Gluten-Free Chocolate Banana Bread.

It almost felt too good to be true, when I woke up this morning two hours before anyone else even started to stir. Even the accidental clanging of loaf pans as I tried to quietly dislodge them from their slumbering place didn't bring any little feet running to see what the noise was. Better still was the cool breeze blowing in the windows, gorgeous dark grey storm clouds ominously layered across the sky, just waiting for the cue to empty themselves over my depressed and wilty tomato plants.

Yesterday, the new King Arthur Flour catalog came in the mail. I perused it before bed, as I always do when a new one comes. Rarely do I order, but there is some solid information in the King Arthur catalog, and they always include a few recipes that are worth the time and effort. One for Chocolate Chip Banana Bread caught my eye, and I started to scheme in my dreams of a gluten-free version. When I bounced from my bed, I got right to work - happy with my end result and feeling quite productive all before 7 a.m.

The last GF quick bread I made was so delicious it was difficult to keep around more than 2 days. This one will also meet that same fate. My loaf pans are wider, leaving me with (in my opinion, not as attractive loaves) a shallower bread, but the texture and flavor is so wonderful it's hard for that visual afterthought to matter. It's a deep chocolate flavor, not too sweet because I slashed the sugar content and didn't add any chocolate chips, but fully ripe with banana and a touch of cinnamon. A future note will be to add a little espresso powder or perhaps even ground coffee. A java jolt may be a very good addition.

I always feel the need to stress that I am not gluten-free myself, or in need of keeping to a gluten-free diet. But more often than not, I wish I was. Everything baking experiment ends up enchanting me far more than the conventional glutened counterpart. Maybe it's the thrill of a new challenge, or the appreciation of a tender crumb. Maybe, it's because it is a truly healthful alternative to traditional baked goods. This bread just feels healthy, like you are doing yourself a favor by enjoying a slice.

You may wish to up the sugar content. I am fully reformed in my sugar consumptions for the most part, and have taken to preferring things decidedly unsweet. I tested this out on the Kiddo, who loved it as it was. I also ate a slice augmented by soft butter and sprinkled with additional cinnamon sugar, which wasn't a bad way to go either. I have a feeling the texture of this bread gained some density as the day wore on. I'll know for certain tomorrow, but either way I don't think a bit of fudge-like intensity is a bad thing.

Gluten-Free Chocolate Banana Bread (adapted from King Arthur Flour's August 2012 catalog)

• 2 c. gluten-free all purpose flour (I used this method and mixed my own)
• 1 t. baking soda
• 1 t. xanthan gum
• 1/4 t. salt
• 1/2 t. cinnamon
• 1/4 c. cocoa powder
• 3 1/2 oz. coconut oil (I used room temp, just softened oil, not melted)
• 1/4 c. sugar (up this to 1/2 c. if you prefer it sweeter)
• 1 large egg
• 1 t. vanilla extract
• 2 bananas (8 oz.)
• 1/2 c. plain yogurt (4 oz.)
• up to 1 c. or so of optionals (nuts, chocolate chips, seeds, etc.)

Preheat the oven to 330. (Yes, it's lower than 350 and not a typo. I read here that perhaps baking at a slightly lower temperature is good for helping maintain the integrity of the loaf. That link is also a great resource template for vegan GF quick bread baking!) Line a loaf pan with a crumpled sheet of parchment paper. (You can use reused parchment for this, and may be able to get a couple of bakings out of the sheet you crumble as well.)

In a medium bowl, combine flour, soda, xanthan gum, salt, cinnamon, and cocoa powder.

In a larger bowl, mash bananas and add the coconut oil, sugar, egg, and yogurt. Mix well to combine thoroughly.

Add the dry ingredients to the wet ingredients, and use a spatula to make sure everything is well mixed. Add in any optionals, and spread evenly into prepared loaf pan. (I sprinkled the parchment lined pan first with cinnamon sugar, and then sprinkled a little more on top of the unbaked batter as well. It adds a little extra sweetness and crunch.)

Bake for 45-55 minutes, until a tester inserted in the center comes out clean. Cool in the pan for 5 minutes before removing to a wire rack to cool completely before slicing.

Today was such a departure, weatherwise, from the whole of our Summer that I finally cleaned my oven. The little bit of residual warmth actually felt good in context of the cool breeze and overcast sky. Just like that, I felt the pang of Autumn, the way I do every year and somehow still feel surprised by it. Just a few weeks remain until the calendar turns and school begins for an eager 1st grader, and I gain an official year on my life. Just this evening, I was considering that my birthday is the perfect excuse to make whatever sweet I desire, and I wonder if this year it may just be gluten free? We'll all have to wait until September to find out.

Postscript:
Just so you know, King Arthur is a deep love of mine. Their website and on-demand staff is just plain amazing, and they never would ask me to tell you so. I am able to find their flour locally, and it consistently performs so well and tastes so good that I make excuses that I don't source more local or organic flour. I haven't yet tried their gluten-free flour, but I'm sure it is also consistently good.

Country is Country: Gluten-Free Alabama Bread

Technically, this is a week of vacation for me. Working from the home and now as a "private contractor" (or maybe I should say and coin the term: private culinary contractor?) at a small area cafe should afford me ample time to feel refreshed and rejuvenated. After all, with such a flexible schedule, I should be able to slip off for a walk or a nap as I please, shouldn't I? But so often that isn't the case, especially now in the heat-soaked Summer with school out and a busy new 6 year old to keep entertained.

