Last time, Miriam in Saratoga Springs, N.Y., posted the following
troublesome banana bread recipe. She said:
> I tried the following recipe in my bread machine a few days ago and
> got a very dense loaf--not at all what I had expected. Does anyone
> have experience with this kind of bread? Perhaps some of you more
> experienced bread bakers would try it and make some suggestions for
> improving its texture. The taste wasn't bad. Thanks in advance.
Here's her recipe:
Small loaf (1 lb) Ingredients Lge loaf (1 1/2 lb)
1 1/4 tsp active dry yeast 2 tsp
2 c bread flour 3 c
2 Tbsp wheat germ 3 Tbsp
2 Tbsp powdered milk 3 Tbsp
1 Tbsp sugar 1 1/2 Tbsp
1 tsp salt 1 1/2 tsp
1/2 tsp nutmeg 3/4 tsp
1 Tbsp vegetable oil 1 1/2 Tbsp
3/4 c mashed banana 1 c plus 2 Tbsp
1/2 c sour cream or plain 3/4 c
yogurt
1/4 c water 1/4 c plus 1 Tbsp
1/2 c raisins or chopped nuts 3/4 c
This recipe has TOO MUCH LIQUID! I tried the 1 lb. loaf, and it
mixed up in the machine much more like a batter than a bread--
I had to add an extra 3/4 cup of flour before it formed a ball.
With the extra flour it baked up nicely. The bread was sort of moist
and heavy, very banana-y, not very sweet. Really pretty good.
Next time, however, I think I would cut back the banana for the small
loaf to 1/2 cup, use 2-1/4 to 2-1/2 cups flour, and perhaps increase
the sugar to 2 tablespoons.
-----------------------------
o Iva S. Maclennan +
| \ / /\ RAND + "Furious activity is
| \/ / \ Santa Monica, California + no substitute for
iva_maclennan@rand.org + understanding."