Way, way back, when Tuesdays with Dorie first started, I was a member and baked along with everyone else. However, it soon became a little daunting and quite costly, both in the monetary sense and the calorie-count sense, as we were baking something every week. I stopped baking along after some time, though I continued to follow the blog and everyone else’s creations.

For Christmas, I received the Baking with Julia cookbook. Imagine how happy I was when I read that the new Tuesdays with Dorie group was not only beginning to bake from this book, but that the rules had relaxed, and now members only had to bake a selected recipe every two weeks. Not only that, but this cookbook is a bit more lenient on the waistline, as the cookbook is not only a slew of desserts, but also includes many bread recipes, which I wanted to get more experience baking anyway! All in all, this is a perfect situation for me, and I am excited to be involved with the group and to have something to motivate me to bake regularly!

I loved the first recipe we baked: White Loaves. It’s a great way to start, as it’s a simple, easy enough, plain bread. Making these loaves reminded me just how easy it actually is to bake bread. Granted, it is a bit time consuming, so you are sort of stuck in the house while the dough rises and then rises again, but if you’re planning on being home anyway, why not bake a couple of loaves of bread?

These white loaves are definitely easy, and call for few ingredients. It seems a lot of people were fancying them up, adding cheese and cinnamon swirls and other delicious things. I decided to start off simply, and just make the bread the way the book tells me the make the bread, and see how that goes before going all creative. I ended up with two loaves of amazing white bread, perfectly risen, with a slightly crispy, slightly buttery crust. I enjoyed eating slices just as is, nothing gspread on, not toasted, nothing! I can only imagine cheese or cinnamon swirls would’ve made this bread even more closer to perfection.

The only “problems” I had was with my standmixer and the baking time for my first loaf. The recipe makes enough dough for two loaves, but my mixer couldn’t quite handle all that dough! While it was “kneading” the dough, the hook kept getting stuck and stalling, so I ended up taking out half the dough, putting it aside while the machine kneaded the other half. I kneaded the put-aside dough, then switched…it was a long process, but I think it ended up working out, because the loaves had the ideal texture, density, crumb, everything!

The second (slight) problem was that my first loaf wasn’t baked all the way through. I couldn’t help but cut into it about 30 minutes out of the oven, and I saw its middle was definitely underbaked. I popped it back in the oven (as my 2nd loaf was still baking), and baked for another 10 minutes. Then it was fine. I also added 10 minutes to the 2nd loaf, and it came out wonderfully baked.

I’m not only looking forward to continuing to bake with the Tuesdays with Dorie group, but I am also excited to keep making this bread recipe. Nothing beats a simple bread, baked right!

For the recipe, check out the hosts’ page, Laurie’s blog slush or Jules’ blog Someone’s in the Kitchen, or better yet, buy the book, Baking with Julia!

I am definitely a quickbread fan! While banana bread will always be at the top of my list, I am open to pretty much any sweet bread. The last bread I made was a rather mild-tasting, not too sweet, walnut-date bread. It has all the qualities of a banana-nut bread, but with a taste similar to date squares. It’s a great breakfast bread, and I loved toasting a slice and smearing it with some creamy brie. Because the bread isn’t (surprisingly, considering all the sugars in it) that sweet, it’s prefect with all sorts of cheeses!

I love the chunks of date in it, as well as the crunch of the candied walnuts. And one of my favourite parts? This bread is made in only one pot! If you’re looking for something a bit different from the usual banana bread, give this one a try!

Walnut-Date Bread
adapted from Honest Cooking

250g pitted dates
1 cup water
60g unsalted butter
180g granulated sugar
2 tablespoons corn syrup
1 teaspoon baking soda
2 eggs, beaten
180g plain flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
cup candied walnuts, chopped

1. Preheat the oven to 170°C. Butter 4 small loaf tins or 1 standard loaf pan.

2. Place dates in a saucepan with water and bring to the boil, then decrease heat to low and simmer for 3-4 minutes until all the liquid has absorbed and the dates are mushy. Mash to break up any big pieces, then add the butter, sugar and golden syrup. Stir until the butter has melted, then remove from the heat and stir the baking soda into the hot mixture.

