What to do with that bag of self-rising flour…

Before she moved to Africa, my friend Sam gave me several bags of flour, including this bag of self-rising flour.  And when she did, I had no idea what I would do with it.  My thrifty side wanted to do something with it, but I had never, ever used it.  It’s a foreign ingredient to me.

The truth is that self-rising flour is about as versatile as you’ll allow it to be.  As I try to use it up, I’m working off the assumption that one cup of this flour contains 0.5 teaspoons of salt and 1.5 teaspoons of baking powder, as defined by this recipe.  I thought it was a reasonable standard, and it’s the same ingredient list on my bag.  (And the flour in self-rising flour is just all-purpose wheat flour—simple, right?)

I’ve bookmarked this recipe for fluffy pancakes as my next project with this flour—I’ll use that recipe as a template, but I’ll mix in some other flours as well for nutritional reasons.  I like carbs as much as the next person, but I also like not being flattened by low blood sugar.

Meanwhile, I’ve made a loaf of banana bread that is now, sadly, history.  It was completely delicious, which isn’t surprising since I adapted it from a Smitten Kitchen recipe.  I used Deb’s base, tinkering with it slightly to use my self-rising flour, and I added chocolate chips and granola to make it interesting.  After that, my friend Tonya suggested slathering slices with butter, and how could I resist that idea? 

I couldn’t.  That’s the answer.

I don’t bake banana bread very often, but it’s a lovely thing to do during these weeks of unexpected free time.  I start my new job on Thursday, so this week my goal is to get myself and my kitchen geared up for the 9-to-5 life again.  It’s been so long that I can barely remember how to pack my lunch!  Wish me luck.

Unemployed Banana Bread or Banana Bread with Granola and Chocolate Chips

Recipe adapted from Smitten Kitchen’s Crackly Banana Bread

Makes 1 9-inch round cake pan

I think this bread could very easily be vegan.  I’d give it the ol’ flax egg treatment by whisking two tablespoons of ground flaxseed with three tablespoons of water, letting it sit for a few minutes, and then whisking that mixture into the bananas.  If and when I get around to a vegan version, I’ll report back in the comments.

3 medium or large ripe bananas

1 egg

1/3 cup melted coconut oil

1/3 cup granulated sugar

1/4 cup maple syrup

1 tsp. vanilla extract

1/4 tsp. baking soda

1 tsp. ground cinnamon

1/4 tsp. freshly grated nutmeg

Pinch of cloves

3/4 cup self-rising flour

3/4 cup whole-wheat flour

1/2 cup semi-sweet chocolate chips

1/4 cup granola (I used this one.)

1)  Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.  Grease a round 9-inch round cake pan with a bit of coconut oil.  (I just dribbled some oil into the pan and used a paper towel to wipe it around.)

2)  Place the bananas in a large bowl and use a potato masher to mash them into a mostly smooth consistency.  Whisk in the egg, then the oil, sugar, syrup, and vanilla.

3)  Sprinkle the baking soda, cinnamon, nutmeg, and cloves over the banana mixture and whisk.  Stir the flours into the wet ingredients, then stir in the chocolate chips and granola.

4)  Bake for 40-45 minutes.  Mine was perfectly done at 40 minutes on the dot.