I usually try and make the 180-mile journey to my Parents farm more often than I have since gas prices have spiked. I like to drive it without stopping in part because it's only a little more than 3 hours, but also in part because it reminds me of the days when I drove incessantly. Gas was around $1/gallon, and I remember one year logging more than 25k on my Buick. Now when I stop the engine and step out onto the dry, gravel driveway the thing that strikes me first is just how absolutely quiet it is. I don't live in the biggest or loudest city, but city is city and country is country. Country makes me breathe in deep, immediately calm down and think more clearly. Country is what feels like home.

home always has something with poppyseeds in it too.

My mom has been experimenting with eating much less sugar and gluten. In attempt to alleviate some symptoms in a persistent health issue, she noticed that she felt better, had more energy and even was sleeping a little better when she cut way back on those two components of her diet: two components that we usually eat far more of when we're together.

Before leaving my city home, I mixed up a big batch of gluten-free all purpose flour mix using some on-hand flours and starches. (I used this recipe base, substituting teff, quinoa, and millet flours for the sweet rice flour. Shauna also has a more recent post here with a great explanation of GF flours and starches and how to combine them for GF ap flour.) I had just read a recipe by one of my favorite (local) GF bakers Annie Wegner-LeFort called Alabama Bread, and I couldn't wait to bake one up. I had some blueberries and my Mom had some raspberries, and this bread took no time to make its way from bowl to parchment lined loaf pan.

Gluten-free baking is something I will be excited about for a while. I love the textures and contrasts of alternative flours, and there is never a fear of overmixing. I haven't figured it out completely, but I now understand a little more about the structure of gluten-free bread. I think it's better to bake in a "taller" pan, helping the loaf rise a bit more than it might without the extra inch or so. My Mom has 4 inch by 10 inch loaf pan that worked perfectly. I'd like to invest in a duo of those pans, they make a perfect "tea loaf" slices that aren't too big. I lined my pan with parchment so I didn't need to worry about getting the loaf out, and I think every extra caution is worth it when working with gluten-free baked goods.

From the little research I tried to find on "Alabama Blueberry Bread", I found that it is usually a bread that gracefully bridges the gap between loaf and cake. "Breakfast Bread" is how Dorie Greenspan would probably define it: the bread that you can convince yourself is healthy enough to begin your day with, one very comfortable with a cup of coffee alongside. I wondered if blueberries are actually native to the south, and I found that Southerners probably would use Rabbiteye blueberries. The article I read also noted (interestingly) that "as increasing numbers of Northerners move south, the demand for blueberries will increase."

Perhaps even more southern is is the ample addition of pecans, which I prefer to stand over the bowl and crumble in by hand instead of chopping. There is something calmly therapeutic about crumbling a pecan by hand. If you keep a shaker of cinnamon sugar at the ready for toast as I do, you can use it to sprinkle the bottom of the pan before adding the batter and also dusting the top prior to baking. It makes for a nice, gently crisp, sugar topping.

Gluten-Free Alabama Bread (adapted slightly from Annie Wegner-LeFort)
1 loaf, easily doubled

• 1 1/2 c. gluten-free ap flour
• scant 1.2 t. kosher salt
• 1/2 t. baking powder
• 1/2 t. baking soda
• 1/4 t. xanthan gum
• 3/4 c. sugar
• 1 1/2 T. cinnamon
• 1/8 t. cloves
• 1/2 t. nutmeg
• zest of 1/2 lemon
• 2 small eggs
• 1/2 c. + 2 T. grapeseed (or other vegetable) oil
  
• scant 1 c. blueberries
• scant 1 c. raspberries,
• 1/2 c. more or less pecans, crumbled in by hand

Preheat the oven to 350, and crumple a piece of parchment paper to crease it thoroughly then line a 10x4 loaf pan with it.

Place flour, salt, baking powder, baking soda, xanthan gum, and spices in a medium bowl and stir to mix well. Make a well in the center and grate the lemon zest into it. Add the eggs and oil, and beat well with a fork. Once well beaten, mix in the dry ingredients. (Switch to a spatula, if necessary.)

Once the batter is well mixed, fold in berries and pecans to distribute evenly. Spread the batter into the prepared pan and smooth the top. Sprinkle the top with cinnamon sugar, and bake for about 1 hour until a tester comes out clean.

Try to wait until cool to slice, but that will probably be impossible. Apparently, the loaf should store well in the fridge for several days at least - but I'm not sure I'll ever be able to let you know if that is accurate.

There is also a reason that nearly every recipe I perused made two loaves instead of one. We polished up 3/4 of the loaf before the end of the day. Next time, I will definitely make two. The last of the loaf will go today for sure - 24 short hours after coming out of the oven, and 24 hours less until I have to leave the country again for a while. Meanwhile I'm soaking up the quiet life, enjoying the first of the rain I've seen in more than a month, and enjoying the final days of my sugar binge. Happily, at least some of my sugar consumption is gluten-free!

Daring Baker February 2012: Failed Sprouted Wheat Quick Bread...

The Daring Bakers’ February 2012 host was – Lis! Lisa stepped in last minute and challenged us to create a quick bread we could call our own. She supplied us with a base recipe and shared some recipes she loves from various websites and encouraged us to build upon them and create new flavor profiles.

Quick breads. I am well acquainted and quite friendly with these easy to mix, quick to bake members of the carbohydrate family, though by looking at this post you may wonder if I've ever baked one in my life. Lately, I have really re-examined my grain consumption, for no other reason than that I felt I was beginning to bake, eat, and repeat too often for my own good. I am curious by nature, and quick breads are easy game for someone like me who can't follow a recipe to save her soul. Usually it turns out well, but in this case, I was set up for a fail of near epic proportion.