3. Cool slightly, then stir in the egg.

4. Fold in the flour and baking powder, then the candied walnuts.

5. Spread the batter into the pan. Bake for 30 minutes or until a skewer inserted into the centre comes out clean. Cool slightly in the pan, then turn out onto a rack to cool completely.

Here’s another savory recipe, this time for the vegetarians among us. I followed Handle the Heat‘s recipe exactly, and these muffins turned out just perfectly. They’re easy, tasty and really visually stunning!

They get a salty kick from all the chunks of feta, and the soft flavour of the roasted red peppers counteracts the saltiness. The basil is quite strong in these muffins, and so the flavour works wonderfully. The muffins themselves are moist, with just a bit of crumb. There is nothing I didn’t like about these muffins. I love savory muffins as a snack in the afternoon; I don’t often crave sweet stuff at 2pm, but I definitely crave the salty, and one of these fits the bill. They’re also great as a bread to serve alongside dinner. I froze half of them, and would pull one out every now and then to bring as part of my lunch, so they definitely freeze well.

Highly, highly recommended!

Feta, Basil, and Roasted Red Pepper Muffins
adapted from Handle the Heat
Yield: 12 muffins

2 cups unbleached all-purpose flour
2 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
3/4 cup crumbled feta cheese
1/2 cup jarred roasted red bell pepper, patted dry and chopped into 1/4-inch dice
3 tablespoons finely chopped fresh basil
1 cup (8 ounces) buttermilk
1/4 cup (2 ounces) olive oil
1 large egg

1. Preheat the oven to 375°F and position an oven rack in the center. Lightly coat the muffin tin with melted butter, oil, or high-heat canola-oil spray., or line with paper muffin liners.

2. Whisk the flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt in the large mixing bowl. In a small bowl, stir together the feta cheese, roasted bell pepper, and chopped basil. Set aside. Pour the buttermilk into the measuring cup. Add the olive oil and the egg and whisk together until well blended.

3. Make a well in the center of the dry ingredients. Pour the buttermilk mixture into the well and stir gently with a spatula. Mix only until there are no more streaks of flour or pools of liquid and the batter looks fairly smooth. A few small lumps scattered throughout are fine – they will disappear during baking. Gently fold in the feta cheese mixture until evenly distributed in the batter.

4. Use the large ice cream scoop or 2 soup spoons to divide the batter evenly among the prepared muffin cups. Bake for 18 to 20 minutes, until the tops feel firm and a skewer inserted into the centers comes out clean. Transfer the muffin tin to a rack and let cool for 5 minutes.

5. Gently run a thin knife or spatula around each muffin to free it from the pan, lift out the muffins, and transfer them to a rack to finish cooling. Serve warm or store airtight at room temperature for up to 2 days or frozen for 1 month. Reheat room temperature muffins in oven at 375 for about 8 minutes or in microwave.

I’ve already posted about my go-to banana bread, but I think this new banana bread recipe might have taken that top spot. I can’t be sure until I bake them both and taste them side by side, but as it stands right now, I’m pretty much in love with this banana bread.

I was looking for a banana bread recipe that used vegetable oil instead of butter, since I had a whole lot of bananas, but absolutely no butter. The original recipe was a bit lacklustre, so I added cinnamon and vanilla to it. Then I figured, why stop there? My favourite cereals are always of the maple-nut variety, so I candied some pecan with maple syrup and added those, and then when the loaf was done, drizzled maple syrup over the whole loaf.

The end result is a great one! The bread is very moist, even at the ends, but not so much that it’s undercooked in the middle. The candied pecans not only add crunch, but a sweet, candy-like crunch. The maple syrup at the end makes the top all crunchy, and is definitely the best part of the bread.

I’m definitely pleased with this bread, and with the ease that it comes together. I love finding new go-to recipes!

