water to it.) Roughly chop the apricots. Pour the liquid into a large mixing bowl, add the baking soda, sugar, and eggs, and mix well with a wooden spoon. Then add the apricots, flour, baking powder, and nuts and mix well again.
Butter and flour two 9 × 5 × 3-inch loaf tins. Divide the batter into two equal parts and pour into the tins. Bake in a preheated 350° oven for about 45 minutes, or until the breads have risen, are dark in color, and a straw or knife comes out clean when inserted in the center. Cool on racks and serve.
Cranberry Bread
This is an unusually good version of an old American favorite, with a couple of unorthodox variations. The cranberries give the loaf good touches of color and a pleasant tartness.
[1 large loaf]
3 cups all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon double-acting baking powder
1 teaspoon salt
2 eggs
1 cup granulated sugar
¼ cup melted butter
1¼ cups milk mixed with 1 teaspoon rosewater
1¼ cups raw cranberries, cut in half or roughly chopped
¾ cup chopped walnuts or pecans
Sift the flour with the soda, baking powder, and salt. In a mixing bowl, by hand or with a beater, beat the eggs and sugar until well blended. Stir in the melted butter and the milk mixed with the rosewater. Stir in the flour just until moistened, and then fold in the cranberries and nuts. (Do not overwork or beat the dough.) Butter a loaf tin about 10 inches long and 4 to 5 inches wide and spread the dough in the tin. Bake in a preheated 350° oven for about 55 to 60 minutes, or until the center of the bread springs back when touched lightly or a cake tester comes out clean when inserted. (The top will often crack, which is typical of soda and baking powder breads.) Let stand in the tin for a few minutes before turning out on a rack to cool. When thoroughly cooled, wrap in plastic or foil and let sit overnight or at least a day before cutting. Store in the refrigerator.