SALT STICK BREAD RECIPES

Steps:

• Cream sugar, salt, and butter (or margarine) with a beater.
• Then add the 2 eggs and 3 mashed bananas to the above mixture and blend well.
• In a separate bowl, add baking soda plus the flour. Sift and mix.
• Add the dry ingredients to the creamed mixture (of sugar, salt, butter, and banana mixture). Mix all until just blended. Then add the chopped nuts.
• Pour batter into a greased loaf pan. Bake at 325 degrees for about 1 hour or until brown. You can stick a toothpick into the center and if it comes out clean, it's done. Do not overbake. Start checking with a toothpick as soon as it starts looking a little brown which will be at one hour.
• I like to drizzle a little powered sugar frosting over the top while it is still warm, or just spread a little butter over the top instead. I prefer, the drizzle of frosting; however. It is a wonderful bread and the best banana bread I have ever eaten. My grandmother clipped it out of the Omaha World Herald newspaper around 1958.

Steps:

• Mix the yeast with 300ml warm water in a large bowl. Leave to sit for 5 mins until the yeast is super bubbly then tip in the flour, salt and olive oil. Bring the mixture together into a soft dough. Don’t worry if it looks a little rough round the edges.
• Tip the dough onto a lightly floured work surface. Knead for 5-10 mins until you have a soft, smooth and elastic dough. Try to knead using as little extra flour as possible, just enough so that the dough doesn’t stick – this will keep the pittas light and airy. Once kneaded, place in a lightly oiled bowl, cover with a tea towel and leave to double in size, approximately 1 hour.
• Heat oven as high as it will go (ideally 250C/230C fan/gas 9) and put a large baking tray on the middle shelf of the oven to get searingly hot. Divide the dough into eight balls then flatten each into a disc with the palm of your hand. On a lightly floured surface, roll each disc into an oval, around 20cm long, 15cm wide and 3-5mm thick.
• Carefully remove the hot tray from the oven. Dust with flour then place your pittas directly onto it – you may have to do this in batches. Return swiftly to the oven and bake for 4-5 mins, or until the pittas have puffed up and are a pale golden colour. Wrap each hot pitta in a clean tea towel once it's baked to keep it soft while the others cook.