Earlier in the month, a friend sent me a link to these pumpkin-millet muffins, and I thought I would (not only procrastinate until the last second as usual, but also) make a beautiful, Daring Baker worthy adaptation using no refined sweetener and only sprouted wheat. Does a sugar-free quick bread made entirely with sprouted wheat flour exist anywhere other than in my mind? I’m not sure. When Googling for answers, I found nothing that looked like what I was after. I did find several sources claiming that sprouted flour can be used 1:1 for regular flour, which after several sprouted flour baking sessions I now question wholeheartedly.

This month was filled with pangs of guilt over my return to sugar; I tried desperately not to bake solely for the sake of baking. I made muffins for others and for my son’s school snacks, but other than sourdoughs (and one batch of peanut butter kiss cookies for my Valentine), I did pretty well. That unfortunately meant that I also left my challenge quick bread until almost the last moment. I wouldn’t say it’s completely inedible, but it does give new meaning to the phrase “bread bowl”.

I am convinced that wheat gluten changes when the grain is sprouted. I don’t find a whole lot of concrete evidence to back up my assumption, but did read this interesting article written by Dr. Vicki Peterson. In it, she says that sprouted grains that contained gluten prior to sprouting still contain gluten after sprouting (this is an article written for gluten intolerant people), but also that grass of sprouted grains are considered gluten-free for the first 10 days of their life. I didn’t grow my sprouted wheat to the point of grass, but it is curious.

Sprouted flour seems to do well in things that are tender by nature, I’ve had great luck making it into crackers and waffles, even cookies benefit from the tender-sweet nature of sprouted wheat. This bread could have failed because I also used brown rice syrup instead of sugar, and a good amount of gluten-free millet. Adding insult to injury, I had even soaked and tried to sprout my millet, which I found out (3 days of waiting in) would not sprout because it was already hulled...

Half of the bread stayed in the pan when I tried to flip it out, and when I took a taste, it was nearer to savory than sweet. It reminded me exactly of a spoon bread, or cornbread stuffing, but lacked sufficient flavor to convince me I'd want to eat it on it's own. It was surprisingly moist, and texturally very interesting. I let it sit on the counter for several hours wondering what to do with it.

Meanwhile, I mixed up my favorite graham cracker recipe using 100% sprouted flour - just wondering if they would fare the same disastrous fate as my quick bread. The dough was very soft (I let it sit for a full day in the fridge before even attempting to roll it out) and delicate, and spread much more than conventional flour grahams do. They needed an extra 5 minutes or so in the oven, had to cool completely on the pans, and then finally crisped up enough to be considered crackers. But like most sprouted wheat things, the flavor was good enough to warrant all of the extra monkeying around. Sweet, earthy grahams of sprouted wheat are worth fiddling with - but keep in mind the dough does not at all act like ones made with conventional white or wheat flours.

After some time had passed, I decided that if I did not live in a household of picky eaters, my failed pumpkin millet bread would definitely be a good candidate for new life. I called a friend, and asked if she'd be game for some experimental stuffed peppers. She agreed, and I popped the whole "loaf" of depressingly soggy bread into the freezer until next week when I have more time to play. I plan to fry up ample amounts of onion and leek and add some sausage, and see if I can't love this accident if it's doctored up and called by another name. Perhaps I'll even like it well enough to tell you more about it - only time will tell.

As for sprouted wheat baking? I am thoroughly bewildered, but I'm not giving up. There must be an answer to my questions, and there is most likely a learning curve that I wasn't expecting. It's funny that one of our easier Daring Baker challenges turned out to be one of my only full-out fails, but it's ok. It's another good challenge of trying to make something out of nothing that lies ahead.

Sprouted Wheat Flour Quick Bread.

My month of without refined sugar has ended. However, with a flip of the calender I still don't feel liberated enough to dive headfirst back into my previous affair with sugar. I feel better without him, and the trial separation only cements what I knew in my head but not in my heart to be true: that refined sugar is a devious addiction, one that is full of false happiness and is incredibly hard to break.

So then, what is a habitual baker to do? Last week, my Parents visited and I made a chocolate sourdough cake in honor of their arrival. I also made a quick bread for the first time in a month. I could sing the praises of quick breads all day, but usually they are riddled with sugar and frequently they contain more than one type. Sugar in quick bread appears solid but is treated as liquid, and it adds moisture even if you are off thinking about his devilish ways.

As with all things that I've done so many times that they have become reliable, I have a hard time just swapping a major part of a recipe out entirely. I'm afraid of the result becoming inedible, wasting perfectly great ingredients simply because I'm curious. I have reduced sugar by small percentages, but never just removed it entirely and replaced it. I actually said "no guts, no glory" as I poured into a favorite quick bread recipe what I figured would be an appropriate amount of maple syrup. And with the gamble, came a wonderful result - a bread that was moist, not too sweet and surprisingly devoid of any real maple flavor.

unsure of the maple flavor, I omitted the citrus zest - but I wouldn't have needed to.

The gently domed loaf, the frozen cranberries that turned tender and sweet, this bread was guilt free, and perfect with our morning coffee. Had I made this bread without the company of my folks, it would have lingered for a week. My picky boys have nothing to do with cranberries. But the demise of the loaf just after my Parents' departure had me thinking about even more healthful quick breads. Could I use sprouted wheat flour and come up with something even more virtuous?

