Category Archives: Breads

Eliteam Banana Yogurt Bread

Good friends, good food.

Good friends, good food.

Hot from the oven. Mmmm mmm good!

Hot from the oven. Mmmm mmm good!

 

 

 

 

 

This recipe comes with a big shout out to Doug and Kelley Lewis who every summer for the past 24 years have psyched up the sportiest of sporty youths at their Eliteam training camps in Vermont (and now Park City). Doug is a two-time Olympic Downhill Racer and World Champ bronze medalist, so he’s got the creds. But he’s also got charisma, boundless energy, an infectious positive attitude and an equally impressively awesome wife Kelley who makes it all happen.

The camp challenges kids with ropes courses in the woods, climbing walls, agility and obstacle courses, mountain biking, yoga and team building. But Eliteam goes well beyond mere sweat and smiles. What gives Eliteam serious chops is its goal to develop healthy, confident, “complete” athletes by incorporating sports psychology, sports physiology and sports nutrition into the mix.

All this means that Doug could be the Patron Saint of Positive Snacks, a concept inspired by Positive Tracks  that we are all about. Here’s what he says on the topic: “As athletes, what they get out of their bodies on the race hill or on the field of play depends on what they put into their bodies. Nutrition is critical to performance. At ELITEAM we teach them the foundations of good nutrition so they are better informed when shopping, cooking and eating before training and competition. It would be such a waste of time to train so hard for an entire year and then sabotage your race day with a poorly planned breakfast.”

These photos from a recent camp session show athletes taking on the kitchen to make Yogurt Banana Bread, which is healthy and, as you can tell from the pictures,  fun to make. “The campers get a lot of pride eating what they baked,” says Kelley. “Plus it tastes soooooooo good!”

Campers-in-the-mix

FUN! It’s all part of the mix.

Camper-baker-boy

 

 

 

 

 

 

 
Ingredients

3/4 cup sugar
2 eggs
1/4 cup butter
1/4 cup applesauce
1 1/2 teaspoon vanilla
3/4 cup white flour
3/4 cup whole wheat flour
1 Tbsp wheat germ (optional)
1 Tbsp wheat bran or oat bran (optional)
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 cup mashed banana (approx. 2 large bananas)
1/2 cup Greek yogurt (plain or flavored)
1/4 cup chocolate chips (optional)
1/4 cup chopped walnuts (optional)

Method

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Grease or spray one 5×9 inch loaf pan. In a large bowl, cream butter, sugar, eggs, applesauce and vanilla.

Add all dry ingredients, then mashed bananas, yogurt, chocolate chips & nuts. Mix well and pout into prepared pan. Bake at 350 degrees for approximately one hour. Let cool, if you can. As Kelley reminds us this bread, like most, is best eaten right out of the oven when it is warm.  Enjoy!

Makes 1 large loaf.

 PS: Check out the Eliteamers at last year’s CHaD Hero Half event last fall. Teamshot

Positive Tracks  doubled their fundraising efforts for CHaD (Children’s Hospital at Dartmouth) and everyone got the chance to dress up in capes and work out. Want a piece of that? Then join them this October!

 

 

Bruschetta Deconstructed

toasted-toastsWe’re taking liberties and calling every iteration of tasty stuff delivered on small pieces of toast “bruschetta.” This is of course not a purist approach. Some of my all-time favorites in that family of apps are called “crostini” which is technically grilled bread. And many of the best bruschetta or crostini fixins are just as good on flatbread, pizza crust, tortillas, pita chips, baked mochi or really any other carb vehicle. They’re also good on planks of taro or sweet potatoes or even rolled up in a leaf of romaine for our paleo friends.

But because we don’t want to leave anyone hanging on how to make bruschetta, crostini or whatever you want to call it we are simply offering up a good basic method for making appetizer-worthy toasts, and an illuminating crostini blurb in Bon Appetit to help you avoid common mistakes that threaten to RUIN EVERYTHING, if you are so inclined to have toasts ruin anything in your life.

Ingredients

Take a loaf of Easiest French Bread Ever, or a store bought baguette-like loaf that is not too airy inside. You want to have a solid surface for toppings. Slice thin (1/2″ thick or less), but again remember this bread has a job to do, so it has to have some heft. Arrange as many slices as you can on a baking sheet by fitting them together with Tetrus-like space management. Brush lightly with olive oil and sprinkle some kosher salt over all.

