banana nut bread #2

I love my breadmaker machine! It was a wedding gift from my mother in 1998 and it is still in good working order. Ever since I started using it frequently to make bread, Da and I have not been buying bread from the confectioneries / supermarket.

I am constantly surfing the internet to look for bread recipes meant for breadmaker machines. However, I prefer to use the dough cycle in my breadmaker machine and bake the bread in the oven. I find that bread made this way tends to be softer in texture and will not harden as fast as when I make the bread from start to finish in the breadmaker machine. As such, I often adapt the recipes that I find on the internet as most breadmaker recipes are intended for bread that is made and baked in the breadmaker machine.

One of my favourite Gardenia bread is their banana walnut loaf. It is so hearty and it is good enough to be eaten on its own.

When I saw three small extremely overripe bananas at our kitchen counter, I thought of the Gardenia banana walnut loaf. The recipe in this post was adapted from a recipe that I found on the internet. The recipe that I found required the use of "all-purpose flour" but I prefer to use bread flour when I am baking bread. I also made some modifications to the other ingredients. The end result is a loaf of banana nut bread that is not as dense as the Gardenia banana walnut loaf but just as delicious. I could even smell the banana while the dough was being mixed in the breadmaker machine.

If you like your bread lightly toasted, I would recommend that you spread some butter or margarine on the bread before lightly toasting the bread in the oven.

INGREDIENTS

1 cup low-fat milk

2 tbsp butter (softened)

3 small ripe bananas (sliced)

2 tbsp castor sugar

1 tsp salt

1 tsp ground mixed spice / all-spice

1/2 cup raisins

1/4 cup chopped walnuts

1/4 cup chopped pecans

1 tbsp sunflower seeds

3 1/2 cups bread flour

2 1/2 tsp instant dry yeast

METHOD

1. Place all the ingredients (except the bread flour and the yeast) in the bucket of the breadmaker machine.

2. Add the bread flour, making sure that the wet ingredients are totally covered.

3. Add the yeast.

4. Place the bucket in the breadmaker machine and set to "dough" cycle. Start the cycle.

5. When the cycle has been completed, remove the bucket from the breadmaker machine and turn the dough onto a floured board. Using floured hands, knead the dough 5 times.

6. Place the dough in a loaf pan that has been greased and lined with baking paper. Spread out the dough in the loaf pan and level the dough.

7. Cover the loaf pan with a damp cloth and leave for 1 hour or until the dough has doubled in size.

8. Bake at 180 degrees celsius for 30 minutes.

9. Let the bread cool thoroughly before slicing.