Sunday Bread

Breakfast today is delicious banana bread, along with freshly brewed coffee. Both prepared by my talented husband. Few sounds make me happier than the whir of the coffee grinder on a Sunday morning while I'm still buried under the covers. And few treats make me happier than his homemade banana bread.

Jeff has become a bit of celebrity at my office, mostly due to his superb baking abilities. He regularly bakes Amish Friendship bread*, so often in fact, that there is no way the two of us could ever eat it all. My coworkers have become the lucky recipients of this tasty treat. If you work in an office, you know that any home-baked treats disappear as soon as they are placed on the break room table. It is no different when Jeff's Amish Friendship bread arrives.

I unwrap it from its aluminum foil package, set it on a plate, place a knife and a post-it saying "Help yourself" alongside and in under an hour the treat is gone. His bread is so popular and is devoured so quickly that the folks in Accounting on the first floor are often too late, arriving only to find a plate of crumbs and a few stray grains of cinnamon and sugar. I've taken to notifying them by email so they won't be left out.

And as delectable as his Amish Friendship bread is, his banana bread is even better. So much so, that I will not share. He has tried to hand me a loaf as I'm heading off to work, but, I'm embarrassed to say, I've refused, wanting to keep all the delicious goodness for my self. It is shameful, I know.

*Amish Friendship Bread requires a "starter". If you'd like one, let me know and I'll see what I can do, or you can follow this recipe. I'm afraid copyright restrictions don't allow me to share the recipe for Jeff's Banana Bread, which can be found in The Bread Bible by Rose Levy-Beranbaum.