Over the weekend, I sprouted and dehydrated about a pound and half of soft wheat berries. Monday morning, I turned some into flour and made my favorite waffles. The kiddo declared them the best I've ever made, and I had to agree. There is something naturally sweet about sprouted flour, and something ridiculously fragile. Airy cross-sections of waffle practically melted under a gaze. This could be because the gluten in sprouted flour is drastically changed and reduced by the act of sprouting. (I'm assuming this based on trial and error, and this fascinating graph. If you know something about the science of sprouted grains and how composition changes, please leave me a comment!)

Last night, I couldn't shake the feeling that I had to know if I could bake the same loaf of quick bread using my previous maple syrup substitution AND augmenting it with sprouted soft wheat flour. My result was not too far from perfect. The middle did not raise much and fell as it cooled, the bread took longer to bake, and then it still felt "wet" in the middle even after cooling completely. But the flavor was so good, and the texture compelling, that I'm not giving up on this recipe. It had the texture of steamed British pudding, the cranberries even more soft and downright pudding-like themselves, but yet the edges were fully dried out and just a whisper sends it breaking into crumbly bits.

It's good with the morning coffee. And it was good before bedtime as well. I may have a hard time making it last a week.

If you don't use the sprouted wheat flour, the loaf will rise higher and probably not need as long to bake. I will update this post at the bottom as I continue to work through this recipe.

Sprouted Wheat Cranberry Bread (adapted from Cook's Illustrated)

• 2/3 c. thin yogurt (or buttermilk)
• 6 T. butter, melted and cooled slightly
• 3/4 c. maple syrup
• zest of one orange (or lemon)
  
• 1 egg, lightly beaten
• 2 c. sprouted soft wheat flour
• 1 t. baking powder
• 1/2 t. baking soda
• 1 t. kosher salt
• 6 oz. cranberries (about 1 1 /2 c.), coarsely chopped (I use a food processor)
• 1/2 c. toasted pecans or walnuts

Preheat oven to 375. Dip a pastry brush in the melted butter, and coat the inside of a standard size loaf pan.

Stir together yogurt (or buttermilk), maple syrup, orange zest, melted butter, and egg.

In a large bowl, whisk together the flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt. Add the wet ingredients, and stir gently just to combine using a rubber spatula. Fold in the cranberries and nuts, and spread into prepared pan - being sure to spread it well into the corners.

Bake at 375 for 15 minutes, then lower the heat to 350 and continue baking for 45-55 minutes until the top is deep golden brown and a tester comes out mostly clean. (I'll try baking this next time at a lower temperature throughout the whole baking time.) If the loaf appears to be darkening too fast during baking, tent it with foil.

Remove from oven, let stand in the pan on a wire rack for 10 minutes before removing from pan to cool completely before slicing.

It could be that the cranberries gave off a little too much moisture, preventing the center from drying enough, but strangely this bread is not heavy or leaden. A dried fruit addition could cure that perhaps. What I do know is that the Internet seems strangely devoid of recipes for sprouted wheat quick breads, and I may just make it my mission to remedy that. If you have any tips or ideas, send them my way. Meanwhile, I'll be sprouting more wheat berries.

Sourdough CocoNana Bread (or Just Another Reason Why I Love Dorie Greenspan)

I'm sure that it's no secret that I love Dorie Greenspan. I don't really know of anyone who loves to bake who doesn't, and I think it's because in addition to her very likable personality, she also writes impeccable recipes. I consult her Baking book often, another in the stack of cookbooks that I have whole passages memorized from. Every recipe I've ever made from it has been a success: from the "adult" chocolate ganache cupcakes (gracing my CakeWalk banner above) to the Corniest Corn Muffins, each has been an instant favorite, and I'm hardly exaggerating. If you have been reading for awhile, you'll know that I don't actually own this favorite baking book of all time, instead I trek three quarters of a mile down the road and pick it up from the library every time I need it. The date due stamps are adding up over the years, and every time I check it out I wonder when I will finally break down and buy a copy of my very own.

For my Kiddo's birthday party on Saturday, I made a slew of chocolate cupcakes, and then a variation of her Perfect White Party Cake layered with Chocolate Malt Buttercream frosting for our family party later in the day. As if I would enter panic mode from not having enough chocolate to celebrate the momentous occasion of 5 years of my pride and joy, I decided to also "sourdoughize" a quick bread of Dorie's that I'd never actually tried in it's unaltered version: Coco-Nana bread.

It could be because my Parents came down to spend a couple of days (and we do love our quick breads with the morning coffee), or maybe it's because I was growing my starter bigger to be sure to have enough for plenty of pancake batter, but making this sourdough morning bread wasn't a mistake. I used a whole cup of starter and let it rise overnight until it was billowy and sweetly sour. I decided to scoop out 4 muffin-sized lumps from the rather full loaf pan after remembering my debacle with a recent cake and I'm fairly sure that proved to be a good decision. One muffin went (warm) directly into the Birthday Boy's mouth, where he promptly declared it delicious and I had no additional mess to attend to.

sourdough, overnighted.

If you plan the night before for this bread, it can be on the breakfast table in a little more than an hour. If you are in a rush, pop all of the batter into muffin papers, and they bake in roughly half the time. Either way the bread ages gracefully, gaining chocolaty depth and brownie points with children. You can easily pretend that you are having dessert for breakfast, which Dorie says is perfectly acceptable. She also says of her "coal dark morning loaf": "At first bite (it) is chocolate-chocolate, and then the banana flavor kicks in - it's altogether winning and, while it may feel decadent to have it at breakfast, it would be just as winning, if a little less racy, as a p.m. treat."

