Fearless

There's a Christian pop song I've had stuck in my head all week called "Fearless" by Jasmine Murray. It says "everything I've been fighting against/ I'm gonna lift it up/ I wanna be fearless". It reminds me to lift up all the things that have been getting in my way, all the struggles, all the doubts, all the people, all the things that happen in life. Lift them up to God and take them off of my shoulders so I can let go and be FEARLESS - it makes for a much lighter and nicer walk with God.

Today I wanted to take that fearlessness and apply it to my baking. I made a banana bread, but I didn't want to make the same one I always make by Chef In Training (which is by far one of the best recipes). I wanted to do something a bit different by substituting ingredients; some because it was fun, some because I didn't have an ingredient on hand. I ended up making Blueberry Almond Protein Wheat Banana Bread. The name is very long, but I like people to know what's in it. Thankfully I have patient friends.. and I also just tell everyone "Banana Bread" haha. The ingredients below are from the original recipe and in parenthesis are the substitutions I made.

-2 eggs
-1/3 cup buttermilk (whole milk)
-1/2 cup vegetable oil (organic extra virgin olive oil)
-1 cup mashed bananas
-1 cup white sugar (white sugar flavored with a vanilla bean I had sitting in with the sugar)
-1/2 cup brown sugar
-1 tsp vanilla
-1 3/4 cup flour (1 cup local whole wheat flour, 1/4 cup all purpose flour, 1/2 cup vanilla protein powder)
-1 tsp baking soda
-1/2 tsp salt

(I also added 1/2 cup or so of thawed frozen blueberries and 1/4 cup or so of sliced almonds, and baked the bread in a 9x9 ceramic dish)

Yes, all plates float above the table when they are photographed outside with delicious food on top

Not too many substitutions, just using what I had on hand and adding my own flair to it. My main goal for this bread was to test out protein powder in place of regular flour. It turned out well, albeit a bit crispy on top. The protein powder was subbed for the same ratio of flour although I think I should be able to use a little more protein powder next time like a 1.5:1 ratio perhaps. I didn't think it would mess up, I just mixed it up as the directions said, poured it in the pan and chose a cooking time to start with (25 minutes first, then another 20... should have been another 15-17). I wasn't nervous, probably because I had made the original recipe a few times. I was able to let go and just test the recipe. I was able to be fearless. This is what I need to do when trying completely new recipes so that I can be ok if something doesn't turn out quite how I wanted it to/or thought it would. Perfectionist here!

Unfortunately, the éclairs I made two weeks ago did not come out exactly as planned. After researching multiple recipes, going to bakeries, and watching endless YouTube videos... ok, one video a bunch of times in a row... the custard filling was a bit stiff and the actual dough was too small/flat to fit the filling all the way through. But I just went for it. I did it. I took all my fears and lifted them up to God so that I could just work and make the éclairs. Next time I'll make the dough larger and let it cool in the oven with the heat off. I'll also not cook the custard so long. At least all of the parts (dough, custard, and topping) tasted great!

This week I am working with yeast for the first time (second if you count my attempt at brioche dough-not even gonna go there). I am making a classic German dish called Bienenstich for a very wonderful German couple, Herman and Elke, that are Millstone regulars. They make it fun to work there as they are very appreciative and very honest with their feedback. Hopefully I will be FEARLESS and it will go well.

Stay tuned and Happy Baking!