banana bread

I know I have been absent lately from here…just been so overwhelmed and stressed! So, sorry for being slack!

I recently had a few bananas that were going bad so I thought I HAD to make banana bread with them! I hadn’t made banana bread before so I searched for a recipe that looked quick and easy. Thank the good Lord for the Internet because I found exactly what I was looking for!! The Fresh Loaf had a 10 minute banana bread that sounded super easy and obviously quick!

I thought that it might not turn out that great since it was so easy but I was very happy to see a fabulous looking loaf once baked and then when we ate it I was even more excited to find out that it was DELICIOUS!!

I have a few bananas that are ready to make this bread again. I am going to make a few loaves and freeze them…perfect for a quick breakfast when I’m running late (which is every day!)

Banana Bread
Makes 1 full-sized loaf or 2 small loaves

Preheat the oven to 350.

In one bowl, combine:

1/2 stick (4-5 tablespoons) butter, softened
2 eggs
2 or 3 very ripe bananas
2/3 cup sugar

Use a potato masher, fork, or spoon to squish the banana and mix the ingredients together. It is alright for there to be small (1 centimeter) chunks of banana in the batter, but you want most of the banana to be reduced to mush.

In another bowl, combine:

1 1/3 cup all-purpose unbleached flour
3/4 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/4 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon cinnamon (optional)

Combine the wet and dry ingredients and mix until the ingredients are blended together.

If you like, stir in additional ingredients here, such as chopped walnuts or pecans, dried cherries or apricots, or chocolate chips. A handful (about a half a cup) is about right.

Pour the dough into greased baking pans and bake until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean. Small loaves take around 30 minutes, a normal-sized loaf takes around 50 minutes.

Remove from the oven.

After cooled for 5 or 10 minutes the loaves can be removed from the pan to cool. Once they are cool they can be individually wrapped and frozen.

Great warm or cold! Whatever works for you :)

ENJOY!

xoxo.
manda

honey yeast rolls

honey yeast rolls.
source: annie's eats
* as always, annie's looks so much better than mine...but hey, whatevs...i'm trying! :) *

does anyone remember quincy's? family steak house perhaps? well, i do. and quincy's had THE BEST yeast rolls ever. true story. they were the bomb.com to the extreme. so, these honey yeast rolls are close. sometimes i over knead and i'm working on it. soon i'm hoping they are just like the quincy's rolls i remember from my childhood :)

what you need.

2¼ tsp. instant yeast
1 cup warm water (105-115˚ F)
¼ cup honey
3 tbsp. canola oil
1¼ tsp. salt
1 egg, lightly beaten
4 cups bread flour
Vegetable cooking spray
2 tbsp. butter, melted
2 tbsp. honey

what you do.

In the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, combine the yeast and warm water. Add the honey, oil, salt, and egg and mix well. Add 3 cups of the flour and mix until the dough comes together in a sticky mass. Switch to the dough hook and, with the mixer on low speed, incorporate the remaining 1 cup of flour. Continue kneading on low speed for about 8 minutes, until the dough is smooth and elastic.

Transfer to a lightly oiled bowl, turn once to coat, and cover with plastic wrap. Let rise in a warm, draft-free spot until doubled in bulk, about 2 hours.

Turn the dough out onto a lightly floured work surface and knead for 30 seconds. Cover with a towel and let rest for 10 minutes. Punch the dough down and divide into 10-12 equal size pieces. Shape each piece into a smooth ball and place into a round, lightly greased 9- or 10-inch round baking dish, spacing evenly. Cover and let rise in a warm, draft-free spot for 20-30 minutes.

Preheat the oven to 400˚ F. Mix together the melted butter and honey, and brush the tops of the rolls with the mixture. Bake for 15-20 minutes, or until the tops are golden brown and the rolls are baked through. Let cool slightly before serving.

homemade breadsticks

hmmm, CARBS! just want you need during bathing suit season :) i ran across these breadsticks last night while blog surfing. i knew i needed to make them asap.

i woke up at 6 this morning while brad was getting ready and couldn't fall back asleep. since i couldn't sleep i thought it would be the perfect day to start the morning yoga (on demand!) routine that i have been saying i would start. so, i had every intention of doing yoga... BUT for some reason my on-demand yoga wasn't working. boo, time warner. sometime you SUCK.

