Instructions

Step 1: Mixing the ingredients

• First, combine the dry ingredients (flour, baking powder, sugar and salt) in a mixing bowl.
• Next, stir water and then cooking oil into the flour mixture until absorbed.
• Finally, fold the chopped banana into the mixture. The banana will be mashed and fully combined during kneading process.

Step 2: Kneading dough

• The flour mixture will be very sticky at first. Therefore, it is perhaps a better idea to knead this sticky mixture in the mixing bowl until it become smooth and less sticky.
• Then turn the dough out onto a working surface and keep kneading it for a little while until it turns supple.
• Like the white bread recipe, the dough will be shaped first and then let rise.

Step 3: Shaping the bread and letting the dough rise

• Cut the dough into 6 roughly equal portions with a bench knife.
• First, re-shape the dough portions into balls.

• Then, shape the balls into difference loaf shapes to make the bread more appealing as below:
  + use a rolling pin to roll a dough ball into a flat triangle, next use your fingers to roll the dough from one short side to the opposite corner, then bend it into a curve;
  + use a rolling pin to roll a dough ball into a flat rectangle, next make some parallel cuts from one long side to central line, then roll the dough from the other long side to the cut side; or
  + use a rolling pin to roll a dough ball into a flat rectangle; next imagine 2 lines parallel with the long sides dividing the rectangle into 3 smaller equal rectangles and make parallel cuts from the long sides to these 2 lines, leaving the central rectangle uncut; fold the cut sides inwards as demonstrated in the following picture.

• Finally, line a baking sheet with a non-stick baking mat then place the shaped loaves of dough onto the baking mat and let the dough rise until double in size.

Step 4: Baking and enjoying

• Once the bread loaves have doubled in size, brush egg yolk onto the top of the loaves.
• Put the baking sheet into the oven and bake at 175 to 180 degrees C until the bread tops turn golden brown. Remember to check the oven frequently during baking time to avoid overbaked bread.

• Remove the bread loaves from the oven to a cooling rack. I like to enjoy the banana bread when it is still a bit warm, but for storing you should let them stay on the rack until completely cool. If wrapped tightly in plastic wrap, the banana bread can last for 3 days at room temperature.