Zucchini Banana Bread

I got this yummy recipe from my friend Lisa! Thanks so much Lisa for sharing your recipe! This bread is so moist and you can't even tell that there's banana inside...or whole wheat flour. It is definitely going to be the only recipe I'll use for zucchini bread from now on. But don't take my word for it...

Zucchini Banana Bread
(taken from Lisa's blog with pictures by me)
Mix until creamy:
3 eggs
1/4 C. olive oil
1/2 C. apple sauce (trust me)
1/2 C. sour cream (trust me, this is the trick)
2t. vanilla
1 2/3 C. brown sugar

Add:
2 C. grated zucchini
2 smashed bananas

Mix and then add:
2 C. white wheat flour
1 1/2 C. white flour
1 T. cinnamon
1 t. baking soda
1/2 t. baking powder
1/2 t. salt

Makes 2 loaves. Spray pans and bake at 325 degrees for 60-70 minutes.

Pretty healthy and the kids will love it!

100% Whole Wheat Bread

This delicous recipe comes from my dear friend Lisa. The crust is soft and you can hardly tell that it's wheat! It is by far my favorite bread recipe now! The first time I made it, Trevor told me this was the best bread I've ever made. I just love that it's 100% whole wheat and filled with wholesome ingredients for my family.

2 1/2 C. warm water (105-115F degrees)
1 1/2 tblsp. yeast (or 1 tblsp and 1 1/2 tsp = the same)
1 tblsp. salt
1/3 C. olive oil (you can use any.... just what I use)1/3 C. honey (I alternate oil and than honey so the honey won't stick to the cup)
6 cups White wheat flour (Not white flour! I use King Arthur's white wheat brand)

Mix all water and yeast in mixing bowl and let sit for 5-10 minutes, until yeast is mostly dissolved and foamy. Add remaining ingredients and knead for 5-7 minutes. The dough should pull away from the sides of the bowl. You can tell when the kneading process is done when your dough passes the "window pane" test. Stretch out a small piece of dough between your hands to create a small window. If the stretch looks shaggy and tears easily, it is not ready. If it is soft and stretchable and you can see light through it when stretched, it is now ready.

Lightly grease a large bowl with oil. Gently round your dough into a ball and place in oiled bowl. Rotate ball to cover with oil, then place it in the center. Cover with plastic wrap and set in a warm area to rise until it doubles in size, about 1 hour or so.


According to William Sonoma: "The dough is ready if it looks puffy and feels soft when gently poked with a finger. The indentation should remain, but not deflate the mass of dough. If the finger mark fills back in, the dough is not ready; re-cover and test again in 15 min."

Punch down the dough with the palm of hand to remove the gas and deflate the dough. Transfer dough to a lightly floured counter and shape into loaves using just hands (no rolling pin).

For the second rise, cover bread pans loosely with plastic wrap, (or a damp kitchen towel can be used) and place in a warm area to proof (second rise) until the dough has doubled in size again. It will end up being just at the top or slightly over the top of the pan (9x5x3 pan size).

Williams Sonoma: "When the dough is ready, it will be smooth and springy to the touch. To test, poke it with your finger. The indentation should remain, springing back only slightly. If it collapses on itself, it is overproofed. If it does not spring back, it is underproofed. If it is underproofed, cover and let rise for another 15 minutes to retest. If the dough is over proofed you can save it by punching it down, reshaping it and allowing it to proof again. Never try to bake overproofed dough, or you will end up with a flat, leaden loaf."
Second rise time will vary, mine took about 40 minutes. And the dough was as tall as the top of the pan!

Bake for 30 minutes at 350F degrees. This bread will rise only a little bit more in the oven for nice, and tall (for wheat bread) loaves! Remove from pan and using a stick of butter, smear the tops of the loaves. This is the secret to soft crusts!

Let cool completely before slicing. (Okay, sometimes I can't wait because I love the taste of fresh hot bread, but it IS better for the loaf to allow it to cool completely). Enjoy!

Yield: 2 loaves (9x5)

Cinnamon Raisin Bread

This fills our home with an irresistible

"can't wait until it's done baking so we can eat it" aroma. The base is the same as my oatmeal wheat bread, but with cinnamon, raisins and vanilla. It's sweet and nutritious. Doesn't get any better than that.

INGREDIENTS
1 1/4 cups water
2 tablespoons oil (I use canola)
2 tablespoons honey (use the same spoon so it slides right out after measuring the oil!)
1 teaspoon vanilla

1 teaspoon salt
2 cups all-purpose flour
1 cup whole wheat flour
1/2 cup rolled oats

2 teaspoons cinnamon

dash nutmeg

1/2 cup raisins
1 1/2 teaspoons active dry yeast

If using a bread machine, set loaf on regular white bread setting for a 1.5lb loaf with medium crust. Add ingredients in the order listed and you're ready to push start!

If making by hand, mix together all ingredients in order listed and knead for 5-7 minutes. Let rise until double in size. Punch down/knead and place into loaf pan. Allow to rise until double in size and bake in oven for 35 minutes at 350 F.

Yield: 1 loaf

Yummy just plain, as toast or french bread. If you're brave, try it with grilled cheese, you won't be disappointed!

Banana Bread

We often enjoy this moist banana bread recipe that my sis in law, Kari, shared with me. The smell of banana bread baking in the oven... Ahhh, just heavenly.


