Sweeter yeastiness

Good news, everyone! Things have been a little better, I hope. My mood appears improved. I sleep a little less, feel slightly more inclined to get out of bed most days, actually study instead of just sleeping and watching Netflix for hours on end. I attribute the change mostly to adding occasional yoga/meditaton back into my weekly schedule, spurts of Futurama, some omega-3 supplements once and awhile, and lots and lots and lots of time in the kitchen. My focus isn't as completely absent as it was before, and I even have a backlog  of recipes and photos on my phone now, ready for posting. Still, an odd thing about getting back some happiness is the ever present fear that it might fleet away at any moment. I worry that a bad phone call, a bad day, a brief moment of weakness in which I think "just one more episode," may induce that spiral. Recidivism and all that. 

I know, I know. It must seem so trivial, so melodramatic, to you readers, watching me constantly blog about me being caught in this state of just trying to find "okayness" with my life. I apologize, as I know it's not poetic, not very inspiring, and more than likely a bit annoying. Nevertheless, I wonder how many of us out there in the ether, dealing with something as basic as this, with just being "okay" with our past choices, no matter how wrong we now know them to be, and just being "okay" with ourselves. I hope I'm not more alone than I already think I am. I hope you know that you are not.

Anywho, who knows. Let's just talk about the food today. Please find below some yeasted banana bread. If you have read this blog in the past, you'll have noticed the abundance of banana breads in the recipe list. Bananas tend to sit around a lot in my kitchen, so I usually have a lot of black bananas. So it goes, once a banana becomes heavily spotted brown, I toss it into the refrigerator, to help it last a little longer and to keep away the fruit flies. A few days ago, I was shuffling through the shelves of my unit when, lo and behold, I moved a bag of apples aside and staring back at me were 3, black, bananas. The blackest of the black. Oops. 

I hemmed and hawed about making another cake (I have apple cakes and yogurt cakes and sweet cakes running out of my ears, filling up my arsenal of backlogged posts), so I was pretty resistant to making a traditional banana bread. I thought, what's wrong with going a little more savory, a little less sweet. So I added yeast to some banana bread.

TL;DR? Yeast makes everything better. 

A word of warning - this yeasted banana bread tastes very different from regular "cake-like" banana bread. It's a yeasted bread, so it has a texture more akin to toast...think of a moist, spongy toast. Also, it's very mild in banana flavor, just a hint, and barely sweet. I let a friend try it and I don't think he realized this, so his first comment was along the lines of "it tastes too healthy!"

I like this banana bread because it is healthy and not wet. It's so different from the norm and really, it's so good. Yes, yes, it takes a little more effort to make than traditional banana bread, but, here's what you get in return. This bread is yeasty, has a moist, spongy texture, fills your kitchen with a fragrant smell, and has just a hint of bananas (for all you out there who don't like the punch-your-face taste of banana bread). Better yet, this bread is seriously the perfect breakfast food! Try it toasted with some sweet peanut butter or in French toast form (recipe included below - the sugar in the egg batter makes up for lack of sweetness, and let's not forget the mandatory maple syrup that goes with French toast). Unlike traditional banana bread, it holds up its shape in the frying pan and your final product won't be cloyingly sweet.  No joke. I just made some of the French toast for breakfast and I'm immediately writing this post about it. Must. be. Shared.

Yeasted Banana Bread

1 loaf

1 1/2 tsp active dry yeast

1/8 C granulated sugar

1/2 C tepid water

3 black bananas

2 TB whole milk

1 large egg

1/2 TB olive oil

2 1/4 C bread flour

1/2 tsp fine sea salt

Sift together the flour and salt and set aside for later use.

Peel the black bananas and place in a microwaveable bowl. Microwave, uncovered, for 3 minutes, to cook the bananas through and evaporate some of their liquid. Remove the bowl from the microwave and let bananas cool completely. Once completely cool, mash the bananas, then add the whole milk, egg, and olive oil into the bowl and mix. This is your banana mixture.

Activate the yeast by mixing it in another bowl with the 1/8 C sugar and 1/2 C water. There is very little water so you'll actually just hear some bubbling (just to make sure the yeast is alive; this is unlike the traditional method where you see frothing). Only takes about 2-5 minutes. Once you hear the bubbling, mix the yeast mixture with the banana mixture. Then, gently mix 1 3/4 C of the flour and salt into these wet ingredients. Reserve 1/2 C of the flour for kneading. Note that the dough will be very wet. 

Oil a loaf pan with olive oil or non-stick baking spray (so that the dough doesn't stick). 

Mix the sticky dough as much as you can in the bowl with a wooden spoon or spatula, beating it by hand to activate the gluten. Then scrape the dough out onto a floured surface. Using a dough scraper, fold or knead the dough a few times, constantly sprinkling the flour over the dough to keep it from sticking to your hands. Once you've incorporated all the flour (it will still be sticky), transfer the dough to the oiled loaf pan. Rub a little olive oil over the top and cover with plastic wrap (the oil on top of the wet dough prevents it from sticking to the saran wrap as it rises). 

Let rise until the dough is pushing out of the loaf pan, checking it every 30 minutes and jiggling it around at that time. At 1 hour, you'll want to pat the dough down (kind of like punching it down) through the plastic wrap, then continue to let it rise and it bulges out over the top of the pan, slightly. This takes about 1 1/2 to 2 1/2 hours, depending on the temperature of the room. Be careful with if you are using a smaller pan - if you aren't paying attention, the dough will rise and spill over the sides of the pan (don't want that). However, if you are using a pan with higher walls, you can relax a little more and let rise until it is close to the top of the pan. Hypotheticlaly, you shouldn't have problems with overflow.

Bake the loaf in a 375 degree preheated oven for 20 minutes, then turn down to 350 degrees and let bread continue baking until puffed and browned on top, which is about another 20-30 minutes. When finished, you should tap the top of the loaf. You should hear a light hollow sound; however, the crust should still be kind of soft, not rock hard.  Remove from oven and let cool. Slice when ready to serve. 

Yeasted Banana Bread French Toast

serves 2

4 slices (1-in thick) yeasted banana bread

2 large eggs, beaten

3 TB milk

4 TB granulated sugar

1 teaspoon cinnamon

A bit of salted butter or oil for the pan

Beat together the eggs, milk, sugar, and cinnamon in a deep, rectangular container. Lay the slices of yeasted banana bread into the mixture and let slices soak 1 minute. Then, flip the slices of bread over and let soak until all the mixture is gone/incorporated into the bread. 

On low-med heat, heat the butter until melted (or oil, until slick) in a non-stick skillet. Lay the soaked pieces of bread into the hot skillet and cook until slices of bread are browned on one side. Then, flip all the slices over, cover the pan, and cook until browned on the other side and heated through. Remove from pan and let rest. 

Serve warm with maple syrup and bacon.