Bread Machine Banana Bread
This bread machine banana bread comes out moist and tender every time, thanks to the sour cream and dark brown sugar in the batter. Add the ingredients to your bread maker's pan, select the right setting and let the machine do all the mixing and baking - no oven, no stand mixer required.
Ingredients
- ½ cup butter unsalted
- 2 eggs large
- ¼ cup sour cream full fat
- 3 medium bananas about 1 cup
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 1 cup dark brown sugar packed
- 2 cups all purpose flour
- 1 teaspoon baking soda
- 1 teaspoon baking powder
- ½ teaspoon coarse kosher salt
- 1 cup add ins like chocolate chips or chopped nuts (optional)
Instructions
- Remove the bread pan from the bread machine and set it aside.
- In a microwave-safe bowl, melt 1/2 cup of butter. Meanwhile, beat 2 large eggs and mash 3 medium ripe bananas (about 1 cup).
- Pour melted butter, beaten eggs, and mashed bananas into the pan of the bread maker. Add 1/4 cup of sour cream, 1 teaspoon of vanilla extract, and 1 packed cup of brown sugar to the bread pan.
- Sprinkle 2 cups of all-purpose flour on top of the wet ingredients. Followed by 1 teaspoon of baking soda, 1 teaspoon of baking powder, and 1/2 teaspoon of coarse kosher salt.
- Return bread pan to bread machine. And select the Yeast-Free Bread setting (see below for more information on settings) then press start. Keep an eye on your bread machine during the mixing part of the process, it may be necessary to use a rubber spatula to scrape down the sides to ensure complete mixing.
- If equipped, add 1 cup of chocolate chips, chopped nuts, or a combination of both to the Fruit And Nut Dispenser on your bread machine. If your machine does not have a dispenser, add the chocolate and nuts during the break between the first and second mixing cycles.
- Bake bread in the bread machine. Checking for doneness starting with 15 minutes left. -Near the center: Insert a toothpick or skewer into the center of the loaf, not near the edge.-Look for wet batter: A few moist crumbs stuck to the toothpick are fine, but not raw batter clinging to the toothpick.-Check the top: the top should look set, and chestnut brown in color, not shiny, soft, or jiggly.-Check the edges: the edges should be brown in color and pulling away slightly from the sides of the bread pan.
- Once the bread is fully cooked, remove the loaf pan from the bread machine using oven mitts and allow it to sit undisturbed for 5-10 minutes, before turning it out onto a wire rack.
- Allow banana bread to cool for at least 45-60 minutes before removing the mixing paddle and slicing. Slicing your banana bread before it is completely cooled will often cause a crumbly crumb.
Notes
Expert Tips
- Layer it right. If you have your manufacturer’s manual, follow their ingredient order – some machines are picky about it. If you don’t, do what I do: liquid first, then dry on top. It’s a safe bet across most machines.
- Wait for the beep. Add nuts or chocolate chips after the first mixing cycle, not before. My Breville Custom Loaf has a Fruit + Nut Dispenser that handles this automatically, but if yours doesn’t, just listen for the pause between cycles. Add them too early and they may sink to the bottom of the loaf.
- Don’t overload it. Keep your mix-ins to 1 cup total, whether that’s all nuts, all chocolate chips, or split between the two – say 1/2 cup chips and 1/2 cup walnuts.
- Watch the first one. The mixing paddle is small, the bread pan is big, so the first time you make this, keep an eye on the mixing cycle in case you need to scrape the sides with a spatula.
- Don’t fully trust the clock. My Breville Custom Loaf (BBM800XL) usually finishes this banana bread 10 minutes before the bake cycle ends, so I start checking early. If yours passes the done check, hit cancel, unplug your machine, and remove the pan with an oven mitt.
- Banana bread is a quick bread, so you'll want a setting that skips the rise cycle completely. These are often called "Quick Bread", "Cake", "Batter Bread", or "Yeast Free". "Rapid"and "Express" settings are built for yeast breads and won't work here. "Sweet Bread" is a coin flip - for some machines it's a quick bread cycle and for others it's designed for enriched yeasted doughs. See Best Settings in the article for how to confirm you've got the right one.