Maple Pecan Banana Bread
adapted from All Recipes
Printable Recipe

2 eggs, beaten
1/3 cup buttermilk (I used milk with lemon juice)
1/2 cup vegetable oil
1 1/4 cups mashed bananas
1 teaspoon vanilla
1 1/2 cups white sugar
1 3/4 cups all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon vanilla
1/2 cup chopped, maple-candied pecans
6 tablespoons maple syrup, divided (recipe follows)

1. Preheat oven to 325 degrees F (165 degrees C). Spray one 9×5 inch loaf pan with non-stick spray coating.

2. Blend together the eggs, buttermilk, oil, vanilla and bananas.

3. Sift together the sugar, flour, baking soda, cinnamon and salt. Add to banana mixture and stir in candied pecans. Mix well.

4. Pour into prepared loaf pan and bake 1 hour and 20 minutes or until a cake tester inserted in the center comes out clean. Drizzle 3 tablespoons of maple syrup over the top while it’s still hot.

Maple-Candied Pecans

3/4 cup pecans
3 tablespoons maple syrup

Place pecans on foil-lined baking sheet. Drizzle maple syrup over them.

Toast lightly for 3-4 minutes. Toss pecans and toast lightly again for another few minutes. Be careful not to burn them though!

Remove from pan, and chop coarsely.

(My apologies for the photos lately. Our tripod is currently unavailable, which leads to…well, the photos you’re currently being subjected to!)

So what did we do with all those apples we picked? Well, not a whole lot! Not yet anyway…Thanksgiving is going to use up a bunch of them in a dessert I’m anticipating eagerly.

So while I wait for that, I decided to make a some apple cinnamon buns to tide me over. Good choice! There are many things I loved about these cinnamon buns. The dough comes together easily, though with all that rising, it does take the whole evening. It’s worth the wait though; the end result are warm, tender rolls with a swirl of apple chunks, brown sugar and lots of cinnamon. Of course, they are best right out of the oven, but 20 seconds in a microwave is all it takes to get them just as delicious the next day. I also love how these get baked in a lined muffin tin – it keeps them small (so that you don’t feel as guilty popping one, two, three) in your mouth in one sitting, and the paper-liner keeps any brown sugar/butter/apple filling pressed right up against the roll.

I didn’t make the apple cider glaze that’s included in the original recipe, but just whipped up a plain milk and icing sugar glaze that suited these buns just perfectly. I’m sure the apple cider glaze would be an amazing choice though!

I’d make some changes to the original recipe, which are reflected in the recipe below. I also halved the original recipe to make just 12 rolls, also reflected in the recipe below.

Apple Cinnamon Rolls
adapted from Paula Deen
Printable Recipe

DOUGH
1 cups 2% milk
1/2 tablespoon active dry yeast
2 1/2 tablespoons sugar
1 teaspoons salt
3 1/4 cups all-purpose flour, divided
1 eggs
2 tablespoons unsalted butter, room temperature

APPLE CINNAMON FILLING
1/3 cup unsalted butter, melted
1/2 cup sugar
1/2 cup brown sugar
2 tablespoons cinnamon
1/2 cup loosely chopped pecans (optional – I didn’t add these)
1 3/4 cups finely chopped tart apples

DOUGH
1. In a small saucepan or a microwave oven, warm milk to about 110 F.

2. In a large mixing bowl, dissolve yeast and sugar in the milk.

3. Add salt and two cups of flour and beat for two minutes. Beat in eggs and butter.
4. Stir in the remaining flour a half cup at a time, beating well after each addition.

5. Turn the dough out onto a lightly floured surface and knead until smooth and elastic (about five minutes).

6. Place the dough in a large bowl and cover it with a towel. Set in a warm place and allow to rise for 40 minutes or until approximately doubled in volume.
Roll out dough into a long rectangle about 1/4” thick.

7. Brush with about half of the melted butter.

APPLE CINNAMON FILLING
1. To make the filling, in a medium-sized bowl, mix sugar, brown sugar, cinnamon, pecans, and apples.

2. Spread the pecan/apple mixture evenly over the dough, leaving about an inch empty on all sides.

3. Roll dough over itself from back to front along the long side of the rectangle to form a log. Slice the log into 12 even pieces

4. Line muffin tin with paper liners and place each piece of the log in a cupcake liner. If they don’t fit, fold the ends together to make a “C” shape. The pieces should come to about the top of the liners.

