Reduced-Guilt Banana Bread

I debated whether to call this post Low-Fat Banana Bread or Multigrain Banana Bread, as the recipe from the Weight Watchers cookbook that inspired it labels the loaf. However, as I'm obsessive about food and always guilty about putting cake and other sweets in my mouth, I just thought I'd add the "Reduced-Guilt" modifier. Still, after you've downed two or three (or four) pieces, the guilt factor does go up, no matter that the points-plus count per Weight Watchers says only 4 points per slice (about 3/4 inch thick each of a 9-inch loaf). The only solution I've discovered is simply to give the treats away or hope that someone hungry comes to visit.

As for banana bread, it's truly a go-to staple for me, as it may be in many households where bananas are often neglected once they go from yellow to speckled brown to black. The reason for this, as I found after a quick Google search, is an enzyme called amylase that breaks down the starch in the banana and turns it sweet. Another enzyme softens the banana, while oxygen turns the peel brown. You can read more on this at the eHow website if you're so inclined. But the obvious truth that any banana lover discovers is that the fruit, when not eaten within a few days, ripens, turns black and has a soft and sweet but mushy interior. This is optimal for making banana bread but less so for slicing into your morning cornflakes.

I've made some terrific banana bread laden with butter, sugar and nuts--and calories. The one in the Weight Watchers Power Foods Cookbook uses a variety of flours, including oat bran, corn meal and whole wheat; oil in place of butter; and egg whites instead of whole eggs. The sugar content is lower than some other recipes I've tried, but not entirely absent; I've upped the sweet and crunchy factor by adding a topping of a few chopped nuts, a bit of sugar and cinnamon, and voila--Reduced-Guilt Banana Bread! (Couldn't call it "no-guilt" for obviously reasons).

Here's the recipe:

Reduced-Guilt Banana Bread

(Adapted from Weight Watchers' Power Foods Cookbook)

12 servings

Ingredients

1/2 cup plus 2 tablespoons all-purpose flour

1/2 cup whole wheat flour*

1/4 cup oat bran**

1/4 cup yellow cornmeal (fine or medium grind)

1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon

1/2 teaspoon baking powder

1/2 teaspoon baking soda

1/2 teaspoon salt

 3 egg whites or 1/2 cup egg substitute***

1/2 cup packed dark brown sugar

1/4 cup canola oil

3 ripe bananas, peeled and mashed

1/2 teaspoon vanilla or almond extract

*The original recipe calls for whole wheat pastry flour.
**I used a mixture of oat, wheat and corn bran.
***I used Trader Joe's Cage-Free 100% Liquid Egg Whites.

Topping

3 tablespoons chopped walnuts

1 tablespoon brown sugar

1/2 teaspoon cinnamon

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Spray a 5x9-inch loaf pan with nonstick spray.

2. Whisk together the flours, bran, cornmeal, cinnamon, baking powder, baking soda and salt in a medium bowl.

3. Mash ripe bananas with a fork in a small bowl and set aside.

4. With an electric mixer on medium speed--or by hand with a wooden spoon (my method)--beat the egg substitute or egg whites together with the sugar and oil until creamy. Add the mashed banana and vanilla or almond extract. Mix in the mixer or by hand until thoroughly combined.

5. Using a wooden spoon or spatula, stir the flour mixture into banana-egg mixture until just combined.

6. Mix together the topping of sugar, nuts and cinnamon and set aside.

7. Pour the batter into the prepared loaf pan, making sure it's evenly distributed. Sprinkle the nut and sugar mixture evenly on top.

8. Bake the loaf for 45 to 50 minutes, checking with a toothpick or skewer to make sure the center is done (if batter clings to the stick, it needs a few more minutes).

9. Cool in the pan on a rack for about 10 minutes before running a knife along the edges, turning over the pan and gently tapping onto the rack. Allow to cool completely before slicing (unless you can't resist cutting off a piece, which I never can!).

Points & Calories

(1 3/4-inch slice)

154 calories

5 points

Cranberry Pistachio Biscotti

I can't think of a better antidote to holiday stress than baking. It's hard for worries to intrude when you're focused on measuring flour, baking powder and salt into a bowl and trying to remember where you hid the vanilla. My angst-abatement project earlier this week was to turn out some goodies that might travel 3,000 miles and still be tasty when the recipient--my husband's brother Jez and his family in Atlanta--opened presents on Christmas Day.

