Making this right now in my Hamilton Beach model# 29882 machine. Luckily I was watching as it starting mixing because the egg/banana/milk slurry was just spinning in the center while most of the flour was staying put on the edges! I helped it along with a rubber spatula and it mixed just fine, but seems awfully wet. The baking cycle is beginning now… Fingeres crossed!
Moreover, in many bread machines, the “sweet bread” setting is used for very sweet breads that use yeast (not baking soda/powder). A tad confusing! Nevertheless, sweet bread recipes are different from quick bread recipes and utilize different mixing & baking times. Therefore, a bread machine quick bread recipe (i.e. banana bread) is unlikely to work on the sweet bread setting. Check your bread machine instructions for the exact setting used for quick bread recipes (that utilize baking soda/powder – not yeast).
If the top center of the bread looks too moist when you take it out of the bread machine, you can try the classic baking “toothpick test”. Gently push a toothpick/chopstick/skewer into the top of the bread and see if any batter sticks to the toothpick/chopstick/skewer. Make sure to wear oven gloves because the bread pan and bread machine will still be hot. If batter is sticking to the toothpick/chopstick/skewer then it hasn’t completely cooked. Place the bread loaf pan back into the still warm bread machine for another 5 minutes. After the 5 minutes, remove the bread pan and test the banana bread again with a toothpick/chopstick/skewer. FYI – Given variability in banana sizes, banana breads tend to have more moistness variability than many other recipes. Moreover, since most bread machines turn off automatically after a specified time and you can not adjust the baking temperature, they are little less flexible than ovens in dealing with baking “variances”. Thus the need to use the toothpick test if the banana bread top looks too moist (or you can skip the toothpick test and just leave the banana bread in the still warm bread machine for an extra 5 minutes if the top looks a little too moist).
The key to great banana bread is… RIPE bananas!!! If you use bananas that are hard & yellow or even worse green, they will contain too much starch and not enough natural sugars. As bananas ripen, they convert this starch into sugar. According to Wikipedia, “The greener, less ripe bananas contain higher levels of starch and, consequently, have a “starchier” taste. On the other hand, yellow bananas taste sweeter due to higher sugar concentrations”. FYI – You will know if a banana is ripe when it is soft and shows small brown & black spots on the yellow exterior of the banana.
Please be aware that you MUST scrape down the sides of the bread pan when the machine beeps for add-ins. At this point in the recipe, you will add the chopped nuts, but you may also find dough that isn’t well mixed stuck to the sides and bottom of the pan. Just use a rubber spatula and clean off the unmixed dough as you would in a mixing bowl. Be sure to use rubber or silicone…you don’t want to scratch the pan of your bread machine!
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Same thing happened to my first loaf. I thought I had done something wrong. I suspect bread machines vary. Mine heats while the ingredients are mixing. I suspect that is why the chocolate chips melted. My loaf was underdone and caved in the middle. As if a hunk of mashed banana didn’t mix completely. I’m really assuming the castropy happened because of the bread machine. It did smell amazing while cooking. I wanted to throw my loaf out as well but hate wasting food. Simply; I gave it to someone else. Made it again the old fashioned way… In the oven. Better result.
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Please mash the ripe bananas with a fork before adding them to the bread pan. Ripe bananas are soft and are very easy to mash. Most bread machine paddles/mixers will not mash large banana chunks properly (just stirs them around) and the banana bread will not come out correctly if you have not mashed the bananas. Thanks Tom for pointing out the problem with large chunks!
Oh my goodness this turned out DIVINE. I had some friends over, one of who is a bit of an instagram celebrity when it comes to baking, and she was very impressed! Absolutely delicious – I think next time I will try less sugar (as I used two black bananas so sweet enough), and try add some vanilla as someone suggested above. My only slight imperfection was that their seemed to be a pooling of choc chips in the corners. Will try do a swoop with a spatula prior to the baking part next time. Thanks
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Select Sweet and Light settings on your machine and add raisins as per your manufacturer’s instructions. They can be added in with everything else. Start your bread machine. After the first kneading cycle is over, the bread should be smooth and stretchy. It should feel dry when you touch it. If necessary, add flour by the tablespoon to adjust the bread.