5. Cover the cupcake tins and set in a warm place to rise for another 40 minutes.

6. Preheat the oven to 350 F.

7. Evenly distribute the remaining ¼ cup of melted butter over the tops of the cupcakes.

8. Bake for 20 minutes or until the tops are golden.

APPLE CIDER GLAZE
1 cup powdered sugar
2 tablespoons + 1 teaspoon apple cider

1. In a medium-sized bowl, mix powdered sugar and apple cider until fully combined.

2. Drizzle over cinnamon buns.

You know those muffins you get at the bakery? The ones with the nice, raised tops that have a sugary crunch to them? The ones that are just the right light and fluffy texture inside? The ones that are packed with fat blueberries? Well, these will give those muffins some stiff competition.

There’s not much to say about these muffins other than that they are the best blueberry muffins I’ve made, and any time I have some fresh blueberries (or raspberries or blackberries), they are going into this muffin. I love the slight lemon taste, the sweet crunch along the tops, and the juicy blueberries. Everything about these muffins screams perfection.

This recipe makes a pretty big batch (I got about 16 muffins out of it), but they freeze really well. The crunchy sugary top loses a bit of its crunch as the days go by, but the taste is still there!

Better-than-the-Bakery Blueberry Muffins
adapted from Simply Recipes
Printable Recipe

3 cups of all-purpose flour
1 Tbsp baking powder
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
10 Tbsp unsalted butter (1 1/4 stick), softened
1 cup sugar
2 large eggs
1 1/2 cup vanilla yogurt
1 teaspoon grated lemon peel
2 cups blueberries
1 Tbsp flour (if using defrosted frozen berries)
Granulated sugar for sprinkling

1. Adjust the oven rack to the middle-lower part of the oven. Preheat oven to 375°F.

2. Whisk together the flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt and set aside.

3. In a large mixing bowl, cream butter and sugar together, beating until fluffy. Add eggs one at a time, beating until incorporated after each one. Beat in the grated lemon peel.

4. Beat in one half of the dry ingredients until just incorporated. Beat in one third of the yogurt. Beat in half of the remaining dry ingredients. Beat in a second third of the yogurt. Beat in the remaining dry ingredients and then the remaining yogurt. Again be careful to beat until just incorporated. Do not over beat. Fold in the berries. If you are using frozen berries, defrost them first, drain the excess liquid, and then coat them in a light dusting of flour.

5. Use standard 12-muffin muffin tins. Line each muffin cup with a paper liner, or coat each muffin cup lightly with olive oil or grapeseed oil using a pastry brush, or with a little butter. Distribute the muffin dough equally among the cups. Sprinkle tops with granulated sugar.

6. Bake until muffins are golden brown, about 25 to 30 minutes. Test with a long toothpick to make sure the centers of the muffins are done. Set on wire rack to cool for 5 minutes. Remove muffins from the tin and serve slightly warm.

It’s been pretty hot here lately, so I figured what better recipe to post than a slightly spicy, very flavourful and cheesy Chili Cheese Bread? It’s a simple quick bread to prepare, and I think it would be an awesome choice for any summer picnic or BBQ.

This bread is extremely moist, with a slight crunch on the top crust. It uses three different types of peppers: fresh jalapeno, some canned peppers and red bell pepper, so there’s a definite heat to the bread, as well as a freshness coming from the bell pepper. The cheese, of course, only makes the bread more flavourful.

I reduced the amount of pepper used in the recipe. For me, I could’ve had things a little spicier, but since I was making it for others who aren’t all that impressed with spicy foods, I reduced it. However, some still found it spicy, so take care when choosing the amount of your peppers. I used canned jalapeno peppers, so but only half the can.

Given how easy this bread is to make, and just how packed with flavour it is, I can see myself making it time and time again.