As I've discovered, not all cookies are created equal, especially when it comes to long-distance shipping.  An example is one of my favorites, rugelach, a traditional rolled crescent-shaped cookie made of cream cheese dough wrapped around a filling of jam, nuts and chocolate. I usually turn out a batch of these delectable little pastries for Hanukkah, which this year is already a distant memory. Rugelach are never quite as flaky and fresh as the day they're made and definitely do not improve with age, so clearly they're not a candidate for the mail. Biscotti, on the other hand, are hard, dry cookies that, if wrapped well in an air-tight container, seem like they might survive a trip to the moon, that is if a hungry astronaut didn't dig into them first!

A foolproof biscotti recipe that has already become a holiday staple at my house is one I first heard about a year ago on a podcast I often listen to while cooking and baking. The recipe is a little unusual in that instead of butter, it calls for olive oil, though not a large amount. I believe the oil adds a subtle flavor note that blends well with the pistachios, cranberries and vanilla and almond extracts. I dipped or drizzled some of the cookies in melted white chocolate just to add a bit of holiday pizzazz, but other than this, the recipe sticks fairly close to the original. I suggest some other possible variations at the end, but I'm sure the options are limited only by your imagination. Happy stress-free baking!

Cranberry Pistachio Biscotti

1/4 cup mild extra virgin olive oil

3/4 cup granulated sugar

2 teaspoons vanilla extract

1/2 teaspoon almond extract

2 large eggs

1 3/4 cups unsifted unbleached flour

1/4 teaspoon salt

1 teaspoon baking powder

1/2 cup dried cranberries

1 1/2 cups unsalted shelled pistachios

Mixing in dried cranberries and pistachios

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Spray a cookie sheet with nonstick baking spray or cover the bottom with parchment paper (I did the latter, spraying the paper with a bit of oil).

2.  In a large bowl, beat the olive oil and sugar together. Add the vanilla and almond extracts and eggs, beating until the mixture is completely blended.

3. In a small bowl, mix together the flour, salt and baking powder with a hand whisk. 

4. On low speed (or by hand), gradually add the flour mixture to the egg mixture.*

5. Carefully fold in the cranberries and pistachios.

6. Divide the dough in half and form into two logs. (The recipe suggests these will be 12 inches long by 2 inches wide. However, mine were about 15 by 3!) Wetting your hands in cool water before shaping makes the process much easier, as the dough does tend to stick otherwise.

Cutting biscotti on a slight diagonal 

7. Bake for about 30 minutes, turning the cookie sheet halfway through the process to make sure the cookies are evenly browning. 

8. Remove from the oven, cool for at least 15 minutes on the cookie sheet. Then, using a sharp knife, cut the cookies at a slight angle into slices that are about 3/4-inch thick.

9. Spread out the cookies on the cookie sheet and bake for about 15 minutes, flipping them midway through. Cookies should be slightly golden on the sides, but not overly brown. After removing from the oven, cool on a wire rack.

Biscotti cooling after second baking

*I did all the prep work for these cookies this by hand, but you could also use a hand or stand mixer. However, adding in the flour mixture should be done with care, making sure not to overwork the dough.

Optional: If dipping the cookies in white chocolate, melt about 6 to 8 ounces of white chocolate chips in a double boiler (or in a pan over another pan with a couple of inches of water in the bottom, as I did), stirring until melted. Add about a teaspoon of canola or other flavorless oil to thin out the chips a bit. Dip cookies into the melted mixture to get the half-dipped look, or drizzle liquid over the cookies in squiggly patterns. Place the cookies on a parchment-covered cookie tray or dish and refrigerate for about a half hour so that the white chocolate will harden.

Biscotto taking a white chocolate dip

More Options:

1. Instead of white chocolate, dip or drizzle in melted semi-sweet chocolate.

2. Substitute dried cherries and chopped, toasted hazelnuts for the cranberries and pistachios. Walnuts and mini chocolate chips would be another winning combination, I think.

3. Add other dried fruit, such as raisins, currants or chopped dried apricots, drop the almond flavoring and add a tablespoon of orange juice and a teaspoon of orange zest.

