Amy's Yummy Banana Bread (Bread Machine)

Submitted by Sooty_Cat

"I developed this recipe initially through trial and error, and have now got it pretty well 'right'. My husband and in-laws love this! A few notes: you will need to keep an eye on the dough during mixing to make sure it isn't too wet. If it looks too wet, try adding 1 tbs of flour at a time until it looks like a rather wet ball of dough (it should be slightly wetter than ordinary bread dough). I also made this to be slightly more 'healthy' than other banana breads - so feel free to add a bit more butter if you feel the need to be decadent! EDIT: After one review, I realised that I should have said this is not intended to be a very sweet recipe; the main flavour should be the flavour of the banana. If you want to make it sweeter, use 1/2 cup of sugar, rather than the 1/4 cup specified."

 

• Ready In: 2hrs 45mins
• Ingredients: 9
• Serves: 8-10

ingredients

• 2 very ripe bananas, well mashed
• 1⁄4 cup sugar
• 1⁄3 cup butter
• 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
• 2 1⁄2 cups bread mix or 2 1/2 cups flour
• 1⁄2 cup water
• 1 teaspoon yeast, heaped

• optional

• 1⁄2 cup pecans (optional)
• 1⁄2 cup sultana (optional)

directions

1. Mash the bananas, and mix mashed bananas with butter, sugar and cinnamon.
2. Add all ingredients to bread machine pan in the order the manufacturer tells you to do so.
3. Turn bread machine on - use the 'sweet' cycle if yours has one. If not, you will need to watch out that the bread doesn't burn at the end.
4. Keep an eye on the dough as it's mixing - if it looks too sticky (it sometimes does), try adding a tablespoon of flour at a time til it looks right. Don't add more than this at a time, otherwise it may be too much!
5. If using, add the pecans and/or sultanas when the beeper sounds.
6. This recipe will never make a full size loaf for many bread machines, so don't worry if it doesn't look 'full'. If I want mine to rise a bit more I just turn the machine off just before it should bake for an extra 20 mins or so, then turn it back on and set it to 'bake only' for 40 minutes.
7. Check the bread after about 40 mins of baking - my bread maker has a tendency to burn this loaf if left in for longer than this.
8. Enjoy fresh and warm, cold, or toasted, with plenty of butter!

Reviews

[texasmommy1]

This is the worst banana bread recipe I have ever tried, and it is the worst bread machine recipe I have ever tried. It was not sweet at all, there was no banana flavor and it was gummy and tasted like glue. The recipe was followed very closely, and in all my years of making bread this is the ONLY bread recipe that turned out terribly.

 

[cookitupTeresa]

Great instructions. The loaf came out very moist and as suggested I let rise an extra 30 minutes and baked for 40 and had to add a bit more flour. My family felt it needed a bit more banana flavour though. I will try with maybe 3 bananas next time. Thank you for posting.

 

[The_Mick]

Thanks for this recipe, Amy! I used leftover walnuts and it was excellent! As someone who looks for recipes and first sorts them by rating, I'm upset at one rating here. This recipe would be rated 5 out of 5, on average, if someone who used Splenda instead of sugar, then complained, hadn't rated it 1 out of 5 even though he/she didn't follow the recipe!!! Splenda's own website says: "If using Splenda for baking, you need to be aware that sugar has a significant role in the texture and appearance of baked items. Thus, if substituting Splenda for sugar, only replace 1/2 of the sugar with Splenda (or use the Splenda baking blends)." Some sites with banana bread banana bread recipes using splenda (there are many) call for 2x as much splenda as this one calls for sugar - no wonder it wasn't sweet enough!

 

[Bill J.]

To counter the very first review, this is one of the best banana bread recipes I've ever tasted! How ingenious! As it usually is for me, I tweak every recipe. A pinch more yeast, 30% soy flour(I need the protein, due to bariatric surgery) and dried cranberries added when the machine beeps, make this bread delicious! Thank you for something different that's not too sweet!

 

[mrbreadmachine]

Great recipe. Tried it last night for the first time. Yum, had some for breakfast. How did any of you complainers manage to screw this up? Yes, a third banana is probably a good idea, although I got great flavor with two. Yes, the flour content needs to be a bit more, but gee whiz, I did what Amy recommends, took a look and added a few pinches, and all was well. Altitude, baro pressure, local humidity, all affect bread making. Phase of the moon probably does too. Don't blame Amy, you whiners. Just get your act together and do what's needed to produce good bread in your locale.