3 bananas
1/2 cup butter, slightly softened
1 cup sugar
2 eggs
1 tsp vanilla
1 tsp. baking soda
3 tblsp buttermilk* (see below how to make your own)2 cups flour


In a small bowl, mash bananas and set aside. Mix butter and sugar together until creamy. Add in eggs, vanilla and buttermilk, mixing well. Add dry ingredients and the mashed bananas alternatively to the batter, until completely combined.

Grease a bread loaf pan and pour batter in. I find that this recipe make one LARGE loaf, or one regular sized one and a mini loaf. I like to make the latter because the girls get a kick out of the mini loaf. (okay, so do I).

Bake 325 F for 1 hour or until when toothpick inserted comes out dry. The mini loaf will be done sooner, around 30 minutes or so.

*If you don't have any buttermilk on hand (I never do), you can make your own!

Buttermilk
1 1/2 tsp lemon juice
1/2 cup milk

Combine and let sit for 15 minutes. The milk will start to curdle and there you go...buttermilk!

Delicious Oat & Wheat Bread

Brynlee and Raelyn would gladly eat this bread with butter on top for every meal if I let them.  This recipe is SUPERB for a breadmaker. The original recipe was taken from allrecipes, but again, I fiddled with it to add some wheat flour while still allowing the bread to rise properly for a breadmaker. The oats disappear completely too!

INGREDIENTS
1 1/4 cups water
2 tablespoons oil (I use canola)
2 tablespoons honey (use the same spoon so it slides right out after measuring the oil!)
1 teaspoon salt
2 cups all-purpose flour
1 cup whole wheat flour
1/2 cup rolled oats
1 1/2 teaspoons active dry yeast

If using a breadmachine, set loaf on regular white bread setting for a 1.5lb loaf with medium crust. Add ingredients in the order listed and you're ready to push start!

If making by hand, mix together all ingredients in order listed and knead for 5-7 minutes. Let rise until double in size. Punch down/knead and place into loaf pan. Allow to rise until double in size and bake in oven for 35 minutes at 350 F.

Baking Powder Biscuits

Photo by me

Recipe by Williams Sonoma

2 cups all-purpose flour

2 1/2 tsp baking powder

1/2 tsp salt

6 tblsp cold unsalted butter, cut into small pieces

3/4 cup whole milk

In a bowl, stir together the flour, baking powder, and salt. Add the butter. Using a pastry blender or 2 knives, cut in the butter just until the mixture forms large coarse crumbs, the size of small peas. Pour in the milk and mix with a fork or rubber spatula just until the dry ingredients are moistened.

Turn the dough out onto a lightly floured work surface and knead gently a few times until it clings together. Using a spoon, drop biscuits onto the pan to make drop biscuits. OR roll or pat out the dough until 3/4 inch thick if you want to cut it out with a biscuit cutter.

Yield 12 biscuits

**These are yummy by themselves, but tastes great paired with soup too. Beware, they're addicting!

Honey Whole-Wheat Bread

Photo by me

Recipe by Williams Sonoma


This is the best 100% wheat bread that I've ever made. I love my Williams Sonoma cookbook, their recipes always impress me. I was squealing with delight when my bread came out looking this beautiful! This recipe will make 2 loafs of bread. If you just want 1 loaf, then half the recipe.



2 packages (5 tsp) active dry yeast

2 cups whole milk, 105-115 F

1/4 cup honey

2 large eggs

6 cups whole-wheat flour

2 tsp sea salt

6 tblsp unsalted butter, at room temperature



Dissolve yeast in the milk into a large bowl and let stand until foamy, about 5 minutes. Add honey, eggs, flour, salt and butter. Place bowl on the mixer (or knead by hand) and knead on low speed. Add a little more flour as needed for the dough to come away from the sides of the bowl after a few minutes of kneading. Knead until the dough is smooth and elastic, 5-7 minutes. Remove dough from the bowl.

Form the dough into a ball and transfer it to a lightly oiled bowl. Cover the bowl with plastic wrap and let the dough rise in a warm, draft-free spot until it doubles in bulk, (30-40 minutes is what it usually takes for me).

Butter two 9x5 inch loaf pans.

Punch down dough using your palm of your hand, pressing to release bubbles. Place dough onto lightly floured work space and cut dough in half. For each half, evenly flatten the dough with the heel of your hand. Roll the bottom third up onto itself and seal it by pushing it gently with the heel of your hand. Continue rolling and sealing the dough until you have an oval log. Place the log, seam side down, in the prepared loaf pans. Press on them to flatten them evenly into the pans.

Cover loosely with a clean kitchen towel and let the loaves rise in a warm, draft-free spot until they double in size (30-45 minutes). Be careful, you don't want the bread to rise too much otherwise it will fall during baking. So just until it doubles in size.

Bake on 375F for 35-40 minutes, or until they are honey brown and sound hollow when tapped on top. Be careful not to overbake this bread or it will be dry. Carefully remove the loaves from the pans and let cool completely on wire racks before slicing.



Enjoy!


**If you don't have milk on hand, or are lactose intolerant, you can substitute water for the milk and use only 2 tblsp honey instead.

**If you're using a breadmaker to bake this bread, make sure it doesn't rise too much. You will have to punch it down manually and control the rise time, then set it on "bake only" once it's doubled in size after the second rise.

If you don't do this and just use the "whole wheat" cycle on your breadmaker, you'll have a FALLEN LOAF. I've tried this and other wheat recipes on 2 different breadmakers, with the same drastic results.

So, just trust me, and do the "basic cycle" for kneading, manually controlling the rises and then "bake only" and you will have BEAUTIFUL BREAD!