Chili-Cheese Bread
Adapted from Pink Parsley Catering, adapted from Savory Baking, Mary Cech

2 cups all-purpose flour
2 teaspoons granulated sugar
1 Tablespoon baking powder
1 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
1 teaspoon salt
4 ounces (1 cup) sharp cheddar cheese, shredded
1 cup whole milk
1/3 cup vegetable oil
1 egg
1 4-ounce can chopped green chilies
3 Tablespoons finely chopped jalapeno chili, veined and seeded
1/2 cup finely chopped red bell pepper

1. Preheat the oven to 375, and  grease or spray an 8×3 inch loaf pan.

2. Sift together the flour, salt, pepper, sugar, and baking powder in a medium bowl.  Add the cheese and gently toss and stir until it is evenly distributed throughout the mixture.

3. Whisk the milk, oil, egg, green chilies, jalapeno, and red bell pepper in another bowl.  Make a well in the center of the flour and cheese mixture, and pour the milk mixture in the center.  Briefly blend with a spatula, only until the dry ingredients are just incorporated.

4. Pour the batter into the prepared pan, and place in the oven.  Bake until the top is golden-brown, and springs back when touched in the center, about 45-50 minutes.  Cool on a rack for 10 minutes, then remove the bread from the pan and cool completely.

Okay, this will be the last pumpkin post for the next little while (though I still have something pumpkiny on the backburner!), and it’s probably something everyone has a favourite recipe for: pumpkin spice loaf.

However, I have yet to find my favourite version, so I keep trying ones that sound perfectly spiced and full of pumpkin flavour. This one, from Chowtimes, comes pretty close. I knew I wanted to have fresh cranberries in there, and I thought all the cinnamon, nutmeg and cloves in this recipe would stand up to all the cranberry. They certainly did, though next time I would increase the spice amounts just a bit.

I made two different types of loaf. In one I added chocolate chips and in the other, chopped walnuts. I definitely preferred the chocolate chip one, as the dark chocolate was perfect against the cranberry and meshed nicely with the cinnamon and pumpkin. The walnut was good, but would’ve been even better with a drizzle of cinnamon frosting or something to sweeten it up a little.

Both loaved baked up wonderfully, making the kitchen smell nice and spicy! They were moist and the pumpkin flavour wasn’t overpowering. All in all, this is a great go-to recipe whenever you’ve got some pumpkin puree on hand and an itch for a pumpkin spice bread.

Pumpkin Spice Cranberry Bread with Walnuts and/or Chocolate Chips
adapted from Chowtimes
makes 2 loaves

1 cup brown sugar, packed
1 cup white sugar
1 cup vegetable oil (or 1/2 cup vegetable oil and 1/2 cup apple sauce)
3 large eggs
2 cups pumpkin puree
3 cups all purpose flour
1/2 teaspoon ground cloves
3 teaspoons ground cinnamon
1 1/2 teaspoons ground nutmeg
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
1 1/2 cups fresh or frozen cranberries
1 cup chopped walnuts
and/or
1 cup chocolate chips

1. Preheat oven to 350F. Butter and flour two 9×5×3 inch loaf pans.

2. Beat sugar and oil in a large bowl to blend. Mix in eggs and pumpkin.

3. Sift flour, cloves, cinnamon, nutmeg, baking soda, salt and baking powder into another large bowl. Stir into pumpkin mixture in 2 additions.

4. Mix in cranberries, walnuts and /or chocolate chips.

5. Divide batter equally between prepared pans. Bake until tester inserted into center comes out clean, about 55 minutes. Transfer to racks and cool 10 minutes. Using a spatula, loosen the edge around the loaves. Turn the loaves out onto racks and cool completely.

If you like this, you might also like:

Lemon-Drenched Lemon Cake
Blueberry Lemon Loaf with Lemon Glaze
Orange-Spice Pumpkin Bars with Browned Butter Frosting

This past weekend, Soli and I walked up to the Jean-Talon market here to take advantage of all the fresh and in-season produce available. With armloads full of plump, sweet tomatoes, basil, corn, cucumbers, radishes, red peppers, carrots and eggplant, we had to take a taxi back home. Once at home, Soli went right to work making a chicken stock, using the carcass of a beautiful chicken he had roasted himself the night before. We’ll be eating a fantastic vegetable-chicken soup for days now!

