By Request

BETTY SHIMABUKURO

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Moist banana bread has
benefit of nutritious fruit

The great thing about banana bread is that you can convince yourself you're consuming the nutritive value of a fruit -- never mind the sugar and shortening (read that: fat) that also are part of the loaf.

It's a lovely rationalization, especially when offered a particularly moist and luscious slice. Or two or three.

Deanna Quinet was impressed by the bread basket offered during a seminar at the Hawaii Prince Hotel Waikiki. "For breakfast we were served muffins, banana bread, carrot bread, and all of them were extremely moist." She asked for a recipe for one of the breads.

Göran Streng, executive chef for the Prince, credits the use of bread flour for the moistness of the banana bread.

Our nutrition consultant, Joannie Dobbs, says bread flour has more protein than all-purpose flour, which strengthens the bread's structure, allowing for a heavier, more moist loaf without falling.

Other than that, the recipe looks like most banana breads and ought to be just as easy to bake up. Per loaf it has a bit less oil and sugar than most.

So, happy rationalizing.

Hawaii Prince Banana Bread

7-1/2 large bananas, about 4 cups mashed
2-1/2 cups sugar
1-1/4 cups vegetable oil
3 medium eggs, beaten
4-1/2 cups bread flour
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
2 teaspoons baking soda
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

Combine mashed bananas with sugar, oil and eggs; mix about 5 minutes. Gradually add flour, baking powder and baking soda; mix until well incorporated. Add salt and vanilla.

Distribute dough evenly into 2 loaf pans. Bake 45 minutes to an hour, until a pick inserted into the center comes out clean. Makes 4 loaves.

Approximate nutritional analysis, per slice, based on 12 slices per loaf: 150 calories, 6 g total fat, 0.5 g saturated fat, 10 mg cholesterol, 110 mg sodium, 23 g carbohydrate, 2 g protein.*

Food Stuffs: Morsels

Send queries along with name and phone number to:
"By Request," Honolulu Star-Bulletin,
500 Ala Moana, No. 7-210, Honolulu 96813.
Or send e-mail to bshimabukuro@starbulletin.com

Asterisk (*) after nutritional analyses in the Body & Soul section indicates calculations by Joannie Dobbs of Exploring New Concepts, a nutritional consulting firm.