Agreed. And, seeing as my folks brought down my order of local strawberries, I'll add that sliced berries make a pretty great topping to a poundcake-sized portion as well.

Sourdough CocoNana Bread (adapted for sourdough from Dorie Greenspan - Baking From my Home to Yours)

• 1 c. sourdough starter (100% hydration), fed somewhat recently
• 1 3/4 c. AP flour
• 1/2 c. buttermilk (I use my yogurt that is quite thin)

• 1 c. cocoa powder (I used natural process)
• 1/2 t. salt
• 1 t. baking powder
• 3/4 t. baking soda
• 4 oz. (1 stick) butter
  
• 3/4 c. granulated sugar
• 1/2 c. brown sugar
• 2 eggs
• 2 large bananas, slightly mashed
• 1/2 c. chocolate chips, or 3 oz. chopped chocolate (bittersweet recommended)
  

Combine the starter, flour and buttermilk in a large bowl and mix well. Cover and let stand at room temperature until risen and puffy, or until you are ready to bake, but preferably at least 8 hours.

Preheat oven to 350 and set the oven rack in the center of the oven. Prepare a loaf pan by buttering it well. Have ready some muffin tins if you deem you have too much batter to contend with for a single loaf.

Sift together the cocoa, salt, baking powder, and baking soda in a medium bowl.

In a large bowl, or bowl of a standing mixer fitted with a paddle attachment, beat butter at medium speed for a minute or two until softened. Add the sugars and beat for 2 minutes. Add the eggs one at a time, and beat for 1 minute after each addition. (The batter may look curdled at this time, and that's normal.)

Reduce mixer speed to low, and mix in the mashed bananas. Mix in the cocoa mixture until just combined, then add the sourdough starter mixture. Mix well by machine, and if the starter is too sticky and unruly, wet your clean hands and knead the whole lot together by hand to evenly distribute the sourdough. I try to do this quickly, gently yet firmly and I use my hands since it they seem to have one up on the KitchenAid. Stir in chocolate chips or chopped chocolate if using and mix to distribute evenly.

Spread the mixture into the loaf pan/muffin tins, and place the pan/tins on a baking sheet for some extra insulation. Bake loaf for about 60-70 minutes, and muffins for 30-35 minutes, until a tester comes out clean. Let cool in pans for 5 minutes, then turn out to cool completely.

This is some seriously chocolaty bread. Near black, or "coal black" as Dorie aptly says, is the best description, and it tastes it as well. I may try to cut back on the sugar next time, but it's so good, I may totally decide not to bother. After all, I've already tricked myself into thinking it's better for me since I used sourdough...

No matter how I vary my method of mixing, whenever I make sourdough quick breads I always have telltale streaks of unruly batter. Honestly, I couldn't tell at all (taste or texture wise) in this bread. In some breads I've made, the streaks taste a little chewy - the first attempts were worse and were almost hard, little pebbles of sourdough nearly inedible.

I'm convinced that the more I work with sourdough in quick bread the better I become at incorporating it, and anyway this bread is so decadent that it draws attention away from what almost appears to be just nuts studded throughout. Maybe it's all the butter than softens it up, and maybe that's just another reason to love Dorie Greenspan and her marvelous recipes. My breakfasts are all the better for butter laden quick breads, my life enriched by Dorie and her attention to details.

This post has been Yeastspotted.

Vegan Monday: Pumpkin Coconut Bread

Just in time for Vegan Monday and Thanksgiving, I accidentally made this amazingly good quick bread. It was an accident because I didn't even know it was vegan.

Another of the things I have come to count on in my life, is that when I go to visit my Parents, there is usually a quick bread involved. It's ready when I come in, hungry with travel. It's ready when I need a little something sweet after dinner and before dessert. It's ready with the coffee when my early rising Mom quietly hits the kitchen long before I awake - she slices it in fat slices and cuts them in half, arranging them on a platter for quick grabbing when the rest of the household joins her in the kitchen.

There are numerous breads we enjoy, certainly banana bread and it's variations run a common thread throughout the year, taking care of any sad members that ripen too quickly on our counters. I was just thinking that it was about time to make Ina's Date Nut Spice Bread, a Fall favorite of mine, when I visited last weekend and found this tender pumpkin coconut bread waiting on the counter. My Mom found the recipe in her October co-op newsletter, and had it earmarked for awhile.

It's not a quick bread to me, if it doesn't have the hallmark cracked middle...

One reason my family may love quick breads is that so often, the recipes are written to make two loaves. When you don't know how many people will be dropping by, or if you wish to gift a loaf and eat one yourself, baking two loaves instead of just one is just plain economical. Hiding it in your freezer makes for an instant short notice treat, and giving one as a gift makes you just plain popular. This one was so good, I snapped a picture of the recipe with the iPhone, enhanced it in mobile Photoshop for easier reading, and planned my baking week around making it for Friday. I knew I had a taker for one of my two loaves, and wanted to wait for the end of the workweek, so it was fortunate that my Mom had baked two loaves. I had a half loaf gift to tide me over until I could bake it myself. It wasn't until I was actually mixing it up, that I noticed is was totally vegan.