But that’s besides the point. While he was preparing his stock, I was scouring my bookmarks, looking for a dish I could prepare that used some of this fresh, amazing produce. I found this, on Simmer Till Done‘s site…What better fits the bill than an upside down tomato-basil bread, peppery dough spirals filled with basil, parmesan, red pepper flakes and olive oil baked on top of fresh tomatoes to create an upside-down bread that is spicy, salty, cheesy and filled with the sweetness of tomatoes. It pulls apart easily, almost like monkey bread and is the perfect side for any autumn meal.

The original recipe called for one tablespoon of black pepper in the dough, and I found the bread much too peppery with that amount, so I made the change to one teaspoon. Additionally, the original recipe asked for 1/2 cup of olive oil in the filling mixture, but when I rolled the dough up like a jelly roll, most of the oil just squished out onto the cutting board, so I cut the amount by half. Everything else, I would keep the same! It’s such a savory bread, packed with flavours that all complement each other wonderfully. I really adore this bread and will definitely make it again.

Tomato-Basil Upside Down Bread
adapted from Simmer Till Done

DOUGH
2 1/2 teaspoons (or 1 package) active dry yeast
1 cup plus 3 tablespoons warm water
4 tablespoons plus 1 teaspoon olive oil
3 3/4 cups unbleached all-purpose flour
1/2 cup shredded Parmesan cheese
2 teaspoons sea salt
1 teaspoon coarsely ground black pepper (or three-pepper mix)

BASIL PARMESAN FILLING
4 – 5 tablespoons fresh basil, finely chopped (basil from store produce pkg, about 1 oz)
1 cup shredded Parmesan cheese
1/4 cup olive oil
1 teaspoon sea salt
1 teaspoon coarsely ground black pepper (or three-pepper mix)
fresh-ground red pepper flakes, to your more hot/less hot taste -or- 1/2 teaspoon hot red pepper flakes

TOMATO TOPPING
3 large or 4 small-medium tomatoes (or about 12 plum tomatoes)
optional for sprinkling: 1/4 teaspoon each: sea salt, sugar, red pepper flakes (which I didn’t add, as it seemed the bread and filling would be salty and peppery enough as is)

BREAD DOUGH
1. Using mixer: Stir the yeast into warm water in mixer bowl; let stand about 10 minutes, until yeast looks bubbled and creamy. Fit mixer with dough hook.

2. Stir in olive oil first, combining with yeast, then mix in flour, Parmesan cheese, sea salt, ground black pepper and hot pepper flakes. Start mixing on low and increase to medium speed, kneading about 5 minutes, until dough is combined, soft and elastic.

(If dough looks too dry: add water while mixer kneads, few drops at a time, until dough just combines. If dough looks too wet: add tiny dashes of flour while mixer kneads, sparingly, until sides of bowl look clean and dough combines.)

3. Place dough in lightly oiled bowl; cover loosely with plastic wrap, then dish towel. Set aside and let rise until doubled, about 2 hours. Dough should feel very smooth, moist and soft.

While dough rises, make filling & tomato topping.

BASIL PARMESAN FILLING
1. In small bowl, place chopped fresh basil, Parmesan cheese, olive oil, sea salt, ground pepper and red pepper flakes. Stir to combine well, and set aside.

TOMATO TOPPING
Remove cores and chop tomatoes to small, rough pieces. Place in bowl (without accumulated liquid) and set aside.

ASSEMBLE TOMATO BASIL BREAD
1. Preheat oven to 400 degrees F

2. Lightly oil (with olive oil) bottom and sides of 10″ round cake or springform pan (can also use 9 x 13 metal pan, Pyrex dish, or similar). Drain any excess juices from chopped tomatoes, then spread evenly over bottom of pan. Set aside.

3. Turn risen bread dough out on lightly floured surface. Gently pull and stretch dough to a rough rectangle, approximately 11″ x 24″. Using spatula, gently spread Filling evenly across dough to cover, reaching edges. Starting at long edge, roll dough up jelly roll style, as for cinnamon rolls. Try to roll evenly and without air gaps. With seam side facing down, make sure filled roll is solid and combined by patting sides and edges.

