Baking Delicious Breads for Fall- Two Easy Recipes!

And neither does my husband, for that matter. Once in a while, we do crave something totally creamy and sugary like gelato, but for the most part, we tend to skip dessert. What we do like are breads- especially in the fall and winter. Right now, the weather in Florence is chilly, so it's the perfect weather for baking.

I was given a Banana Bread recipe by my mother several years ago and I have altered it according to my personal taste. Here are two very quick and easy bread recipes. In fact, I knew that two of my friends were coming over my house today, so I baked the following to enjoy with some tea (and they loved it).

The following are two of my favorites.

My Apple, Raisin and Hazlenut Bread

1/3 c butter- softened

2/3 c biological cane sugar

2 eggs- beaten with a bit of milk

1 t vanilla extract

3/4 c whole wheat flour

1/2 c refined white flour

1 t. baking powder

pinch salt

handful of golden raisins

1 apple- diced into small cubes (I used a Stark Apple, but any variety is fine)

handful of hazelnuts (almonds also work well)

Preheat oven to 350f (180c)

1. Cream butter and sugar. Add eggs. Mix until smooth.

2. Add vanilla. Stir in apple, raisin and nuts.

3. Add pinch salt. Gradually add flour, stirring until smooth.

4. Always add the baking powder last. Mix well and pour into a greased and floured loaf pan.

5. Bake for 50-55 minutes until golden brown.

My Banana Bread- the recipe is basically the same as above, except:

1/4 c butter (less butter due to extra moisture from bananas)

1/2 c biological cane sugar (less sugar because ripe bananas are very sweet)

2 big ripe bananas mashed (instead of the diced apple)

handful of walnuts (instead of the hazelnuts)

Sometimes, I add a handful of raisinsand/orabout 1/3 c flaked coconut

If you notice, I use butter in the recipe, not margarine or shortening. I only bake with real butter. Also, I like to mix flour types because I think it makes the texture interesting (like something that is healthy, but also tastes yummy). I prefer biological cane sugar to white sugar because it has a caramel-like flavor.

Your home will smell so nice as these breads bake. I like that the recipe is basic and allows me to play around and experiment with extra ingredients. My sister recently told me that she adds both crushed pineapple and coconut to her banana bread and that it's really good. Try it out and let me know what you think! Thank you for reading!

C. De Melo