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The Pancake Princess

The Pancake Princess

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Family Classics: A to Z Bread

by erika 11 Comments

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Family Classics is a series that features some of the classic recipes I grew up with, slightly adapted to adhere to my current pescatarian, dairy-free diet. Say hello to all the flavors of nostalgia!

A to Z Bread // The Pancake Princess I’ve had a luxurious three weeks at home before my last and final semester of business school begins, and baking up two hefty loaves of this childhood favorite was a perfect afternoon activity in between…well, eating and more eating. And planning and baking and long walks and meeting up with old/new friends. And watching BABIES EATING LEMONS HOW DID I JUST FIND THIS. All in all, a solidly relaxing and rejuvenating break. How has your new year been treating you?A to Z Bread // The Pancake Princess

 

A to Z Bread // The Pancake PrincessI asked my siblings for help in coming up with ideas for this series and banana bread! was unanimous, instantaneous from both. Fitting, since it was probably the recipe my mom baked the most as we were growing up. For me, it conjures up a kitchen enveloped in a warm haze of buttery banana scent and toasted nuts (even though we abhored the nut-topped loaves as kids and always pleaded for a just-plain chocolate chip loaf), leftovers kept moist and plush in a deep orange container and barely crisp, toasted slices for breakfast.

A to Z Bread // The Pancake Princess

In my years of baking away from my mom’s plastic roladex of handwritten recipes, I’ve found that Smitten Kitchen’s zucchini bread recipe is nearly identical to this recipe except that this recipe bumps up the vanilla to a full tablespoon, omits the nutmeg, and REQUIRES chocolate chips–they’re practically a birthright in banana bread in my family. The original recipe calls for a full cup of oil and 2 cups of sugar, but I find that subbing in almond milk for a portion of oil leaves it just as moist and delicious as I remember, and cutting down on the sugar leaves more room for the chocolate chips to shine. If you’d like to halve the recipe, I’ve made this successfully using only one egg and subbing 1/2 tablespoon of flax or chia seeds with 1.5 tablespoons of water for the “half egg.”

Ironically, we have never used this recipe for anything other than banana bread, but the good friend and neighbor who gave my mom this recipe listed a bunch of other ingredients you can use as add-ins in place of banana–from A to Z, the ingredients range from apples to eggplant to peaches to zucchini.

…I think carrot will probably be my next adventure. I’ll leave the eggplant to you–let me know how it turns out, will you?

A to Z Bread // The Pancake Princess

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A to Z Bread

The classic banana bread recipe I grew up with, this plush and sweet quickbread loaf can also be adapted to any number of add-ins, from apples (A) to zucchini (Z).
Prep Time 30 minutes
Cook Time 1 hour
Total Time 1 hour 30 minutes
Servings 2 loaves
Author Erika

Ingredients

  • 3 cups flour I like 2 cups all-purpose, 1 cup whole wheat
  • 3 teaspoons cinnamon
  • 1 teaspoon baking soda
  • ½ teaspoon baking powder
  • ¾ teaspoon kosher salt
  • 2 cups A-Z ingredient see below*
  • 1 ¾ cups sugar
  • ¾ cup vegetable or olive oil
  • 1/4 cup almond milk
  • 3 eggs
  • 3 teaspoons vanilla
  • 1 cup chocolate chips

Instructions

  • Mix dry ingredients (flour through salt) together. In a separate bowl, whisk together the rest of the ingredients except for the chocolate chips. Mix the wet ingredients into the dry ingredients until fully combined, then fold in the chocolate chips. Pour into two well-greased loaf pans.
  • Bake at 350 degrees for 55-65 minutes, or until inserted tester comes out clean.

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*A-Z ingredients can include 2 cups of the following:

  • apples (grated)
  • applesauce
  • apricots (chopped)
  • bananas (mashed)
  • carrots (grated)
  • cherries (pitted and chopped)
  • dates (pitted and chopped finely)
  • eggplant (ground up)
  • figs (chopped finely)
  • seedless grapes
  • honey (omit sugar)
  • lemons (1/2 cup juice)
  • marmalade (use only 1 cup and omit sugar)
  • oranged (chopped)
  • peaches, fresh or canned (chopped)
  • pumpkin puree
  • raisins
  • zucchini (grated—do not peel; cut out center)

A to Z Bread // The Pancake Princess

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  1. cynthia

    January 14, 2016 at 11:32 pm

    I am so excited for this series, Erika!!! Such an amazing, amazing idea. Just like this A-to-Z bread — I love the little tweaks to this to make it a little lighter and that moist texture looks like perfection. I can’t wait for more family classics <3

    Reply
  2. Kim

    January 12, 2016 at 9:48 am

    This looks/sounds SO GOOD. Banana bread might be one of my favorites because it doesn’t tend to be overly sweet, so I love your idea of halving the sugar amount. And I really REALLY love the Family Classics idea. Makes me feel all warm and fuzzy inside! 🙂

    Reply
  3. Michelle @ Hummingbird High

    January 8, 2016 at 11:46 am

    HEEEYYY so great to hang out the other day!

    And this bread??? Looks bomb. xoxo

    Reply
    • erika

      January 8, 2016 at 12:46 pm

      YES SO HAPPY I GOT TO SEE YOU!!!! And thanks lady <333 I'm so excited to follow your next moves over the next year!!

      Reply
  4. Renee

    January 8, 2016 at 11:43 am

    Omg this looks great!! I love a good, moist bread with plenty of mix ins with a nice cup of coffee on a weekend morning 🙂 Definitely will have to try this!

    Reply
    • erika

      January 8, 2016 at 12:47 pm

      Thanks Renee! You totally deserve a loaf with all your amazing fitness guru work <3 Hope you love it!!

      Reply
  5. Katrina

    January 8, 2016 at 8:44 am

    This bread should definitely include chocolate chips! And I love the concept of an A-Z bread! Yum!!

    Reply
    • erika

      January 8, 2016 at 12:48 pm

      Totally agree, thanks Katrina!!

      Reply
  6. Tori

    January 8, 2016 at 6:06 am

    This is something I’ve never heard of but it’s brilliant! I love all the super healthy ingredients thrown in that make this the perfect bread for snack attacks!

    Reply
    • erika

      January 8, 2016 at 12:49 pm

      Omg I didn’t even think about combining the A to Z ingredients, but that’s kind of brilliant! Tori, you may have set me off on an entirely new project…thanks for your genius!! <33

      Reply

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