Banana Pineapple Bread

This recipe came to me with two stainless steel loaf pans I'd purchased a couple of years ago.  I tried it then and found the recipe problematic.  It was good, but it definitely needed some work.  For one thing the loaf pans are about half the depth of a standard loaf pan.  The recipe came with each pan.  And according to the recipe, it would fit in the one pan.  I could tell just reading through the quantity of ingredients that was not going to work. I think at the time I baked my first trial run of the batter by dividing it in half, putting some in each pan.  And I do recall I had issues, but the overall taste was good and a nice change from my usual banana bread recipe.

So, I tried this recipe again this week when I had two very ripe bananas.  I won't tell a fib: it's still a problem recipe but it's sooo good!  I'm going to send it out here and the next time I try it I will note any changes I make.  I'll also submit the recipe as it was written and write what my experiences were this time around.

Banana Pineapple Bread

3 cups flour

2 cups sugar

1 tsp. baking powder

3/4 tsp. salt

1 tsp. cinnamon

3 eggs

1 cup drained, crushed pineapple

3 ripe bananas

1 cup oil

1 tsp. vanilla

1 cup chopped walnuts

The recipe states to mix all dry ingredients in one bowl and all wet ingredients in a second bowl then combine them.  Mix in nuts.  It says to bake in 'bread' pan and doesn't mention greasing or spraying the pan.  It goes on to say bake for 40-50 minutes at 350F.

First, I'll tell you what I did wrong.  I had two bananas.  I didn't drain my pineapple exactly, but I kind of did as I dipped it from the can and into my measuring cup.  I figured with the lack of the third banana the added moisture wasn't going to be a problem.  I purposely cut back the sugar to 1.5 cups.  It just seemed excessive with the pineapple, even though it was packed in juice.

I have a load of walnuts and could have used them, but I also had a bag of cashews in the cabinet that are going uneaten and decided to use a cup of those instead.  Yes, they are salted.  I didn't see that as a problem.  I figured with all the sweetness in the loaf the salt wasn't going to be too dominant.

I did grease my pan.  I couldn't imagine the bread coming out of the pan otherwise.  

I was using the stainless-steel loaf pans that this recipe came with another dish.  Those are 8x3 x2.  I poured all of the batter into the regular loaf pan (9 x 5), the one that is an actual loaf bread pan.  It filled it to the brim.  I knew I was in trouble then.   Didn't stop me though it did make me pause.   

Next time, I'll bake it in the extra-long (16 x 4) pan I bought, the one meant to make angel food cake in a loaf form.  I have a 13-inch-long pan but feel it would still be too small for this amount of batter.  Alternatively, I could bake a half dozen or even nine muffins and the regular loaf...Just thinking here to give you all ideas.  

I baked it for 50 minutes.  When I inserted my pick off center it came out clean, but I noted a suspicious extra jiggle.  Good for Quiche or egg custard.  Not so much with bread.  I checked in the center, and it came out coated in batter.  At that point, we had to leave home for a birthday party.  I left it in the oven, though I did shut it off.  When I returned, I checked the loaf again with my stainless-steel pick and it still came out coated in batter.  I reheated the oven, kept the loaf in the oven the whole while and baked for an hour more, checking it periodically.  The pick never did come out clean.  I don't know if I kept hitting a big piece of banana or not, but I couldn't justify baking it any longer. At that point, I simply pulled it from the oven because the outer edges were getting a bit overdone.  

Later note:  It was just a very moist bread but definitely cooked through.  Still think next time I need to use two regular loaf pans or the longer Angel Food Cake pan that I have on hand.

Amazon Affiliate Associate Link:  The pan I'll use next time...