Banana Chocolate - Curry Pecan Quickbread

Yes, you read that correctly, curry in quick bread.  When I saw it, well you know me, I had to try it!  This recipe comes from the Last American Baker blog.  If you're not following it you should.  Danny Klecko is funny and honest and I love hearing about his adventures in baking and life in general.

Here's a link to the recipe (and hence the blog, have it sent to you by email like I do):
French Women and Quick Breads

The recipe calls for curry.  The only curry I stock is vindaloo which is quite spicy.  Dave and I like spice.  I like cayenne in my chocolate so I'm thinking vindaloo in this quick bread can't be all bad!

It also calls for chocolate "chunks."  I had chocolate chips.  I used those.

The recipe is pretty simple, mix the dry ingredients, mix the wet ingredients, mix the wet into the dry without over mixing and put it in your baking vessel.  Over-mixing, I learned from the blog, creates unwanted gluten.  Too much gluten and you don't get that nice light crumb to the bread.

The aroma of just the dry ingredients was surprising to me.  I'm not sure why, but I didn't expect it to smell so good!  I even called my husband over to take a whiff.  His reaction "wow, that smells good."  You can smell the curry but also the cinnamon and ginger, an amazing mix of aromas!


Mr. Klecko uses a "foil form."  I don't have one of those so I used my trusty stoneware loaf pan.

I love how Mr. Klecko describes how long to bake the bread, "How long does it bake?  Until it's done.....ba-bum-bum......"  He also called those who bake quick breads at 325 or 350 "cretins."  Not wanting to be a cretin I baked according to his methods, 400 degrees for the first 10 minutes then 350 until it was done!

What he failed to tell us was how long we had to wait until we could slice and eat it.  I did wait the standard 10 minutes before removing it from the pan.  Then I set the timer for 15 minutes (honestly it was as long as I thought I could wait!) then sliced it.

This is good!  You taste the banana and chocolate first, then the cinnamon and ginger hit you then, wait, what's that?  Curry!  I used a spicy curry so it took a bit but there it is on the back of your tongue, that hit of heat.  This cannot stay in the house or I'll eat the whole loaf in one day!

I've never actually met Danny Klecko but I hope to in May.  On the 18th St. Agnes Bakery in St. Paul is hosting the St. Paul Bread Club Bakeoff and I'm going to enter.  Not sure which bread/bun yet but with a little encouragement via Facebook from Mr. Klecko and my friend Tami, I think I'm going to try it!