Rapha Cooks: Quick breads

In this second installment of our series focused on the edible, Mr. Card once again outdoes himself to ensure that you are fully fueled before and during your ride. These quick breads can easily be sliced down to jersey pocket size for easy access to a delicious mid-ride snack. Enjoy.

Words and Recipe by Matt Card

While last month’s Rice and Beans is for post-ride recovery, what should you eat before or during the ride? I’ve never been much for fake food, overly engineered bars, gels, and potions with which many of us fuel our rides with. Sure, they have their place, but I’d much rather eat something real and palatable—to be enjoyed, not choked down. Admittedly, a gel shot is easier to consume than a sandwich mid-pack in a heated race, but there are countless rides in which there’s all the time in the world to enjoy a snack.

Many of you out there make do with peanut butter sandwiches, but after offloading the better part of one all over myself during a time trial 15-odd years ago, I haven’t been able to get near the stuff when riding (I did manage to make the podium that day, despite it all, and was awarded my winnings by Greg Lemond, who likely didn’t notice the nutty, crumbly bits still clinging to my legs.)

An endurance singlespeed racer I know stuffs his pockets with hard-boiled eggs, German sausages, and circus peanuts, those sticky confections of unknown provenance. Portland’s hard man, Eric Tonkin, appears to live on nothing but nutella—straight from the jar—and raw cookie dough. A Vermonter I once trained with routinely stopped mid-ride for ice cream—a whole pint of the stuff. And he’d still handily beat me up every climb.

My tastes are a little more pedestrian. If I’m on the road, I lean towards pop tarts (brown sugar, please) or Snickers bars. If I’ve planned ahead and baked something to bring, it’ll typically be a fruit-and-nut studded quick bread. They take very little time to prepare, pack plenty of calories, and have flavor enough to make the miles less monotonous.

One of the simplest baked goods you can prepare, quick breads take little more than a bowl, pot, spatula, and loaf pan and ingredients that any cupboard should have. Two varieties I commonly prepare include banana-walnut (spiked with cardamom), and pumpkin loaded up with hazelnuts and dried cherries.

Success lies in preparation. First of all, it’s important to coax as much flavor out of the ingredients as possible. In most instances, I’ll brown the butter to intensify its flavor before incorporating it into the batter and toast the nuts a light brown to bring out their best. I add at least double the vanilla most recipes add and far more spices. For banana bread, the bananas, if not deeply speckled and squishy, can be roasted to concentrate their flavor.

Secondly, it’s important to have a light hand when mixing the batter. The wet and dry ingredients are blended independently, then barely combined; a spray or two of unincorporated flour is perfect. Overmixing, which generates gluten (the protein that lends bread its chewiness) leads to toughness and a dense texture.

While the breads taste perfectly fine eaten individually, there’s nothing like gilding the lily, right? And when you’re ticking away the miles in the cold, the more calorific, the better. To that end, I like cream cheese spiked with honey and spices. Takes a minute to prepare and works well sandwiching slices of either bread together.

Banana Bread with Cardamom and Walnuts
Makes 1 loaf

If you don’t have spotty, ripe bananas on hand, you can improve the flavor of less ripe bananas by roasting them. Simply place unpeeled bananas on a rimmed baking sheet and roast at 400 degrees until completely blackened (flipping midway through), 20 to 30 minutes.

• 7 tablespoons unsalted butter
• 1 ½ teaspoons ground cardamom
• 2 cups all-purpose flour
• ¾ teaspoon baking soda
• ½ teaspoon salt
• ½ cup white sugar
• ¼ cup brown sugar
• 1 cup walnuts, toasted
• 1 cup cranberries or raisins
• 3 to 4 very ripe bananas, mashed
• 1/3 cup whole-milk yoghurt
• 1 tablespoon vanilla
• 2 eggs

1. Adjust oven rack to middle position and heat oven to 350 degrees. Liberally grease a 9 by 5-inch loaf pan.
2. Melt butter in saucepan over medium-high heat. Cook, stirring frequently, until nutty, golden brown, 4 to 7 minutes. Remove from heat, add cardamom, and cool for 5 minutes.
3. Combine flour, baking soda, salt, and sugars in bowl, then mix in walnuts, and cranberries. To cooled butter, add bananas, yogurt, vanilla, and eggs; whisk to combine. Fold wet ingredients into dry ingredients until just combined (small pockets of flour are okay). Transfer mixture to greased loaf pan, smooth batter with spatula and bake until firm, golden, and just pulling away from sides of pan, 50 to 60 minutes. Allow to cool 10 minutes in pan, then slide out and cool on wire rack.

Pumpkin, Hazelnut, and Dried Cherry Bread
Makes 1 loaf

Make sure to purchase pumpkin puree, not pumpkin pie filling (which comes spiced). While the nuts can be toasted stovetop over medium heat (and stirred frequently to prevent scorching), the oven is far safer. Simply spread the nuts on a baking sheet and toast them while you prepare the rest of the batter.

• 7 tablespoons unsalted butter
• 2 cups all-purpose flour
• 1 teaspoon baking soda
• ½ teaspoon salt
• ½ cup white granulated sugar
• 1/3 cup brown sugar
• 1 cup hazelnuts, toasted
• 1 cup dried cherries
• 1 16-ounce can pumpkin puree
• ½ cup whole-milk yogurt
• 1 tablespoon vanilla extract
• 2 eggs

1. Adjust oven rack to middle position and heat oven to 350 degrees. Liberally grease a 9 by 5-inch loaf pan.
2. Melt butter in saucepan over medium-high heat. Cook, stirring frequently, until nutty, golden brown, 4 to 7 minutes. Remove from heat and cool for 5 minutes.
3. Combine flour, baking soda, salt, and sugars in bowl, then mix in hazelnuts and cherries. To cooled butter, add pumpkin, yogurt, vanilla, and eggs; whisk to combine. Fold wet ingredients into dry ingredients until just combined (small pockets of flour are okay). Transfer mixture to greased loaf pan, smooth batter with spatula and bake until firm, golden, and just pulling away from sides of pan, about 50 to 60 minutes. Allow to cool 10 minutes in pan, then slide out and cool on wire rack.

Honey-Cinnamon Cream Cheese
Makes about 1 cup

The cream cheese stores well for up to one week in an airtight container in the refrigerator.

• 8 ounces cream cheese
• ½ teaspoon vanilla
• ¼ teaspoon, plus a pinch of ground cinnamon
• Pinch salt
• 2 tablespoons honey
• 1 tablespoon brown sugar

Combine all ingredients in food processor and process until combined (Alternatively, mix together well in mixing bowl). Refrigerate until needed.