Still baking...

The banana bread recipe that came with my Ma Baker bread machine was a disaster.

Although in the true sense of the word banana bread isn't "bread", but is actually a banana cake, which is baked in a loaf pan.  Which is probably where it gets it's name from...

The banana bread recipe from
my Ma Baker information / recipe
booklet

But, was the disastrous recipe the machine's fault or mine?  I dunno.

Dense and heavy - more like bread than cake

Nowhere in the recipe does it say anything about removing the mixing paddle.  But, although it needs initial mixing to combine the ingredients, it wouldn't need the paddle later in the recipe because the recipe doesn't contain any yeast.  So, hesitating, I left it in.

The result.

It was heavy, dense and stodgy - although it did taste like banana bread I wasn't happy.

So I went searching for a bread machine banana bread recipe, and found one here or at the end of this posting.

My second attempt - light, aerated, and definitely
banana bread - or should that be cake? lol

The changes I made to the recipe was to prep everything before placing the already mixed wet and dry ingredients into the baking pan - and I omitted the paddle.  And I used the "Bake" cycle, not the "Quick" one - which included mixing at the oddest times during the baking process.

Ah - that's more like it.

You can visibly see the difference between the
two recipes and resulting loaves.  The booklet
recipe loaf is on the right, and the new recipe is
on the left.

This was definitely banana bread as I know it.

660 watts - that means the Ma Baker, on
bake cycle, uses only 448 watts
(by deduction)

With the fridge (132 watts) the decoder, wi-fi and laptop (+/- 35 + 10 + 35 watts respectively) and the bread machine all working simultaneously, the Owl electricity monitor was displaying 660 watts.  Which means that the bread machine was only using 448 watts.  Now, can one possibly bake a cake with less power? ;)

My final question:  those that have, and use, bread a machine - do you use it for anything other than baking bread / cakes?  If so, would you care to share?

This banana bread recipe was found at:  http://allrecipes.com.au/recipe/875/banana-loaf-in-the-bread-machine.aspx

Ingredients  Serves: 10 

·        2 1/4 cups (280g) plain flour

·        1 teaspoon baking powder

·        1/2 teaspoon bicarb soda

·        2/3 cup (150g) caster sugar

·        2 tablespoons (40ml) vegetable oil

·        2 eggs

·        2 bananas, peeled and halved lengthwise

Directions
Preparation:10min  ›  Cook:50min  ›  Ready in:1hour 

1.      Place ingredients in the pan of the bread machine.

2.      Select the 'Dough' setting, and press 'Start'. Mix the bread for 3 to 5 minutes until the bananas are mashed and all ingredients are thoroughly combined. If necessary, use a rubber spatula to push the dough from the sides of the bread pan. When 3 to 5 minutes have passed on the clock display, press Stop. Do not continue mixing.  I sifted at the dry ingredients together, beat the eggs gently, mashed the banana and, mixing those two together, added the oil.  The wet mixture was then carefully added to the dry ingredients and the mixture was placed in the Ma Baker - sans the paddle.

Then I continued as the recipe states:

3.      Smooth out the top of the loaf with the rubber spatula.

4.      Select the 'Bake' setting, and press 'Start'. The 'Bake' cycle time may vary with machines, but should be about 50 minutes. To test the bread for doneness, insert a wooden skewer into the centre top. Remove the stick. If the bread is done, the stick will come out clean. If there is dough on the stick, reset the machine on Bake and continue to bake an additional 10 to 15 minutes. Test again to assure the bread is completely baked.

5.      Remove the pan from the machine, but allow the bread to remain in the pan for 10 minutes. Remove the bread to cool completely on a wire rack.