Recently, I wrote to a friend about a banana bread I baked that turned out like a brick. I made it on a Thursday afternoon, then brought some to another friend Friday morning thinking it would be a nice snack on our way to an estate sale. I kind of knew it was not right, but I hadn't tried it yet. She politely evaded the task of sampling it without even saying a word. Or maybe she said, "Oh. It didn't rise," as I uncovered the dense, greyish block. It was actually funny in a not-laughing-out-loud sort of way. There it sat in the back seat of the car, ensconced in paper toweling, behind us, heavy, getting denser every second. A little bit later that morning I wondered aloud if maybe I should cut it into planks and bake it a second time, like you do with biscotti? A day later? I think it's this economy that has me thinking wildly frugal thoughts. After I got home I looked down the list of ingredients and realized I had forgotten the baking soda -- a crucial ingredient. No baking soda doth a hard bread make. Amazing how one little half teaspoon of something can really foul up a bread. However, here we have the lovely, fully risen, wonderfully good banana bread that I made a few days after the dreadful one. Baking soda included.
Wednesday, September 02, 2009
Bad Bread, Good Bread
Recently, I wrote to a friend about a banana bread I baked that turned out like a brick. I made it on a Thursday afternoon, then brought some to another friend Friday morning thinking it would be a nice snack on our way to an estate sale. I kind of knew it was not right, but I hadn't tried it yet. She politely evaded the task of sampling it without even saying a word. Or maybe she said, "Oh. It didn't rise," as I uncovered the dense, greyish block. It was actually funny in a not-laughing-out-loud sort of way. There it sat in the back seat of the car, ensconced in paper toweling, behind us, heavy, getting denser every second. A little bit later that morning I wondered aloud if maybe I should cut it into planks and bake it a second time, like you do with biscotti? A day later? I think it's this economy that has me thinking wildly frugal thoughts. After I got home I looked down the list of ingredients and realized I had forgotten the baking soda -- a crucial ingredient. No baking soda doth a hard bread make. Amazing how one little half teaspoon of something can really foul up a bread. However, here we have the lovely, fully risen, wonderfully good banana bread that I made a few days after the dreadful one. Baking soda included.
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How funny! I used to struggle with banana bread recipes, until I found one that uses Bisquick. So all you have to add are the wet ingredients and maybe sugar. So far it is fool proof.
ReplyDeleteHow funny! I used to struggle with banana bread recipes, until I found one that uses Bisquick. So all you have to add are the wet ingredients and maybe sugar. So far it is fool proof.
ReplyDeleteMy grandmother would surely have found a use for the bread...which is a quality I admire but for me--the lazy one--I would feed it to the birds! I've definitely had my share of "oops" in the kitchen. The first banana bread I ever made was a box mix--classy, eh?!
ReplyDeleteThis is why I don't even attempt to bake.
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