Vegan baking can be tricky, since sometimes there isn't a whole lot of rise and the results can be too dense. Usually, a "healthy" tasting bread emerges, edible, but not fully enjoyed. This is not that bread. In fact, it is so moist and tender you would swear it was laden with butter. It probably helps that it is packed with sugar, but, c'mon... it's Thanksgiving! If you can pick one good time to indulge during the year, this is it. You could make half the recipe, but you may as well make two and give one to someone you love.

I think quick breads taste best at room temperature, but for longer storage, you can refrigerate it. If you slice them cold, the slices will be neater. The slices come back to room temperature fairly quickly, which is good for me since I do store it in the fridge. If I leave something like this sitting around on my counter, I tend to eat a bit every time I walk past it. I've got to "straighten those rows", you know.

Pumpkin Coconut Bread (originally called Coconut Pumpkin Nut Bread from the People's Food Co-Op newsletter)
makes 2 loaves, easily halved

• 3 1/2 c. ap flour
• 2 c. packed dark brown sugar
• 2/3 c. white sugar
• 1 15 oz. can pumpkin puree (scant 2 cups)
• 1 c. vegetable oil
• 2/3 c. coconut milk
• 2 t. baking soda
• 1 t. salt
• 1 t. ground nutmeg
• 1 1/2 t. ground cinnamon
• 2/3 c. flaked coconut, I use unsweetened shredded Let's Do Organic!)
  
• 1 c. toasted chopped walnuts

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Grease and flour two loaf pans, I used a spray with flour.

Combine flour, sugars, pumpkin, oil, coconut milk, baking soda salt and spices. Mix well until blended. Fold in coconut and nuts. Spread gently into prepared pans.

Bake for about 1 hour and 15 minutes, checking after an hour. Bake until toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean. Remove from oven, cover tightly with foil, and allow to steam for 10 minutes. Remove foil, remove from pans, and cool completely on a cooling rack.

If you are savvy (and I was not, but will remember to be next time...), you can make sure to cut the two pieces of foil large enough to wrap the finished breads in. I saved my steaming pieces for another use, but if you were short on foil, you could kill two birds with the one stone. I have never used this steaming technique before, but the bread is nice and moist, so I'm keeping it as a trick up my sleeve.

I like wrapping things in foil, and usually keep a roll of "heavy duty" on hand to use for the demands of opening and closing sometimes many times a day. I try to be neat about it, and usually use a wrapping that I learned from folding origami. There's something about a fresh shiny brick gracing my counter top, and it's even more exciting to know that something delicious is preserved from the elements beneath something as utilitarian as aluminum foil.

It also makes a good package for dropping off. So, weather you need a Thanksgiving morning treat or a little something to bring to a get-together, this is the bread for you. Vegan, or not, I promise you won't know the difference!

UPDATE 10/2011:

These also make great muffins, a whole batch makes 2 1/2 - 3 dozen, depending on how full you fill the tins. I have also made them easily with half the amount of sugar, and replaced the coconut milk with yogurt or milk in a pinch with fine results (though dairy milks will render them non-vegan).

Vegan Monday: Adventures in Lemon Poppyseed Bread

Looks pretty good, so far...

You may notice that I dropped the "raw" from the vegan post title this week. This was intentional, since I fully intended to branch out into vegan bakery. I found a base recipe and of course, altered it to use up more of the almond "pulp" as I like to call it, my homemade by-product of almond milk making. My end result was less than stellar I must say, but for a little sweet something for just myself, I'm reasonably happy.

Well, maybe more than reasonably happy, since two of my most favorite flavors are lemon and almond. So many recipes for poppyseed anything contain only lemon, which is fine, but I absolutely crave almond extract - the King of All Extracts in my book. True to my assumptions, the base recipe, one from Robin Robertson's Vegan Planet, uses the zest and juice of a whole lemon. I stayed fairly faithful to her recipe, but accidentally forgot to add the 2 tablespoons of oil, and added in 1/2 c. of my almond pulp. I had high hopes when I tasted the batter; it was perfectly lemony and suspiciously like a traditional quick bread. I just knew that adding my almond extract glaze (which I could practically mainline, mind you) would make it perfect. I baked it for 60 minutes, let it cool in the pan for ten, then waited patiently until it was completely cool to cut into it:

Dense, gummy, and appears to be overworked, not good characteristics for a quick bread. I tasted it. Hmmmm. It was actually pretty good! Especially after I added a little glaze of confectioner's sugar, almond extract and almond milk... it actually improved it so much that I even considered writing down the recipe here for non-discerning and non-judgmental vegan bakers... but I think I better try again and work towards perfection.

Vegan bakery does have the guilt-free aspect working for it. While the recipe does use white flour, it only had 1/2 cup of sugar, half the amount of most traditional quick bread recipes, and no eggs or butter to clog up my arteries. Gummy or not, I wrapped my sad loaf in foil, and tucked it into the fridge for eating alongside my coffee for the rest of the week.

It is always a little sad when something turns out less than your expectations of it, but it becomes almost a blessing to still be able to consume it! It also serves to knock me down a few notches in my experimentation modes, since sometimes, I feel like I could add flour to water and produce something so amazing that no one would suspect otherwise. Egotism has no place in the the kitchen and Venerable Kitchen Wisdom does usually know what is best for you. Lessons can be learned in everything, provided my eyes are open wide enough to see them.

Getting to know Veganism in all it's forms is really fun for me, and a little flop here or there isn't going to deter me! We'll see what happens for next week, Raw Vegan or just plain Vegan Monday will be around to challenge me a little bit longer. I MUST find another use for almond pulp! I refuse to believe that I can't make it into something delicious and worthwhile! Any ideas? Be sure to send them my way...

adaptation.

