Mistral Banana Bread: Elder Scrolls Online

I don’t know anyone who doesn’t like banana bread. I’m sure they exist but I’ve had the fortune of never meeting one. And what banana bread could be better than one intended to fortify Magicka? None, of course. This recipe in particular makes excellent use of Mistral’s sugar and banana crops, as well as shelf-stable ingredients that last in the warm and humid climate.

Game references aside, this banana bread recipe is unusual in that it makes use of cheap, shelf-stable ingredients such as dried milk and vinegar (don’t be alarmed – it’s only used as an active for the leaveners/rising agents). This is a family recipe that we’ve used for ages and came in handy when buttermilk and other dairy was too costly for the weekly budget. Normally I would like to modernize a recipe like this but it turns out such magnificent banana bread that I’ve decided it needs no improvement before going on the blog. It’s worth getting the ingredients, I promise.

If you have bananas that are ripe, but not overripe then here’s a quick tip for you to ripen them the rest of the way in the oven. Obviously nothing is quite as good as time-ripened bananas, but this will do in a pinch. However, keep in mind that this isn’t a miracle trick. If you have green bananas without enough natural sugar developed already this isn’t going to work. You’ll just end up with hot bananas. But if they’re reasonably ripe and sweet to eat, then this will save you from having to wait that extra week before you get to make banana bread!

Start by lining a baking sheet with parchment paper and place your bananas. I cut off the stems so there’s room for steam to escape without splitting. You can also give them a quick (and safe) stab with a paring knife. As a side note: I recently learned that you can buy pre-cut FLAT parchment paper and my life is forever changed. I will never go back to rolled parchment ever again. You can find them here!

Preheat your oven to 300ºF and bake for 40 minutes. They should be squishy inside their skins if you poke them with a spoon and look like this:

More preparation:

You’ll want to be conscious of the pan you choose to use when baking the banana bread. Not having a long history of baking myself, it took me a while to figure out why the crusts of my sugary bread (like banana bread) were extra dark and a little bitter by the time they were fully cooked. Turns out the pan I was using was TOO DARK. Nonstick and dark-colored pans retain heat, just like cars and dark T-shirts. Duh. Silly me. I’m having flashbacks to Bill Nye’s lessons on thermodynamics. But now I know. Here’s an example of the pans I used and their outcomes:

So as you can see on the left I used a darker pan and on the right I used a raw aluminum pan. They were in the same oven at the same temperature for the same amount of time. The loaf on the left has a dark, almost burnt caramelized edge, especially around the top, and the one on the right has a much more consistently golden brown crust. The more sugar there is in your bread, the darker the dark pan will make it – and in the case of pound cake and sweet breads, dark can mean just plain bitter. My example also shows a significant size difference. Rise can be affected by how quickly the outside of a loaf bakes, but in this case I think the largest difference lies in how much I filled each pan. My nonstick pan is a little smaller.

Long story short, if you’re like me and you didn’t know your pan was ruining your bakes, try out these pans and see how much your breads improve! The aluminum pans I used can be found here!

Now that I’ve gotten all that preemptive babble out of the way, here’s the steps for making your own amazing Mistral Banana Bread!

Step 1:

Grease 2 large aluminum loaf pan and set aside. Preheat the oven to 350ºF.
In a large mixing bowl combine flour, baking powder, baking soda, dry milk and salt. Set aside.

Step 2:

In an electric stand mixer or large mixing bowl with electric hand mixer beat together butter and sugar until it lightens in color and looks fluffy. Add the egg, water, and vinegar and mix to combine. Gradually beat in ripe bananas until no large chunks remain. Add wet ingredients to the dry ingredients and mix with a wooden spoon or Danish dough whisk until combined. The mixture should be the consistency of a very thick batter. If it’s too thick or pasty, add 1 tablespoon of water at a time until the correct consistency is achieved.

If you’ve never heard of a Danish Dough Whisk, I couldn’t recommend one more. It gently and VERY efficiently mixes your dough so it’s fully combined without overmixing. Overmixing develops the gluten and causes your finished product to be tough, chewy and can hinder a good rise depending on the recipe. Not to mention it saves my wrists. I hated mixing stiff doughs because it was so hard on my wrists. For those of you who want easily mixed, wonderfully soft and not over-worked bakes you can get one of these whisks on Amazon for like $7. Link here!

Step 3:

Fill each loaf pan 1/2 to 2/3 full and bake for 50 minutes to 1 hour. When the bread is baked through it should be golden brown on top and a cake tester/knife/wooden skewer should come out clean. Allow to cool in the pan on a wire rack. If you want a less-done crust you can take the bread out while it’s still warm to cool on a wire rack. Allow to cool completely before cutting.

YUM. OMG. My house smells amazing.

Full recipe below

Ingredients:

2 cups flour (250g)
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
3 tablespoons nonfat dry milk
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/3 cup butter (75g)
2/3 cup sugar (134g)
1 egg
1/3 cup water (158ml)
1 teaspoon vinegar
3 overripe bananas (see tips above for ripening bananas in a pinch)
1/2 cup chopped walnuts
Nonstick spray or butter for greasing pans

1. Grease 2 large aluminum loaf pans and set aside. Preheat the oven to 350ºF.
   In a large mixing bowl combine flour, baking powder, baking soda, dry milk and salt. Set aside.
   
2. In an electric stand mixer or large mixing bowl with electric hand mixer beat together butter and sugar until it lightens in color and looks fluffy. Add the egg, water, and vinegar and mix to combine. Gradually beat in ripe bananas until no large chunks remain. Add wet ingredients to the dry ingredients and mix with a wooden spoon or Danish dough whisk until combined. Mix in walnuts, if using. The mixture should be the consistency of a very thick batter. If it’s too thick or pasty, add 1 tablespoon of water at a time until the correct consistency is achieved.
   
3. Fill each loaf pan 1/2 to 2/3 full and bake for 50 minutes to 1 hour. When the bread is baked through it should be golden brown on top and a cake tester/knife/wooden skewer should come out clean. Allow to cool in the pan on a wire rack. If you want a less-done crust you can take the bread out while it’s still warm to cool on a wire rack. Allow to cool completely before cutting.

Notes on Affiliate links: All shopping links in my recipes help support the blog. All links are things I use personally or are the closest possible modern equivalent of something that is discontinued.