Ms Chef in Seattle

Bless my late Aunt Dorothy again. Her recipe for whole wheat banana bread* has undergone another successful modification, along with simplification. The latter was simply using two bowls, one for the dry ingredients and one for the wet stuff, then a speedy stir together with a wooden spoon. The process is thereby shortened and the finished product knew no difference!

The modifications were adding a cup of rummed-up golden raisins, a little squeeze of fresh lemon juice, a teaspoon of rum flavoring and a fresh-made streusel topping. (The raisins have been soaking in rum for a year, were intended for a batch of my Rum Raisin Jones at Christmas last year, but I decided not to include Joneses in the 2018 gifting.)

This is my new favorite use for leftover bananas. First make the streusel. Then, some quick ingredient assembly, 325 degrees for 65-70 minutes in a glass bread pan (greased and parchment), testing for crumbs with a kebob stick after 60 minutes, and careful removal from the pan 10 minutes after it’s out of the oven.

Dry ingredients: 1 cup each unbleached all-purpose flour, 1 cup white whole wheat flour (or whatever whole wheat flour you choose), 1 cup brown sugar (loose pack), 1/2 teaspoon salt and 1 teaspoon baking soda. Whisk them together.

Wet ingredients: 2 eggs, 1/2 cup canola oil, 2 big bananas, 1 small squeeze lemon juice, 1 cup rummed-up golden raisins (drained), 1/3 cup warm water and 1 teaspoon rum flavoring. Stir them together, then pour into the dry ingredients and stir quickly.

The simple streusel: 1/4 cup each flour and sugar, 2 tablespoons soft butter. Mix well.

Oh, yes I did (take a bite.)

*https://mschefinseattle.com/2016/06/19/aunt-dorothys-whole-wheat-banana-nut-bread/

To make rummed-up raisins, simply put the golden raisins in a jar, leaving an inch of space at the top for expansion due to uptake of the rum with which you cover them. I make a pint at a time and re-use the rum a second time (so, two years) and then pour it down the drain. You can watch the raisins expand and then make this bread. It doesn’t take a year, but a couple weeks is magnifico.

In the alternative to rummed-up raisins for those who do not use alcohol in their baking, they may be soaked in orange juice for a couple hours. (I give the o.j. treatment to them when making rum raisin ice creams because the raisins have a strong rum taste in the creams, while the alcohol in this bread bakes out of the raisins.)