I think it may be impossible for me to follow a recipe without making alterations of some kind. Strangely, however, I always need a base as a jumping off point. If I can at least visualize a final result, I can see all my tweaking to be done along the way. If there was ever anything that a culinary school could do for me, it would be to school me on the science of cooking. In lieu of that, I guess I'll always have Alton.

This past week, I've been altering lots of things. First, a soup that began as Thai-Style Chicken and Rice Soup at Epicurious.

adaptation #1: Thai-Style Soup.

My secret ingredient came by accident when my Husband (who, incidentally, is really incapable of eating any Asian/Latin/Egg dishes without a hot sauce addition of some kind) added the sweet chili sauce before eating.

The original recipe, at the link above, had you straining out the ginger and garlic. This is too much work for me, and I hate to think of the flavors I'd be missing out on, so I'll recant my Thai-Style Soup recipe for you here:

adapted Thai-Style Soup

1 onion, chopped
2-4 garlic cloves, thinly sliced (the larger you leave the pieces, the milder the final result: Thanks for telling all the secrets of garlic, Alton Brown...)
1 T. Thai Curry Powder (or Thai Red Curry Paste)
1 t. ground coriander
2 inch piece of ginger, grated on the microplane (or chopped finely)
8 c. (2 quarts) chicken stock, or equivelent substitution
4 c. water
1 can coconut milk (I used to buy "Lite Coconut Milk" from Trader Joe's, since there are no crazy chemicals, and it's really cheap. Then R1 told me, why not just buy the real deal since they just add water to "Lite" coconut milk - not that I'm eating coconut milk Morning, Noon and Night mind you - you can freeze a partial can, not in the can of course, if you only want to use half. The Thai Kitchens brand is seriously delicious, and also crazy chemical-free. One whole can of silky, thick, full-fat coconut milk in this soup was perfect.)
2 c. cilantro, coarsely chopped
1 c. basmati rice
1/2 lb. (or more to your liking) boneless, skinless chicken breast, thinly sliced crosswise OR 3/4 lb. medium shrimp 31-35 count, peeled and deveined or (I'm wagering) one block extra firm tofu
2 c. or so frozen peas, if you are out of season
2 T. or more fish sauce
salt, 1 1/2 t. or to taste
Mae Ploy Sweet Chili Sauce to serve (buy this from an Asian food store, and it's less than $3...)

In a dutch oven, heat a bit of olive oil (or any oil you cook with) and saute the onion, garlic and ginger until translucent, about 5 minutes or so. I actually like to heat the oil up with the garlic, since I think it makes it milder - a trick I plucked from Marcella Hazan. When the onions are appropriately sauteed, add the curry powder (or paste) and coriander and stir for 1 minute.

Next, add the stock and water. If you are holding this to make later - this is a good place to put the lid on and turn off the heat. If you are continuing: bring to a simmer and add the rice. Start checking for the doneness of the rice at about 12 minutes. You really only need to cook the chicken in simmering water for 3 minutes (so make sure you do slice it thinly), so I like to add it when the rice in just about to be done. I will say, that normally rice in soup seems to grow. The basmati rice, however, seemed to stay about the same. Even after it rested in the fridge for a day or two.

When the rice is near cooked, add the chicken, and simmer until just cooked, about 3 minutes. Stir in coconut milk, cilantro, peas and fish sauce, and cook until the peas are tender, about 2 minutes. Adjust seasoning with salt.

Serve with sweet chili sauce. After our initial dinner, I froze 2 quarts of the leftover soup in jars and saved 1 quart for my lunches (I finished the last bowl today). I like having frozen soup on hand, since I don't really buy canned soup. After my initial impression with the longevity of the rice in the icebox, I'm looking forward to delicious thawed frozen leftovers sometime in the future.

adaptation #2: Susan Purdy's bread pudding.

In Have Your Cake and Eat it Too, Susan Purdy massively adapts higher fat recipes into relatively guilt free pleasures. Late last week, I had a half a loaf of bread to use up so I made a variation of her bread pudding, as I have several times in the past. My Mom gave me a copy of this book, and I confess that while it does have a few things that I like, it does tend to be a little to lean for me. If you want a low-fat alternative that you want to eat up in one day, this is the book for you. I've found I liked most of the recipes, but they are too low in fat to taste good for the 7 days that I want and need a recipe to endure - and also cake that is so lean seems to mold fast at room temperature, and I like my cake out on the counter where it can stare at me.

She also seems to have a phobia of egg yolks, which I know was all the rage a few years back. Instead of using her approach of fewer egg yolks and more egg whites for this bread pudding, I like to just throw in 2 eggs and be done with it.

A poor pictorial rendition, as it came out of the oven in the evening...

adapted Bread Pudding:

Combine 4 cups of bread cubes (I love to use artisan style bread here since it really holds up), 2 T. of dark brown sugar and a pinch of salt in 2 c. of milk (originally 1%, but I use skim) for 15 minutes.

Meanwhile, mix 2 eggs 1/4 cup granulated sugar (recipe calls for 1/2 cup if you like it sweeter), 3/4 c. milk, 1/4 c. whisky or rum, 1/2 t. cinnamon, 1/2 t. nutmeg, 1 t. vanilla extract and 1/2 c. raisins. Pour mixture over the bread cubes, and transfer to a 9x9 glass baking dish.

