Two banana breads

Do you feel sometimes like you need a break from your usual routine?
I’ve stopped baking bread. I don’t always have a lunch, I don’t check all the newsletters I signed up to. I don’t visit Twitter, I rarely read blogs I follow, almost don’t leave comments.
Instead I post too many cats photos to Instagram, I signed up for Italian, I try to find a book that will get me back to reading (I need to admit I am in the middle of reading 3 books, but I’m trying). I focus on small pleasures like watching tv series with Tomek or just watching the kittens, they grow so fast, but still are so cute I could watch them for hours.
Sometimes I bake banana bread. You wouldn’t guess but banana breads are new to me. When I was a child I’ve never liked bananas. I told my mum they taste like sweet, bland potatoes. To this day I’m not the biggest fan of bananas on their own, but I can eat them with my granola and milk, or I really enjoy the banana flavour in cakes and desserts.
I have one major flaw when it comes to trying recipes, when I find the good source of recipes I have problem with trying other recipes. My favourite banana bread recipe comes from Sophie’s Dahl “Miss Dahl voluptuous delights” book, but was recommended by White Plate and as usual it was great recommendation. This is one of the easiest cakes recipes. I baked that several times, one time in my friends kitchen where I didn’t have most ingredients and equipment. You don’t need much a spoon and baking tin is enough. The recipe always turned out fine, so it was really hard to try something new.
I told you once about my love for buying new magazines, but struggle to actually use them.
So I challenged myself to try Donna’s Hay banana bread recipe. The execution you can see below. The recipe is a little bit more time consuming than Sophie’s Dahl, but both banana breads are delicious. Which one you want to try is up to you.

Sophie’s Dahl Banana Bread

For 26x11cm loaf tin

Recipe comes from Miss Dahl’s Voluptuous Delights

• 4 ripe bananas, mashed up
• 75 g soft butter
• 200 g of soft brown sugar (you may reduce amount of sugar 150 g is enough)
• 1 egg, beaten
• 1 Tbsp vanilla extract
• 1 tsp baking soda
• 1 pinch of salt
• 170 g plain flour

Preheat the oven to 180°C/160°C fan.

Grease a tin and dust it with rice flour or semolina.

Place the mashed bananas into the bowl.

Mix in the butter, sugar, egg and vanilla extract. Add the baking soda and salt and mix in the flour last.

Pour into prepared tin.

Bake for 1 hour, remove and cool.

Donna’s Hay Banana Bread

For 26x11cm loaf tin
Recipe comes from Donna Hay Issue 63

• 125 g butter, soften
• 175 g brown sugar
• 1 tsp vanilla sugar
• 2 eggs
• 4 bananas, mashed up
• 225 g all-purpose flour, sifted
• 1tsp baking powder
• 1 tsp baking soda
• 1 tsp ground cinnamon
• 115 g golden syrup

Preheat the oven to 160°C/140°C fan.

Grease a tin and dust it with rice flour or semolina.

Place the butter, sugar and vanilla in an electric mixer and beat for 8-10 minutes or until pale and creamy.

Scrape down the sides of the bowl. Gradually add the eggs and beat well to combine.

Add the bananas, flour, baking powder, baking soda, cinnamon and golden syrup and stir to combine.

Spoon the mixture into loaf tin.

Bake for 60-65 minutes or until cooked when tested with a skewer. Cool in the tin for 20 minutes before turning out onto a wire rack to cool compeletely. Slice a hour, remove and cool.