Banana Bread For the Modern Baker

Sometimes the best recipes come from the most unlikely places.

Several weeks ago, I was watching tennis at the U.S. Open in Queens and started chatting with the woman behind me about, of all things, cooking. Tennis is one of those etiquette sports where chatting with your neighbor is a no-no and even more so at the granddaddy of tennis events. But, home cooks just can't help themselves and our tips, trials and tribulations in the kitchen were flying as fast as the young American superstar, Donald Young, was whacking the ball.

The recipe that stuck with me was her twist on banana bread. Bananas, a staple in the household but once they're too ripe to eat, the option is to throw them out or make banana bread. Everyone has a favorite recipe, either passed down or pulled off the Internet or even semi-homemade from a mix. Baking banana bread is essentially a means to an end and once it's baked it's equally as efficient for breakfast, a snack or dessert.

Her recipe simply swapped out a fourth of the sugar for molasses and healthier whole wheat flour instead of white. I didn't actually have her recipe, but my head was spinning as I worked through the ingredients and the earthy flavor I suspected it would impart. The next day, I made my own version with the addition of a zested and juiced orange. I knew the citrus would be a good balance to the robust molasses flavor and the mellow bananas. I was worried that using whole wheat flour might be too harsh, but the texture and sweetness of the bananas made it unnoticeable. So, here it is. A new version of an old classic and Lorraine, if you're reading this, thanks for the tip and happy home cooking.

Orange Molasses Banana Bread

Prep time: 10 minutes

Cooking time: 50-60 minutes

Makes 1 loaf

3 ripe bananas

3/4 cup sugar

1/4 cup molasses

1 large egg

1/2 stick (4 tablespoons) unsalted butter, melted

zest and juice of 1 orange

1 1/2 cups whole wheat flour

1 teaspoon baking soda

1/4 teaspoon salt

Preheat oven to 325 degrees

In a large bowl with an electric mixer, beat bananas, sugar, molasses, egg, butter, orange zest and juice.  Sift together flour, baking soda and salt and slowly add to batter to combine.

Pour batter into a buttered standard loaf pan.  Bake about 50-60 mintes until tester comes out clean.  Rest for 10 minutes, remove from pan and slice.

Summit Patch food columnist, Amy Currie, a mother of three and teacher at the  Kings Cooking Studio in Short Hills, is the author of Memoirs of a Home Cook, Every Great Recipe Has a Story and her latest cookbook, Secrets of a Home Cook. You can e-mail her at summitpatchdish@gmail.com. Check back every Thursday for the latest installment of Summit Dish.

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