Measuring, Baking, Substituting and Improvising Part I

People have asked me whether I measure when I cook. While I rarely do when making most entrees or salads -- that's when I do a lot of improvising -- I think baking requires precision. For example, if you don't level your measuring cup when you are measuring out flour (I use a knife handle), you could easily be 25% off -- a difference that's meaningful in terms of texture as well as taste. On the other hand, I do think that life's too short to sift flour; I reduce the amount by about 20% if a recipe calls for sifted flour. And contrary to popular belief, sifting doesn't really blend ingredients well; for that I use a balloon whisk.

Leavening does demand proper proportions, and a recipe can taste salty or bitter if you use too much baking soda or powder. In fact, too much baking powder can make a cake fall! So do it right: 1 tsp baking powder (measured, leveled) per cup of flour. If your recipe is acidic (citrus, brown sugar, yogurt, buttermilk, etc) you need to substitute baking soda for some of the powder. But NB that 1 tsp baking powder is equal in leavening power to only 1/4 tsp baking soda! So a standard muffin recipe that calls for 2 c flour would have 2 tsp baking powder, but 1 tsp baking powder plus 1/4 tsp. soda if you're using buttermilk instead of milk. If you really want to understand why, read pages 73-4 of Shirley Corriher's Cookwise, a book worth owning.

Banana Bread

I got tired of seeing little baggies of bananas everywhere I looked in my freezer. We like to keep fresh bananas in the house all the time, but sometimes they ripen too fast. And J is picky -- they have to be firm. Even though I frequently use the softer ones in smoothies, I end up with extras, so I peel & freeze them. But it always seems like they accrue faster than I can use them. This recipe was an experiment that we considered successful, so I'll make it again. It reduces the calories by cutting out some of the dairy fat, and it uses way more bananas than any recipe I've seen, requiring a lot less sugar. Substitute cinnamon if you don't like cardamom. Note: this is not a banana cake. People who want cake should use a sweeter, buttery recipe.

Banana Bread

Preheat oven to 350°F. Flour and butter a 5" x 9" loaf pan or a mini-bundt pan.

• 2/3 c whole wheat flour
• 1 1/3 c unbleached white flour
• 1 tsp baking powder
• 1/4 tsp baking soda
• 1/4 t salt
• 1/2 tsp cardamom

Mix these ingredients in a large bowl. In the bowl of a mixer, beat up the following, mixing thoroughly before adding the next ingredient:

• 2 T butter (unsalted)
• 3 T canola oil
• 1/3 c dark brown sugar, packed
• 5-6 defrosted bananas (they will be very soft, so no need to mash first)
• 6 oz (small package) nonfat Greek yogurt (or kefir, other plain yogurt or buttermilk)
• 2 eggs
• 1 t vanilla

Add dry ingredients to wet, beating on low, then increase to medium for a couple of minutes. Finally, add the last two ingredients and mix just enough to distribute:

• 1 c coarsely chopped, toasted walnuts
• 1/2 c dried cranberries (if they need rejuvenating, add 1 t water or rum and microwave for 30 seconds, then let sit)

Pour into pan. It will be thick. Cook for 30 minutes in mini-bundt or 55 minutes in loaf pan, or until tester comes out clean. Cool at least 5 minutes in pan, then turn upside down and cool on racks. Loaf makes about 8-10 slices; the 6 mini-bundts can each be shared by two people.

Date-Nut Bread

I had a package of baking dates that had been in the pantry at least a year. J mentioned that she loved date-nut bread from her childhood, so I decided to give it a try. Found a recipe online, but I ended up changing it pretty significantly (increased dates, decreased sugar, added an egg white and substituted oil for some butter). She enjoyed it. It's pretty sweet, and definitely works well spread with some neufchatel (reduced fat cream cheese) either at room temperature or slightly heated. You can slice it horizontally or in wedges, but not as thin as you would bread.

Makes 6 mini bundt cakes, which is at least 12 servings.

• 11 oz pitted dates (1 package, about 1.5 cups)
• ¾ c boiling water
• 1.5 c all purpose flour
• 1 tsp baking soda
• ½ tsp salt
• 1 tsp cinnamon
• 4 T butter
• 3 T oil
• ¾ c light brown sugar
• 1 whole egg
• 1 egg white
• 2 tsp grated lemon peel
• juice from one lemon
• 1 c coarsely chopped walnuts, toasted

Preheat oven to 350°F. Butter & flour a mini-bundt cake pan.

Combine the boiling water and dates in bowl and let cool, at least 15 minutes.

Mix flour, baking soda, salt and cinnamon into a small bowl. In bowl of mixer, beat butter, add oil and continue to beat. Add sugar, then eggs, lemon juice and peel. Mix in dry ingredients in 3 additions alternatively with eh date mixture in 2 additions. Stir in nuts. Transfer to prepared pan.

Bake bread until tester comes out clean, about 25-30 minutes. Let cool in pan for a few minutes, then invert onto cooling rack. Cool completely, then wrap in plastic wrap and refrigerate. Keeps several days.