since i couldn't work on my gut and butt i instead turned on a crime show called captured (i loooove crime shows) and started baking these breadsticks that will certainly go straight to my butt and gut:)

these were supposed to taste like olive garden breadsticks. however, i strongly believe they are much more like little caesars crazy bread. in other words, they are TASTY!

breadsticks.
source: full bellies. happy kids.


what you need:

1 1/2 cups warm water (between 110 - 120 degrees F)
1 package active dry yeast
4 1/4 cups all-purpose flour
2 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted
2 tablespoons sugar
1 tablespoon salt

in a large bowl, dissolve sugar and yeast in warm water and allow to sit for 10 minutes, covered. mixture should be frothy.

in separate bowl, combine flour and salt.

add the flour and salt to yeast mixture. add melted butter. mix with paddle attachment of stand mixer or wooden spoon until fully combined.

knead dough for a few minutes just until dough is smooth. do not overknead!

grease a cookie sheet. pull off pieces of dough and roll out into strips.

cover the dough and let sit in a warm place for 45 minutes to an hour. (i let my bread sit in the oven with only the oven light on. this was a tip from my grandmama- thanks gma!)

preheat your oven to 400 degrees (not with the breadsticks in there!) once the oven is preheated, start baking those breadsticks!!

in a microwave (or on the stove), combine the following:

1/2 stick unsalted butter (or 1/2 cup margarine)
2 teaspoons garlic powder
2 teaspoons salt

*also need another 1/2 stick of melted butter for brushing after fully baked*

after 6 or 7 minutes, brush the bread sticks with half the butter mixture.

then continue to bake for about 6 (give or take) minutes. bake a little longer if you want the outside more crispy. personally, i like the outside soft :)

as soon as you remove the breadsticks from the oven brush the other half of butter on the sticks.

let the breadsticks cool for a minute or so (i know it's hard to do!) and then enjoy!!

light brioche buns

i want to be able to make bread. SO bad. i have made honey yeast rolls a few times with no luck. i saw these buns on annie's eats (where i also got the honey yeast rolls) a while back and have had them on my mind since but just hadn't gotten up the guts to attempt bread again. so, i attempted sunday and FAILED. bad! i guess my water was too hot and i killed the yeast. i was so bummed when they didn't rise. so, last night i tried again. at first, i didn't think they were going to rise but then...they did! i did a happy dance in my kitchen. they aren't the prettiest buns but they taste AMAZING! so, here you go...light brioche buns! :) i will def make again and go for the look of annie's...round and beautiful!!

Ingredients:
3 tbsp. warm milk (around 110*)
1 cup warm water (around 110*)
2 tsp. instant yeast
2½ tbsp. sugar
1½ tsp. salt
1 large egg
3 cups bread flour
1/3 cup all-purpose flour
2½ tbsp. unsalted butter, softened

For topping:
1 large egg beaten with 1 tbsp. water, for egg wash
Sesame seeds (i left this out only because i didn't have any!)

Directions:
In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, combine the milk, water, yeast, sugar, salt and egg. Mix briefly to combine. Add the flours to the bowl, and mix until incorporated. Mix in the butter. Switch to the dough hook and knead on low speed for about 6-8 minutes. The dough will be somewhat tacky, but you want to avoid adding too much extra flour which will create tough buns.

Transfer the dough to a lightly oiled bowl. Cover with plastic wrap and let rise in a warm place until doubled in bulk, 1-2 hours.

Line a baking sheet with parchment paper or a silicone baking mat. Using a dough scraper, divide the dough into 8 equal parts. Gently roll each portion of dough into a ball and place on the baking sheet, 2-3 inches apart. Cover loosely with lightly oiled plastic wrap and let rise again, 1-2 hours, until puffed up and nearly doubled.

Set a large metal pan of water on the lowest rack of the oven. Preheat the oven to 400˚ F with a rack in the center. Brush the tops of the buns lightly with the egg wash and sprinkle with sesame seeds. Bake the buns about 15 minutes rotating halfway through baking, until the tops are golden brown. Transfer to a rack to cool completely.

*note- when putting the wrap over for the 2nd rise make sure to just lay it over...otherwise the wrap will stick to the buns. just trust me! :) haha