Yeasted Banana Sandwich Bread
My favorite sandwich bread, a perfect way to use a single overripe banana. Tender and slightly sweet, it's great for PB&J or French Toast. It works well with a substitution of up to ⅓ whole wheat flour.
Servings: 16 slices
Calories: 118kcal
Ingredients
- 3 cups all-purpose flour (360 grams; use up to 1 cup of whole wheat flour)
- 2 ¼ teaspoons yeast (10 grams; active dry and instant are both fine)
- 1 teaspoon table salt (8 grams)
- ¾ cup milk (175 grams)
- 2 tablespoons honey (42 grams)
- 2 tablespoons vegetable oil (28 grams) (use butter instead for flavor, if desired)
- 1 banana (peeled) (100-120 grams) (see note)
Instructions
- Combine all ingredients in the bowl of your stand mixer to form a soft dough. Add a little extra milk if there are dry bits at the bottom. Then knead on medium with the dough hook for 5 minutes, until the dough is smooth and tacky. The dough will clear the sides of the bowl, but not the bottom.
- If mixing by hand, combine dry ingredients. Mash your banana and combine with the milk, honey, and oil. Stir liquid ingredients into dry ingredients until a dough forms, then knead (preferably in the bowl) for about 8-10 minutes, until dough is smooth and tacky.
- To test for tackiness, touch the dough with your finger. If dough clings but releases relatively cleanly, the dough is tacky. If it doesn't cling at all, add a little water or milk; if a lot of dough sticks, add a little flour. Knead briefly and test again. If you add some whole wheat flour, your dough will not be smooth.
- Place dough in an oiled bowl, cover, and proof in a warm place for 60 minutes, until dough has doubled in size. I usually preheat my oven for 1-2 minutes to create a warm space.
Folding, Proofing, and Baking
- Turn out dough onto a floured or oiled surface and pat into a rectangle. Fold ⅓ of the dough to the center, like you would fold a letter. Fold the remaining ⅓ over, stretching it to cover the rest of the dough. Pinch the dough down into the bottom of the loaf to increase the surface tension. Repeat if necessary if the dough is too slack.
- Place seam-side down in a greased 8.5-x-4.5-inch loaf pan (although 9x5 is ok too). Spray with cooking spray, cover with plastic wrap, and let rise for another 60 minutes, until the dough has risen about an inch above the top of the loaf pan.
- Bake at 350F for 35-40 minutes. The temperature of the bread will be 190F if you take its temperature, and it will sound hollow if you tap on the bottom of the loaf.
- Remove from loaf pan after about 10 minutes, and cool completely on a wire rack before slicing. I can usually get 16 slices per loaf.
Notes
You can use bread flour instead of all-purpose flour. I find either works fine. I usually substitute 1 cup of whole wheat flour for part of the all-purpose flour.
If you're concerned about whether your yeast is alive, stir it into 105F milk with a pinch of sugar. Be sure the yeast dissolves. After 5-10 minutes, the milk should be foamy and smell yeasty.
Don't have or want honey? Try agave syrup, or maple syrup or brown sugar. You may need to adjust the milk or flour after mixing the dough to get the right consistency.
You can use softened or melted butter in place of vegetable oil, for added flavor.
One large banana, in my experience, weighs 120 grams without peel. If your bananas are small (75 grams on my scale, without peel), you can add 1 ½ bananas. Or, you can add a single small banana, adding a little extra milk to start to make sure the dough isn't dry.
To make this recipe vegan, try using non-dairy milk instead of milk, and brown sugar or maple syrup instead of honey. I have tried the brown sugar substitute in this recipe. I cannot specifically recall if I've used non-dairy milk here, but I have used it successfully in other baking.
Be sure that you get the right texture for the dough. Err on the side of too wet or sticky, rather than too try.
If you have to let it rise too long, you can let it overproof during the first rise; it may rise more quickly after being shaped. Don't overproof on the second rise.
Recipe revised slightly 5/6/2025
Adapted from the Yeasted Banana Sandwich Bread recipe from King Arthur Baking.
Calorie count calculated in MyNetDiary, and is an estimate only.
Nutrition
Calories: 118kcal
