Banana and pecan bread

Banana bread is a popular cake at cafes, and incredibly simple to bake at home. Often made with walnuts, this recipe uses pecans instead for that delicious nutty flavour, and yeast to create a real bread texture.

• makes

  1 loaf

• prep

  30 minutes

• cook

  1 hour

• difficulty

  Mid

Ingredients

• 5.5 g dried yeast (or 42 g fresh yeast)
• 100 ml lukewarm water, plus 120-160ml extra
• 300 g wholemeal plain flour
• 100 g plain flour
• ½ tsp salt
• 150 g ripe bananas, chopped, mashed
• 100 g pecan nuts, roughly chopped
• 2 tbsp vegetable oil

Proving time 1 hour 30 minutes

Instructions

Mix the yeast in a cup with the lukewarm water.

In a bowl, mix together both types of flour and the salt. Make a well in the middle and pour in the yeast. Dust with a little of the flour and leave to rise for 15 minutes.

Mix in the banana and pecans, and gradually add extra lukewarm water. Knead into a smooth dough both in the bowl and on a work surface. Shape into a ball, return to the bowl, cover with a tea towel and and leave to rise in a warm place for 1 hour, until the dough has doubled in size.

Once it has risen, knead the dough again on a floured work surface, working in the oil. Place in a greased and floured loaf pan and leave to rise for another 15 minutes.

Preheat the oven to 160°C or 140°C fan-forced.

Bake the bread for 1 hour on the lower/middle oven shelf. Test that it is done by inserting a wooden skewer into the centre. Carefully remove the bread from the pan and leave to cool on a wire rack. When cool, slice and serve.

Cook's Notes

Oven temperatures are for conventional; if using fan-forced (convection), reduce the temperature by 20˚C. | We use Australian tablespoons and cups: 1 teaspoon equals 5 ml; 1 tablespoon equals 20 ml; 1 cup equals 250 ml. | All herbs are fresh (unless specified) and cups are lightly packed. | All vegetables are medium size and peeled, unless specified. | All eggs are 55-60 g, unless specified.