I like to poke any visible raisins under the surface so they plump up nicely. Bake at 350 degrees for about an hour, checking at the 45 minute mark. I never bother, but you can bake in a bain marie (hot water bath) as well. It may take slightly longer. Bake until the custard sets. Since it isn't an egg heavy custard, it is a looser interpretation of custard. But rest assured the results are adequate, politely boozy, and rapidly devoured by bread pudding fanatics (a.k.a. me in my household...). It also keeps quite well in the fridge for nearly a week.

adaptation #3: Insanely Healthy Pumpkin Bread

I got it in my head that I desperately needed Pumpkin Bread. Partially because we read the Runaway Pumpkin, on Lindy's advice, and Boy-O was talking about it. A quick Googling unearthed this recipe with so much room for adaptation that I knew I had to make it.

I really did mostly follow the recipe, and was taking it up on adding whatever I had to laying around to use up. Below you can see the leftover almonds mixed with powdered sugar from the last Daring Baker Challenge. I guess it pays not to ever throw anything away...

I also used up several other tablespoons here and there of chopped up nuts. My only mistake was adding additional chopped nuts to the tops before baking. Usually they toast and sink perfectly into the bread, resulting in my favorite way to enjoy nuts in quick breads. But due to the stiffness of the batter, I think I've eaten most of them as they have fallen off during slicing...but I'm not complaining.

I've wrapped it in foil, and parked it in the fridge since it is very dense and English-puddinglike. Today I discovered that it is incredible spread with grape jelly, and somehow it really enhances the pumpkin flavor. I opted for the very low sugar content, and even abstained from adding my new favorite baking ingredient, brown rice syrup. It's Insanely Healthy, and the Boy-O loves it. Into the keeper file...

I think the hardest thing about this whole food-blogging thing is determining when a recipe becomes "Mine". I'm wondering if there is a legal department somewhere defending the intellectual properties of cooks around the country, and if some mad recipe writer somewhere is going to sue me for what little I have. Fortunately, I feel that food folk are some of the nicest people out there, and that sharing really is in the best interest of all of us- adaptations and all.

I hope if I've made your recipes, I've done you justice. I really do set out to start each recipe by making it once in its written form. I will continue to include links to original recipes, and the sources of my original inspirations. Meanwhile, I'll continue the adaptations until I find my next photo-worthy post.

Quickbread (part one.)

Yesterday, I searched for a better Banana Bread recipe. This happens a lot, since I have all the intentions of eating bananas, then before I know it - they are spotty and black and begging for a new life in quick breads. Last week though, I made them into Nikki's Healthy Cookies, from food blogger 101 cookbooks. I have them frozen for moments of cookie needs... and they are users of 3 bananas, and no refined sugar. See? I really am trying to be better.

So, after much searching, I finally found this recipe for Whole Wheat Banana Bread: and I came across it in a strange manner. Every recipe I perused up to this point had lots of butter. I love butter, but I was searching for healthier options. All recipes also seemed to have way too much sugar as well, which I don't normally have a problem with, but you know, I'm trying to be Better.

It helps too that my Mom is looking for baking recipes that are using less or no refined sugars. I have a task, and I am up to it! I found a forum of people discussing healthier banana bread options at seriouseats.com. A commenter included a link for the following recipe. I did alter it slightly, so I am posting my version below. My little picky boy-o loved it, and I loved it. Better yet, absolutely no guilt is involved.

Healthy Whole Wheat Banana Bread
1 loaf

1/3 c. oil (part can be converted to applesauce,according to a poster at serious eats, but I used canola oil)
1/2 c. brown rice syrup
1 t. vanilla extract
2 eggs
3 mashed bananas
1 3/4 c. whole wheat flour (King Arthur, of course)
1/2 t. kosher salt
1 t. baking soda dissolved in 1/4 c. hot water
1/2 c. chopped walnuts.

Preheat oven to 325.

Beat oil and honey together in a large bowl. Add eggs and mix well, then stir in bananas and vanilla. Stir in flour and salt, then add baking soda to hot water and stir into batter. Fold in chopped nuts.

Spread batter into "prepared" pan (I opt always for cooking spray with flour. Normally, I am against such things, but it really does make life so much easier.)

Bake for 55-65 minutes, until tester comes out clean. Try to wait at least a half hour before cutting into it.

I think in the next occasion of overripe bananas, I will tweak this recipe using my two favorite additions from the Alton Brown banana bread recipe. To date, his is by far my favorite. (All about Alton has the recipe by weight: Bread of Life has it listed by measure.) He uses oat flour in his, which is a miracle, I think, for adding softness. But the true marvel is that he also adds almonds and almond extract which is seriously my favorite flavor ever. If you are looking to impress, and not eat healthy in the privacy of your own home...make Alton's banana bread.

I think the whole wheat version is really delicious however, and the brown rice syrup is the key I think. If you were to use honey, as the original recipe wished, I think it would be too sweet. I love honey, but if I was going through the trouble to make a healthier recipe, I figured why not try the brown rice syrup? It is made (according to the Lundberg Farms label) by simply boiling down brown rice. It is great, and really does taste a little like sweet, nutty brown rice.

I originally bought it for making Nigella Lawson's Chocolate Peanut Granola, which is very tasty and perhaps my third batch after watching that episode is happily residing in my freezer.

I hope you have luck with this healthy version of banana bread. I am actually going against all my personal thoughts on cake and bread storage and storing this, wrapped in foil, in the refrigerator. It is just so moist, that I can't see getting my normal 6-7 days out of it! I'm also planning to toast some, since I think that the almost pudding like interior will stand up to it.