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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Some basic bread machine models only have a limited number of settings. These models may not have a quick bread setting which is designed for recipes that use faster rising baking soda/powder versus slow rising yeast. If your bread machine lacks a quick bread setting then the banana bread might burn (as the other settings generally have longer baking cycles). They are geared towards yeast breads (i.e. sandwich breads) that don’t rise as quickly as baking soda/powder breads (i.e. banana bread).

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Banana bread may be served at tea time or at breakfast, although there is no rule as to when you may eat it. This banana bread recipe turns out really well in a bread maker and it's a great way to to get rid of overripe bananas sitting in the bowl. In our family nobody touches bananas if the skin has any sign of black. I guess we all worry that they are spoiled. So, rather than wasting them, into the bread maker they go.

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Also be aware that some people go beyond just scraping the sides of the bread pan in order to avoid any leftover flour sticking to the sides of their finished banana bread. They will first mix all of the ingredients by hand in a mixing bowl and then add it to the bread machine bread pan (versus adding all of the ingredients to the bread pan and letting the bread machine mix everything). While this is an extra step, premixing the ingredients greatly reduces the potential for any unwanted small flour “clumps” and/or flour sticking to the sides of the finished banana bread. After hand mixing the ingredients, you should just follow the rest of the recipe instructions (i.e. enter proper bread machine settings and so on). However, always remember to add the ingredients (or hand mixed batter) to the bread pan when the bread pan is out of the bread machine and the bread machine is unplugged. 

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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).
Add the eggs, butter & bananas into the bread pan and then add the other ingredients. Try to follow order of the ingredients listed above so that liquid ingredients are placed in the bread pan first and the dry ingredients second. Be aware that the bread pan should be removed from the bread machine before you start to add any ingredients. This helps to avoid spilling any material inside the bread machine. The bread machine should always be unplugged when removing the bread pan.

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Some basic bread machine models only have a limited number of settings. These models may not have a quick bread setting which is designed for recipes that use faster rising baking soda/powder versus slow rising yeast. If your bread machine lacks a quick bread setting then the banana bread might burn (as the other settings generally have longer baking cycles). They are geared towards yeast breads (i.e. sandwich breads) that don’t rise as quickly as baking soda/powder breads (i.e. banana bread). 

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Ok, this bread turned out so yummy…. however, my machine doesn’t work like most I guess. It’s a very basic West Bend one and has very few options. So I followed the recipe (except I didn’t have the walnuts so it got double chocolate chips!) and it ran through the rapid cycle which took 3 hrs on my machine. But it was still dough inside. So I baked it for another 25 mins at 400. I’ve decided that I’m still going to use this recipe for baking the bread though. It was so good.

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I know I have a winning recipe on my hands when my husband and 3 year old start snacking on it as soon as its cool enough to handle and immediatly ask me to make it again soon. This bread turned out so well, just like a cinnamon roll in loaf form. I don't have a bread machine so I did have to adjust the directions for use in my stand mixer. I combined the white sugar and warm milk in my mixer bowl and added the yeast to proof. Once proofed I mixed in the eggs and softened butter until the butter was broken up into chunks and the eggs were mixed in. I then added the flour/salt that had already been mixed to combine. I let the dough hook do all the kneading and when finished I lightly oiled the bowl and the top of the dough, covered with plastic wrap and let it rise until doubled. From that point on I followed the recipe except for doubling the sugar/cinnamon part of the filling. I made one loaf with walnuts and one without since my husband isn't crazy about them. We can't wait to try this bread toasted tomorrow morning. The only change I'll make next time is to brush the dough with an egg wash before baking so it comes out nice and glossy. Highly recommend! Read More

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