Experimental Loaf #4: Banana Nut Yeast Bread

Banana bread is a quick bread made with chemical leaveners (Baking soda and baking powder), that is sweet like cake. I love it and make it often. One day I had the idea to combine banana bread with a yeast bread.

I made this bread the way I make my Italian bread. The difference was I substituted most of the water for mashed ripe bananas. After the dough had risen I split it into two portions and as an after thought I folded in some walnuts and brown sugar (that's why the nuts are in uneven clusters). I then shaped the dough into two round loaves and baked them like my Italian bread.

The flavor was very good. You could taste the banana and the bursts of brown sugar sweetness was a perfect touch. Next time I make it (and judging by how fast my family ate this bread, there will be a next time) I will mix the walnuts in when making the dough so they will be evenly distributed. I like folding in the brown sugar in the end so some bites are sweeter than others.

Of the four experimental loafs I've done so far this one was my favorite. That's no surprise, though, since I'm bananas for bananas.    

Pumpkin Yeast Bread: Rustic Loaf

When people hear "pumpkin bread" they immediately think of the sweet quick bread version, but this is the yeast bread version. It is not very sweet. Instead the pumpkin shows its savory side. It can be made sweeter by folding in some cinnamon sugar at the last shaping, and dusting the finished loaf with powdered sugar. Raisins may also be used in the dough.

1 cup pumpkin puree
1 cup warm water
1 1/2 tsp yeast
1/4 cup white sugar, and 1/4 cup brown sugar
1 tsp salt
1 tsp cinnamon, 1/2 tsp nutmeg
1/4 cup oil or melted butter
1/2 cup walnuts (or more)
2 cups bread flour
2 cups all purpose flour

Mix the first 7 ingredients together. Then add the nuts, followed by the bread flour. Add enough of the all purpose flour to make a soft dough. Knead lightly and form it into a ball. Allow dough to rise 2 hrs, tap it down and form into a ball again. Let rise 1 more hour. Shape dough into 2 round loaves and let rise until doubled in bulk. Bake at 400 degrees for 30-35 min. Enjoy it slightly warm.

Raisin Nut Tea Ring Recipe

Do You remember my raisin nut buns? If not the recipe can be found here-Raisin Nut Buns

They are tasty as is, but you can bump up the presentation and wow factor a notch if you turn it into a tea ring. Simply follow the recipe for the buns up until the cutting stage, Take the dough log and turn it into a ring by connecting one end to the other (wet the dough and pinch tightly to seal). Now with scissors cut diagonal slashes into the dough about 3-4in apart. Bake at 350 degrees for 35-40 min and serve warm or room temperature with a powdered sugar glaze.

Let's Not do Fruit Cake This Christmas... Let's do Fruit Bread

2 1/2 cup bread flour
1/3 cup whole wheat flour (mixed with 1 tsp vital wheat gluten)
1 cup warm water
2 tbsp honey
1/4 cup brown sugar
1 tsp yeast
1/2 cup dough starter
1 tsp salt
1- 1 1/2 cups of dried fruits (I used chopped dates and raisins)
1/2- 3/4 cup walnuts

Mix water, starter, yeast, honey, sugar, and salt. Add flours, fruit, and nuts. Mix until dough comes together. It should be soft and slightly sticky. Do not knead. Instead use the slow rise method. Let the dough rise for 8 hrs folding it over over itself every 2 hrs. After the last rise don't fold it. Gently form it into two round loafs and placed on a greased baking. Let them rise 1 1/2 hrs in a warm place. Score the top of each loaf and bake at 400 degrees for 35-40 min. Enjoy!

Raisin Nut Buns Recipe

This is my all time favorite sweet roll. They are basically just cinnamon buns with raisins and nuts in them. Don't eat too many if you can resist it.

The Dough:

1 cup warm water
1 package active dry yeast
1/4 cup milk
1/4 cup oil or 1/2 stick melted butter
2 eggs
1 tsp vanilla
1/2 cup sugar
1 tsp salt
4- 4 1/2 cups all purpose flour

Filling:

1/2 stick softened butter
1 tsp cinnamon
3/4 cup dark or light brown sugar
1/2 cup raisins
1/2 cup chopped walnuts or pecans

Frosting:

4 oz softened cream cheese
4 tbsp softened butter
2 tbsp milk
1 1/2 cups powdered sugar
1 tsp vanilla or lemon juice (optional)

For the dough mix the water, milk, oil, yeast, eggs, sugar, salt, and vanilla together. Add the flour and knead for 5 min to form a soft but not sticky dough. Let the dough rise until fully doubled in bulk (about 1/ 1/2 to 2 hrs). Punch the dough down and place on the work surface (there should be no need for extra flour, but if it feels sticky by all means use some (but not to much)). Shape the dough into a rectangle no thicker than 1/2 inches. The dimensions are not important to me, just know that the wider it is the more swirls the finished rolls will have.

For the filling begin spreading the butter on the rectangle leaving a one inch border butterless along one of the long sides. Mix the brown sugar and cinnamon together and spread this over the butter. Then eveny spread the raisins and nuts over that. Pres firmly with a rolling pin. Now roll the rectangle up starting on the side opposite the butterless border. When you get to the border press it tightly to seal. Cut the roll into 1 in thick rounds and place in a well greased baking pan. You will probably need 2 (a large one and a small one). Let them rise one hour, then bake for 25 min at 350 degrees. Remove from the pan while hot or the will stick. The easiest way to geth them out is too quickly turn the pan upside down and let them fall out.

For the frosting beat all the ingredients together until smooth and drizzle over the buns. If it wont drizzle add more milk or if you prefer a spreadable frosting add less milk.

Serve warm and enjoy. They reheat well 20 sec in the microwave.