521. yeasted banana sandwich bread

magic fruit

   Who would have ever thought that banana can be used along with yeast to make a delicious bread? I didn't.... till Aparna of  'We Knead to Bake' challenged us to bake one for September. I thought "that's going to be a sweet bread, so how come its a sandwich bread?" However, the bread was not sweet and besides the slight banana taste, its like any normal bread but with a soft inside and crispy crust. As soon as the loaf came out of the oven, I wanted to slice it straight away because of the delicious aroma. However, had to resist the urge but after 20 minutes just had to slice it. The warm bread was an excellent accompaniment to a wholesome soup. There are many other ingredients that can be added to the bread like nuts, chocolate, coffee, seeds, dried or fresh fruit, spices, oatmeal, caramel, honey etc.I decided to leave my plain.
   I browsed through a few recipes to just make sure that mashed bananas were not added to the flour. When we bake quick breads, muffins, cakes, scones, cookies, the banana is mashed up into a puree. Bananas were cut into pieces. 
  Banana is definitely a magic fruit. It fills you up when you are hungry. Its packed with loads of goodness. It gives energy, regulates blood sugar, improves mood and reduces PMS symptoms, rich in potassium, its regulates blood pressure Its used in baking and pancakes instead of eggs. 
  Check out the recipe for yeasted banana sandwich bread. Serve it with soup, make a sandwich, make french toast or just have a toasted slice with melted butter, jam or marmalade.
 Share your thoughts :
Do you use banana for cooking? What do you make with it?

my daughter's favourite, peanut butter and banana sandwich

YEASTED BANANA SANDWICH BREAD
1 loaf
Recipe source : King Arthur flour.com

2 cups wholewheat flour (atta)
1 cup plain flour (all purpose flour)
½ tbsp vital gluten (optional)
25g soft butter 
2 ¼ tsp instant dry active yeast
¾ - 1 cup warm milk
1 tsp salt
1 tbsp maple syrup or honey
2 medium bananas - peeled and chopped (approx. 1½ cups)

extra butter
extra flour
1 tbsp milk

1. Sift both the flours, gluten and salt together.
2. Add yeast, maple syrup, banana and milk to the flour.
3. Knead the dough using the machine or by hand.
4. I decided to knead the dough by hand. If the dough becomes sticky, add a bit of butter.
5. Keep on adding the butter little by little and knead the dough for 10 -15 minutes.
6. Grease a bowl with butter.
7. Form the dough into a ball. Rub little butter over it.
8. Place it in the bowl, cover with cling film or a cover and keep it in a warm place to rise.
9. It will take about 1½ - 2 hours for it to become double the size.
10. Gently knead the dough using a bit of extra flour.
11. Rest the dough for 10 minutes.
12. Pat the dough with your hand into a rough rectangle.
13. Roll it up like a log. Press the seams. Tuck in the ends.
14. Grease a loaf tin 8½" X 4½". I used a slightly bigger loaf tin.
15. Place the dough seam side down in the loaf tin. Press the dough to fill out the corners.
16. Let the dough rise in a warm place till its about an inch over the rim. This will take about 45 mins to 1 hr.
17. Preheat the oven to 200°C.
18. Gently brush milk over the top. At this stage I sprinkled some oatmeal over it.
19. Put the risen loaf in the oven to bake. 
20. After 10 minutes reduce the temperature to 180°C. Bake the loaf for 40 - 45 minutes till the crust is golden brown.
21. Remove the bread from the oven.
22. Take it out from the pan and let it cool on a wire rack. 

Tips:

• Use chopped bananas and not the puree. 
• When you place the dough in the loaf tin, cover it with a shower cap. This way the dough will not the cover.
• Add your choice of nuts, fruits, spices to the bread.
• Too much banana may result in a very soft dough.
• If you are using bread flour then you do not need to add gluten.

You may want to check out the following :

mango kolache

julekake

cemita buns

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