Bake in a 350-400 degree oven until just beginning to brown. Oven temp is not critical, which allows you to bake these up while you are baking other things. Cooking time will vary according to temperature, but at 350 degrees start looking at the toasts after 15 minutes. Cool and use immediately or pack away for later.

Method

Its nice to have pre-made hors d’oeuvres, but sometimes its also nice to allow guest to create their own combinations…especially when you are short on time. If you go the DIY route just present a few pre-made masterpieces as a guide and offer each component with the proper implement.

First Layer: Here you are creating a base of flavor and also a barrier between the toast and toppings that are often steeped in juice or vinegar or something that could turn toast to mush on contact. A spreadable consistency for your base material makes your job easier and allows for build-your-own-options. Fancy, creamy, goat, blue and brie-like cheeses are great, as is plain old cream cheese mixed with herbs, spices, dried fruit or whatever sounds good to you. Whipped lemony feta à la Ina Garten is a good place to start as well.

Second Layer: This is the really good stuff. Pickled figs, tomatoes and fresh herbs, caponata, marinated fruit, citrusy/herb-infused anything. Insert purr sound here. There are so many possibilities, including the ever-popular and oh-so-easy Funitella Bruschetta.

Third Layer: This is all about crunch. Toasted nuts or seeds, a pinch of something salty, fried, candied or otherwise decadent (turn away Sue…pssst–crumbled bacon!) Pull out whatever favorite topper is in your pantry arsenal. Steal an idea from the “pickled fig crostini” and keep a small stash of your favorite toasted nuts, chopped fine then lubed up with olive oil and a sprinkle of salt. That’s a worthy topper for pretty much anything, unless you hate nuts, in which case you might want to avoid anything I bring.

Bring it!

Pack the toasts in a good ziploc bag, and bring all other mixtures in their own separate sealed travel containers, or covered serving bowls. Make sure the crispy/crunchy stuff is isolated to maintain its mojo. And don’t forget the serving tray, spreaders, spoons and knives if needed.

Easiest French Bread Ever

RED ALERT NOTE! This was originally published with the wrong flour measurement. It is corrected here, and please accept my sincere apologies for the gluteny messes that ensued from mistake.  I owe y’all some bread flour!

The title says it all. If you are intimidated by the thought of making bread, but you really like the idea of busting out homemade bread, start here! It is a no knead bread that takes way less time than other bread recipes, and, like the very best friends, is totally low maintenance. You can cut the second rise time,  leave it in the loaf pans way too long, manhandle it into the unruliest looking loaves imaginable and it still turns out tasty. And whose going to complain about looks when you bring fresh bread? That’s right–nobody!

Ingredients:

  • 6 cups bread flour
  • 1 Tbsp EACH sugar, salt (a little less) and instant yeast
  • 3 cups warm water

Method:

Mix in large bowl—it will be wet enough that you only have to use a wooden spoon.  Mix until [wet] ball forms. Don’t waste time over mixing and do not knead.  Cover with towel and let rise about 1 1/2 hours.

rising-dough-french-breadDough is risen and ready to be punched/shaped.

 

French-loaves-rising 

Very imperfect loaves rising in their pan

Sprinkle dough liberally with more flour. Punch down and divide the mass in ball-like halves. It’ll still be wet and will get your hands goopy. Grab one ball at a time and pull/shape/plop it onto a French bread loaf pan coated with non-stick spray (or give the ozone layer a break and just wipe it with some vegetable oil. Let loaves rise about another hour. If it overflows just fold the overflow back over the loaf. * Trust the process. It’ll be fine, though you may have funky shaped loaves the first few times.

French-bread-baked

Golden and delicious. Turn your back and there’s already a piece missing.

Preheat oven to 450 degrees.  Bake about 20 minutes or until it’s deep golden brown. Let cool in pan and then gently pry it out with a small spatula or metal frosting spreader.

As mentioned above some of us have fudged the timing mightily— roughly wrestled over-risen loaves back in their place; cooked it too long or brought it partially baked and finished it by warming it at the place we are visiting. It’s always a hit. The only must is that you get the French or Italian bread pan. It’s a $20 investment that will change your life…or somebody else’s life if you give them a pan along with a freshly baked loaf. Mmmmmm–Good idea!

*At this point if you realize your math was off and what were you thinking–pick-up is in an hour!– just pop the pan in the fridge and come back to it.

Bring it!

Make it a double gift by bringing it in its own loaf pan (see above), or wrap it in a nice dishtowel and wedge it into the bag of whatever else is making the trip.