Banana Oatmeal Bread - ABM

This banana oatmeal bread is a bread machine recipe that uses a clever pre-soak step to do something most ABM banana breads skip: soften steel-cut oats so they actually cook through during the bake. A third of a cup of steel-cut oats gets soaked in boiling water until room temperature, hydrating the hard groats so they don’t end up crunchy and uncooked in the finished bread.

The oat mix is the move that sets this apart. A full cup of quick-cooking oats softens into the dough during the rise and gives the bread its tender, hearty crumb. The steel-cut oats stay slightly chewy after soaking, adding that nubby texture you want in a real oatmeal bread.

Powdered buttermilk is the smart bread-machine swap for liquid buttermilk. It rehydrates with the dough water and gives the bread a tangy depth without messing with the precise wet-dry ratio that ABMs need to rise correctly.

Use very ripe bananas with deep brown spots. The natural sugars feed the yeast and contribute most of the bread’s sweetness, since only 3 tablespoons of brown sugar are added.

Pro Tips

• Don’t skip the oat soak. Adding raw steel-cut oats directly will leave hard, crunchy bits in the loaf.
• Add ingredients in your machine’s specified order (usually wet first, then dry, with yeast last and away from salt).
• Use the basic or whole wheat cycle if your machine offers it. Sweet bread cycles often run too short.
• Slice fully cooled. Yeast breads keep cooking inside until they cool, and warm slices tear.

Variations

• Add ½ cup chopped walnuts at the mix-in beep for crunch.
• Stir in 2 teaspoons cinnamon for spiced banana oatmeal bread.
• Sub honey for the brown sugar for a softer, more aromatic loaf.