Banana Bread Two Ways

If you’ve watched my cooking show, you’ll know that my partner loves her some banana bread. She buys a bunch of bananas every month and refuses to eat them in the hopes that they’ll turn brown and I’ll make a loaf. Or two. It’s become a bit of a game with us, with me reminder her about the bananas she bought and that she should eat them before they go bad, and her acknowledging my comment, but leaving them to hang, dejected, on the little hook in the kitchen.

And I’ll get ‘the look’ if I eat them. I can usually sneak a couple off the hook when she isn’t looking, but it’s a risky enterprise.

We played it again recently, and I (lucky me) ended up with enough over-ripe bananas to make two loaves. Unfortunately, I didn’t have quite enough all-purpose flour to make two full loaves, so I had to improvise.

And a quick side note here: I am not a fan of baking. There are a few things I’ll make, like bread, but for the most part I shy away from the baking/pastry/sweets aspect of the kitchen. Partly because I really don’t eat sweet stuff, and partly because it doesn’t allow for as much improvisation and creativity as regular cooking. But I digress…

I didn’t realize this at first and mixed up the first batch, poured it into the pan, popped it in the oven. When there was about fifteen minutes left on the timer, I started on the next loaf. And that’s when I realized I was short about a half of a cup of flour.

I cursed the heavens.

Well, not really, but I had to figure out what to do about the situation. I dug around in the pantry for a few minutes and discovered a small bag of coconut flour I had bought a few months ago for some other failed cooking experiment. Would it work? Could it be a fair substitute? I could have look online to see for sure, but at that point I figured I could risk it. At least I had one good loaf almost ready. That would keep her placated until she decided it was time for another round of Ignore the Bananas Until They Are Gross.

I’ve added shredded, unsweetened coconut flakes in the past in my banana bread, but never flour. I had no idea what to expect. A flat loaf? A brick that could chip teeth? A biohazard?

Luckily, I hit it out of the park. The coconut flour did change the texture of the crust, made it a little crispier, gave it a bit more personality. The interior – the crumb – seemed a little bit denser. Overall, however, it turned out well.

So well, in fact, that I’ve been ordered…I mean, instructed, to use the coconut flour in the next batch.

Hooray for lucky guesses!

RB