The Bread In His Words Food

THE BEST BANANA BREAD

Steps:

• Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Lightly butter one 9-by-5-inch loaf pan.
• Whisk together the flour, pecans, granulated sugar, baking soda, cinnamon, 1/2 teaspoon salt and nutmeg in a large bowl. Whisk together the eggs, melted butter, buttermilk, brown sugar and vanilla in a medium bowl; stir in the mashed bananas. Fold the banana mixture into the flour mixture until just combined (it's OK if there are some lumps).
• Pour the batter into the buttered pan and lightly tap the pan on the counter to evenly distribute the batter. Bake until browned and a toothpick inserted into the center comes out completely clean, about 1 hour. Let the bread cool for 10 minutes in the pan, then turn out onto a rack to cool completely.

BOSTON BROWN BREAD

Steps:

• Move a rack to the bottom third of the oven and heat the oven to 325 degrees F.
• Spray the insides of the cans with nonstick spray and place set a deep 3-quart oven-safe pot. Begin heating enough boiling water to come halfway up the sides of the cans when poured into the pot.
• In a medium mixing bowl, whisk together the wheat flour, rye flour, cornmeal, baking soda, baking powder, salt and allspice. Add the molasses, buttermilk, vanilla and zest and whisk to combine. Divide the mixture evenly between the prepared cans. Cover the top with a double thickness of aluminum foil and tie securely with string. Pour the boiling water into the pot. Carefully place in the oven and bake for 1 hour and 15 minutes or until the edges of the bread begin to pull away from the sides of the cans. Remove the cans from the pot of water, uncover, place on a cooling rack and cool 1 hour before removing bread from the cans. Serve with baked beans or slice, toast and serve with cream cheese.

YOUR CLASSIC BREAD-AND-BUTTER PICKLES

Steps:

• Trim and discard the blossom ends of the cucumbers, then peel the onions and cut both into rounds about 1/4 inch thick. In a nonreactive bowl, toss them with the salt, then cover and refrigerate for 1 to 2 hours. Drain well, rinse, drain again and then set the cucumbers and onions aside.
• In a nonreactive pot, combine all the remaining ingredients and bring to a boil over high heat, stirring once or twice to dissolve the brown sugar. Reduce the heat to low, simmer for 3 minutes and then pour the liquid over the cucumbers and onions. The cucumbers should be amply covered or slightly afloat.
• Allow to cool to room temperature, then cover and refrigerate. These pickles have good flavor as soon as they are cool, but the flavor will deepen if you let them sit for 24 hours. They will keep, covered and refrigerated, for a month or more.