Mango Bread

I bought  a case of mangoes the other day because they were such a good price but, as it turns out, I'm the only one in the house who will eat them.  So, determined not to waste them, I decided to try making Mango Bread.  I looked at several recipes on the internet, as well as Dorie Greenspan's version, however I wanted a more basic recipe, and because no one appears to be crazy about mangoes in my house (besides me, that is) I didn't want large chunks of the fruit in my bread.  I wanted a texture similar to banana bread, moist and dense.

There are a lot of recipes out there for Hawaiian Mango Bread containing coconut and pineapple, but I wanted none of that.  I found a few very basic recipes and decided to try it work from them, making my own adjustments.

When I asked my husband what he thought (and you have to understand that he really is a man of few words, particularly if he's watching hockey) he said "good" "light" and "moist".  When I pushed him on "good" to see if he would elevate it to "great", he said "no". He was right though, it wasn't great.  I'm not sure what he meant by "light" because I thought it was on the dense side, unless he was referring to flavor, in which case I would have to agree.

I am going to tackle this recipe again at the end of the week. I want the mangoes to play a more prominent role and I want it to be "great". 

Mango Bread - a work in progress

2 1/2 cups of finely chopped mango

2 T. freshly squeezed lemon juice

1 c. all purpose flour

1 c. whole wheat flour

1/2 t. cinnamon

1/2 t. salt

1 1/4 c. sugar

3 eggs

3/4 c. canola oil

1 1/2 t. baking powder

I really was happy with the texture of this bread, it was very moist.  It was just lacking a bit of flavor.  I deliberately used a small amount of cinnamon because I find that it overwhelms things quickly, and unless I'm eating apple pie or crumble, I don't want a lot of cinnamon.

As much as I hate to admit it, I think the whole wheat flour may have masked the flavor of the mango.  Next time I'll just use 2 cups of all purpose. (So much for my attempt to be health conscious!)

I will try using brown sugar instead of white and maybe even using butter instead of oil, but that may compromise the moistness. Have to think about that.

I think a touch more salt would help elevate the flavors and I completely forgot my vanilla, so I will be adding a generous tablespoon next time.

Also, because the bread didn't raise much, might add more baking powder.  

That's a lot of changes!  It almost sounds like it didn't turn out at all.  It's actually not bad at all, I won't be throwing it away... but I think it will be so much better when I'm done with it.  Will keep you posted (ha ha!)