ayples and banaynays

Remember that song? I'm not crazy, I promise--there is a song.


Moving on. I made another sourdough bread, complete with a special ingredient and a smidge of a disappointment.

I had high hopes for this bread. Bananas, apples, banana-peach-applesauce. That sourdough twang. Cinnamon. Awesome. And truth be told, it does taste magnificent...if you can get it to your mouth.


Yeah, it's crumbly. Quite crumbly. My slices (cut waaaay too thin) practically disintegrated upon contact. I attribute this to two things. First of all, the fat involved is shortening, which I should've known isn't the best at holding things together based on my experiences with it in pie dough. Secondly, I forgot to rehydrate the dried apples, so they undoubtedly sucked out a lot of the moisture that should've been present.


How misleadingly sturdy it looks.

These belated epiphanies aside, I think I'll try this recipe again. The flavor's there, dang it. However, I won't make the same mistakes, and I might go with muffins instead of loaves.

Ayple and Banaynay Bread
(adapted from this recipe)

1/2 cup shortening
1 cup sugar
1 egg
1 banana, mashed
1/2 cup applesauce (I used Beech-nut Homestyle Peaches, Apples & Bananas)(go team!)
1 cup sourdough starter
1 teaspoon vanilla
2 cups all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon cinnamon
1 cup dried cinnamon apples, rehydrated and drained well

Preheat oven to 350F and grease whatever pan you'll be using.
In a large bowl, cream together the shortening and sugar, add the egg and mix until blended. Beat in the banana, applesauce, sourdough starter, and vanilla. In a smaller bowl, stir together the flour, salt, baking powder, baking soda, and cinnamon. Add the flour mixture and diced apples to the wet ingredients, stirring until just blended. Pour into pan of choice, whether it be a 9x5" loaf pan or a tray of mini-loaf molds. Bake for 1 hour for one big loaf, 35-40 minutes for mini loaves, or until toothpick comes out clean. Cool completely before attempting to slice.