4. Using a thin, sharp knife (serrated is best) cut 1″ slices from dough roll. Arrange slices, spiral side down, on top of chopped tomatoes in prepared pan. In a 10″ round pan, you will have little to no room between slices (if using a larger pan, arrange slices barely touching, with small amounts of space between them.) Cover lightly with plastic wrap and allow to rise slightly, about 20 minutes.

5. Place filled pan on wider sheet pan or foil (important – to catch drips!) Bake on lower rack 40 – 45 minutes, until top rolls are medium brown, feel hollow when tapped, and tomato juices have bubbled and thickened. Remove from oven and cool on rack for 5 minutes.

6. To unmold & serve: Have a platter or cake stand ready that is wider than the bread pan. Cover browned top of rolls with platter or stand (pan will still be warm, use oven mitt.) Holding platter to pan together, turn over in one motion until pan is upside down. Use a knife to carefully lift pan from bread, releasing steam slowly. After releasing initial steam, lift pan off completely, revealing tomato-topped bread. Serve immediately.

7. If you’d like darker edges and more caramelization – it’s beautiful and delicious that way – preheat the broiler. When hot, mix together optional sea salt, sugar and red pepper flakes. Slide whole bread onto a sheet pan, then sprinkle salt mixture over tomato topping. Place under broiler for 1 – 2 minutes, watching carefully, until tomatoes sizzle and edges blacken. Remove and serve.

If you like this, you might also like:

Tomato Tart (or Tarte à la tomate)
Cottage Cheese Dill Bread
Tomato Soup with Rice

It’s difficult to make a bad banana bread. They’re a very forgiving quickbread, but that doesn’t mean they’re always excellent. This one, however, is. It’s my banana bread go-to recipe.

The original recipe asks for pecans, which I have used, and loved! They become crunchy and almost candylike in the bread. This time, I had some leftover hazelnuts, so I used those instead. Pretty much any nut, dried fruit or chocolate can be thrown in here, and the end result will be fantastic.

My favourite thing about this recipe is how some of the bananas are barley mashed, so they’re still quite lumpy. Then they’re added at the end, so it gives the bread chunks of moist bananas throughout.

Banana Bread with Hazelnuts
adapted from Tyler Florence’s Banana Bread with Pecans
Printable Recipe

2 cups all-purpose flour
1 1/2 teaspoons baking soda
1 teaspoon cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon salt
4 overripe bananas
1 cup sugar
3/4 cup (1 1/2 sticks) unsalted butter, melted and cooled (I used 1/4 cup butter, 1/2 cup vegetable oil)
2 large eggs
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
1/2 cup hazelnuts, finely chopped (the original recipe calls for pecans, which I also love!)
Confectioners’ sugar, for dusting

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F and lightly grease a 9 by 5-inch loaf pan.

2. In a large bowl, combine the flour, baking soda, and salt; set aside.

3. Mash 2 of the bananas with a fork in a small bowl so they still have a bit of texture. With an electric mixer fitted with a wire whisk, whip the remaining bananas and sugar together for a good 3 minutes; you want a light and fluffy banana cream. Add the melted butter, eggs, and vanilla; beat well and scrape down the sides of the bowl. Mix in the dry ingredients just until incorporated; no need to overly blend. Fold in the nuts and the mashed bananas with a rubber spatula. Pour the batter into the prepared loaf pan. Give the pan a good rap on the counter to get any air bubbles out.

4. Bake for about 1 hour and 15 minutes, until golden brown and a toothpick inserted into the center of the loaf comes out clean. Don’t get nervous if the banana bread develops a crack down the center of the loaf; that’s no mistake, it’s typical. Rotate the pan periodically to ensure even browning.

5. Cool the bread in the pan for 10 minutes or so, and then turn out onto a wire rack to cool completely before slicing. Toast the slices of banana bread, dust with confectioners’ sugar, and serve.

Do you have a favourite banana bread recipe? I’d love to put another good one on the banana-roster!

Oh! And don’t forget the giveway, one post down. Just two more days!