Crackly Banana Bread
“That doesn’t look like banana bread,” my husband G. Grod remarked. My normal banana bread recipe has maraschino cherries in it, which makes it fairly easy to identify.
“New recipe. Smitten Kitchen,” was all I had to say.
G. and I celebrated our 14th wedding anniversary last week, which I unintentionally made a big deal of by putting a couple things on facebook and now here, so forgive me if I seem to be going on about it, but I have to say it’s one of those nice things about being married to someone for so long that I can just say “Smitten Kitchen” and he knows what I’m talking about.
Then again, there are probably at least half a dozen friends who would get that, too. So maybe I am just flagrantly boasting about our anniversary. Sorry. Anyhoo.
I’ve been making Marvelous Metropolitan Millet Muffins for a while, so I am a fan of millet and was eager to try the new combination. I took it to a sukkot party this weekend, and people really liked it. I’m not going to give up my normal banana bread recipe. And after mentioning to G. Grod, I may also try SK’s Jacked-Up banana bread. It’s good to switch things up once in a while.
Crackly Banana Bread, adapted slightly from Smitten Kitchen
makes 1 9-in loaf, or 3 mini loaves
My grocery co-op sells uncooked millet in the bulk aisle. Whole Foods and their ilk would likely have it, too.
1/4 cup uncooked millet
3 large ripe bananas
1 large egg
1/3 cup virgin coconut oil, warmed until it liquefies, or olive oil
1/3 cup dark brown sugar
1/3 cup cane sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/4 teaspoon table salt
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1 teaspoon ground ginger
1/4 teaspoon freshly grated nutmeg
Pinch of ground cloves
Salt
1 cup all-purpose flour
1/2 cup whole-wheat pastry flour
Preheat oven to 350°F. Place millet on rimmed baking sheet and toast for ten minutes, shaking once or twice, while oven warms.
Butter and flour 9×5-inch loaf pan or 3 mini loaf pans.
In the bottom of a large bowl, mash bananas with a potato masher (smoother) or a fork (more toothsome/lumpier). Whisk in egg, then oil, sugars and vanilla extract.
In medium bowl, whisk together soda, salt, cinnamon, ginger, nutmeg, cloves and flour, then millet. Sprinkle over wet ingredients and stir till just combined with no streaks of flour.
Pour mixture into prepared pan(s) and bake until a tester comes out clean, about 40 to 50 minutes for a large loaf, about 30 for mini loaves. Cool loaf in pan on rack for five minutes, then remove from pan and let cool on rack. Serve warm or at room temperature.
