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May 03, 2014

Banana Yeasted Sandwich Bread

Blogging Marathon# 40: Week 1/ Day 1
Theme: Yeast Breads
Dish: Banana Yeasted Sandwich Bread
We are back to the regular weeking marathons this month. It has been quite a roller coaster ride exploring the dishes from all the Indian states. So I'm taking a short break from Indian food and decided to bake some yeast breads for the first week of Blogging Marathon# 40.
My husband bought me this Bread maker recently. He wanted to buy one a while back, but I was resisting the idea -- didn't want to clutter the kitchen with another appliance. But when it went on sale couple of months ago, we went ahead and bought it. Since then we have stopped buying bread unless it is absolutely necessary and I bake about 2 loaves of bread every week.
But what I found out was that the bread baked in the machine is rather unsightly -- awkwardly large and has a gaping hole in the bottom. I couldn't even pull myself to take a picture of that monstrosity -- don't get me wrong, it tastes amazing, but it is just not camera ready (you know what I mean.. right!!!!)
Banana Yeasted Sandwich Bread

My husband does not agree with me and there have been (and will be in the future too) many arguments about it. I have started to use the 'Dough Cycle' in the bread maker, which means it mixes all the ingredients and also the first rise happens in the bread machine. I take it out after the 1st rise, shape it into whatever shape bread I'm making and let it rise 2nd time and then bake it in the regular oven. It took me couple of trials to figure what setting to use on the machine and now I'm slowly getting used to my new bread machine.
But for this week's marathon, I used my stand mixer to mix the ingredients and baked the loaves in the oven. Our requirements for bread are quite simple: it has to be soft (not chewy or crunchy) and should be relatively easy to make. So 9 out of 10 times I bake in my 9"x5" loaf pan and the remaining 1 time shape into a boule or other bread shape.
Banana Yeasted Sandwich Bread
We buy bananas every week, even if we haven't finished the ones from the previous week. So of course there's an excess of bananas and I'm ALWAYS looking for ways to use them. One such looking, led me to this Banana Yeasted Sandwich bread recipe on King Arthur Flour's website (did I tell you how much I love KAF, look at all the recipes I made from their site).
Banana Yeasted Sandwich Bread
This is a soft and has almost white bread like texture with no discernible smell or taste of banana. I think banana only contributes to the texture and not to the taste of the bread. A must try for all bread bakers who have extra bananas. I added 1 cup of whole wheat flour to bump up the fiber.
Bread tastes great with some butter and jam. It even tastes good with savory fillings and as sandwich bread. It is also perfect to use in French Toast. I didn't have left over this time, but the next time I'm definitely going to make some French Toast
Banana Yeasted Sandwich Bread
Recipe adapted from King Arthur Flour site:
Ingredients:
Bread Flour - 2cups
White wholewheat flour - 1cup (or use 3 cups of bread flour)
Butter - 2tbsp, at room temperature
Milk - 1cup, lukewarm
Instant Yeast - 2¼tsp
Honey - 2tbsp
Salt - 1tsp
Banana - 1 medium size, mashed, about ¾cup

Method:
  • In a large mixing bowl or in the bowl of the stand mixer, combine all the ingredients to form a shaggy dough. Knead for 5 minutes (by mixer) or 10 minutes (by hand) until the dough is smooth and pliable. Place in a lightly greased bowl and allow to rise for 1 hour.
  • Transfer the dough to a lightly oiled surface and shape it into a log. Place the log into a lightly greased 8½"x4½" loaf pan (I used a 9"x5" loaf pan), cover with plastic wrap or a plastic shower cap and allow to rise for 45 minutes to 1 hour, until it is full and rounded.
  • Preheat the oven to 350°F.
  • Bake the bread for 35~40 minutes or until an instant read thermometer inserted into the center of the bread reads 190°F. If the bread appears to be browning too quickly, then tent it with a aluminum foil for the final 10 minutes of baking.
Banana Yeasted Sandwich BreadBanana Yeasted Sandwich Bread
Lets check out what my fellow marathoners have cooked today for BM# 40.
Linking this to this week's Fabulous Feast Friday# 13 being hosted by Sandhya & Mir.
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12 comments:

  1. Thanks for the recipe, might try this weekend. Will let u know the outcome.

    However one question. I generally read ur blog on my rss reader when I have free time in office. I can't read it fully because u do not share the complete content of ur article, just the introduction to it. Is there is reason to it? Since all the other sites are blocked I miss up on so many great recipes. Would u mind sharing the entire content please!

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  2. Bread came out extremely prefect with a beautiful crust and wonderful texture..Wish i could start my day with it.

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  3. Looks perfect Pavani! Now that I have got a yeast that works beautifully I am definitely trying this recipe...

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  4. Great crust and crumb you got on the bread. Lovely loaf.

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  5. Wow Pavani, ever since I saw this on FB I was so tempted to check out...I don't have a bread machine..wish I could bake it as such otherwise too...

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  6. I refrained from buying the bread m/c for just the reason you mentioned, Pavani. I have in fact started using the stand mixer and my hands are itching to make breads at home. I shall surely use this recipe to begin with. The bread looks tempting with a nice dome and crust!

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  7. you are a fantastic bread slicer. Mine always become uneven halfway through the loaf. I used banana to make rolls once and they were great. This must make a super soft bread loaf

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  8. Now I have a recipe to use up my excess bananas. They are so well done Pavani. :)

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  9. Such a lovely bread.....love the clicks !!

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  10. Looks lovely. I tried a no knead banana sandwich bread for the event.
    I bought a bread machine many years ago while my husband kept complaining why did I need one when people hardly ate bread at home. I don't blame him since even the small sized one I got cost around $200. Now I regret buying the small sized one as it gives me a small sized, tasty loaf with a hole at the bottom as you mentioned. Probably I need to try your method of using the bread machine for kneading and baking in the oven. How do you work out the oven temperatures if using a bread machine recipe and a convection oven?

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    Replies
    1. Oven temperature is usually 350F for baking most of the breads unless noted otherwise. Yes, I find using the dough cycle much more convenient than baking the unsightly bread in the machine :-)

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