Bread Recipe: Wheat, Oats & Honey

"A Jug of Wine, a Loaf of Bread--and Thou."

-- Omar Khayyam

It's officially fall in Southern California, with a slight chance of rain. But at my house, it feels like summer, because my poor oven's been working overtime. Despite efforts to eat more produce and less starch, I gave in to an irresistible impulse to make bread. I salved my conscience about my carb addiction by making loaves with whole-grain wheat and oats, using a recipe I found on the back of the Bob's Red Mill Vital Wheat Gluten Flour package. Instead of going with the popular anti-gluten camp, I've gone the other direction, indulging my inner gluten glutton. Not only does the recipe call for 4 1/2 cups whole wheat flour, it increases the gluten load by adding two tablespoons of concentrated wheat gluten--a gray-white powdery ingredient--to the dough.

FYI, the word gluten comes from the Latin word for glue--and it's aptly named, since it's the elastic substance in wheat (also found in rye and barley) responsible for keeping bread "glued" together and, when kneaded, gives the bread a proper rise. Some high-protein flours like whole wheat and rye have a problem developing their gluten--meaning breads made with these flours need help rising (as do I some mornings!). That's where the vital wheat gluten comes in.

Toasted with peanut butter and mango honey

For those who are avoiding gluten for health reasons, obviously this bread is not for you. For the rest of you, here's a recipe for a loaf of whole wheat bread with just a hint of oats. I found Scottish oats, also from Bob's Red Mill, at my local Whole Foods. I think rolled oats might do just as well. I reduced the salt by a third and never missed the extra sodium. The loaves were dense but not heavy--great with soup, especially excellent toasted and topped with melted cheese, peanut butter and jelly, butter--or just about anything. I thought the bread might freeze well, but we finished it before we could find out.

Here's the recipe, adapted from Bob's Red Mill.

Honey Oatmeal Bread

(Makes two loaves)

Ingredients:

4 1/2 cups whole wheat flour
2 tablespoons active dry yeast
2 cups milk
1/3 cup honey
1/4 cup vegetable oil
2 teaspoons salt
1/2 cup Scottish oatmeal
2 tablespoons Bob's Red Mill Vital Wheat Gluten


Directions:

1) In a large mixing bowl, combine 2 cups of the flour and the yeast.

2) In a sauce pan, heat the milk, honey, oil and salt until warm (about 115 degrees F).

3) Add the liquid to the dry ingredients. If you're using a mixer, use the paddle attachment to mix at slow speed for about half a minute, making sure to scrape the batter from the sides of the bowl. Beat for 3 minutes at high speed. If mixing by hand, stir until ingredients are well combined--about 5 minutes.

4) Stir in oats, wheat gluten and flour. (The recipe suggests doing this by hand, but I used the dough attachment on the mixer to combine the ingredients briefly at low speed.) Add enough of the remaining flour to create a dough that starts to pull away from the sides of bowl.

5) Turn the dough out onto a floured board, and knead until smooth and elastic, about 8 to 10 minutes.

6) Shape into a ball, and place in a lightly greased bowl, turning to coat the dough. Cover and let rise in a warm place until doubled in size (about 45 minutes).

7) Punch down the dough and turn onto a lightly floured surface. Divide in half. Cover and let the dough rest for about 10 minutes. Shape into two loaves. Place in two greased 8 1/2"x 4 1/2" loaf pans. Cover and let rise in a warm place until doubled in size, about 30 minutes. If you want, brush a little water on top of the loaves and sprinkle with a few rolled oats.

8) Bake at 375 degrees F for 35-40 minutes, until the loaves are well-browned and sound hollow when tapped on the bottom. Remove the loaves from the pans and cool on wire racks. If you can stand to wait, let the loaves cool completely before slicing. However, if you're like me, you probably won't.

Tinkering*:

1) Try using white whole wheat flour for a milder taste.

2) Reduce honey and add 1 or 2 tablespoons of molasses.

3) Knead 1/4 to 1/2 cup of raisins into the dough.

4) Use half all-purpose white flour or bread flour, and leave out the vital wheat gluten--or use just 1 tablespoon.

*I haven't tried these variations, so I can't vouch for the results, but baking and cooking are all about experimentation, so why not give it a whirl?


Calories & Points (for 16 slices per loaf):

105 calories

3 Weight Watchers points per slice