Blueberry Banana Yeast Bread

5 from 2 votes

Lightly sweetened banana yeast bread swirled with blueberries and cinnamon sugar. This takes a new spin on the classic banana bread!

Yield: makes two 9x5 inch loafs

Prep Time25

Cook Time40

Dough Rest1 30

Total Time2 35

Course: Breakfast, Snack

Cuisine: American

Servings: slices

Author: Maryanne Cabrera

Ingredients

Dough:

2 ¼ teaspoon (7 g) active dry yeast
¼ cup + 1 teaspoon granulated sugar
1 cup whole milk , warmed to 110 degrees F
⅓ cup (76 g) unsalted butter, melted and slightly cooled
2 Tablespoon (30 g) sour cream
½ cup (175 g) mashed overripe bananas *
1 large egg, room temp
4 cup (568 g) all-purpose flour
½ teaspoon kosher salt

Filling:

¼ cup granulated sugar (50 g)
¼ cup light brown sugar, packed (50 g)
2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
pinch salt
1 ½ cup frozen blueberries

Instructions

Dough:

In the bowl of a stand mixer, dissolve yeast and 1 teaspoon sugar in warm milk. Let mixture sit for 5 minutes to allow yeast to activate.
Add remaining 1/4 cup sugar, melted butter, sour cream, mashed banana, and egg to mixing bowl. Whisk together.
In a large bowl, whisk together flour and salt. Attach dough hook to stand mixer. Add flour to mixing bowl 1 cup at a time with the mixing running on low speed. Once all the flour has been added, increase to medium speed and knead for 3-5 minutes until dough is smooth and elastic.
*The dough may look "sticky" and "wet" but it should easily scraped from the sides of the bowl. If not, continue to mix for another 2 minutes, then check again.
Transfer dough to a lightly greased large bowl. Cover and allow dough to rest for one hour at room temperature until doubled in volume.

Filling and Assembly:

Grease two 9x5-inch loaf pans. Line with parchment paper overhang, if desired. Set aside.
In a small bowl, whisk together sugar, brown sugar, cinnamon, and salt. Set aside.
Punch down risen dough. Divide into two equal pieces. Keep one dough covered while you work with other dough.
Transfer dough to a lightly floured work surface. Roll dough out to a 12x16-inch rectangle. Sprinkle half of cinnamon sugar mixture over surface of dough. Sprinkle 3/4 cup frozen blueberries over sugar.
Starting at the long end of rectangle, roll dough into a tight log. Pinch seams together and place log seam-side down on work surface. Use a sharp knife to slice log in half lengthwise. Pinch cut seams shut.
Stretch each log to a length of about 8-inch. Twist the two logs of dough over each other to form a spiral or braid. Pinch ends together and place in one of the prepared bread loaf pans. Cover with plastic wrap and allow dough to rest at room temperature for 30 minutes until dough as puffed up.
Repeat steps with remaining dough.
Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Remove covers from bread pan. Bake bread for 38-40 minutes until golden brown on top and internal temperature of bread registers at least 185 degrees F.
Rotate bread pans midway through baking. If bread is browning too fast, cover with foil to prevent bread from burning.
Allow bread to remain in pan for 10 minutes after baking. Loosen bread from bread pan and unmold. Allow bread to cool on wire rack. Use a serrated bread knife to slice bread once cooled.

Notes

The bread will have more "banana" flavor, the riper the banana.
Store cooled bread in an air-tight container for up to three days. For longer storage, wrap well and freeze.
In my experience, frozen berries are easier to roll into breads.The frozen blueberries are much sturdier and retrain their shape even after baking. That being said, fresh blueberries may be used in this recipe as well.

Nutrition