Can you believe it’s officially fall? Where did spring and summer go? The past six months have been a blur. Let’s hope the rest of the year brings a little excitement and optimism for the future.
On a more positive note, I’m happy to share a sweet recipe with you. It’s a mashup of two favorite creations: banana sticky buns and cinnamon star bread.
I’ve been wanting to make a banana nut star bread for a while. So I decided to take last Wednesday off from work to do just that – and use some of my vacation time (360 hours, to be exact).
Banana nut star bread may look impressive, but it’s surprisingly simple to prepare. And the finished product is delicious! Enjoy a piece for breakfast or serve it with caramelized banana ice cream for an afternoon treat.
- ½ cup whole milk
- 1⅛ teaspoons active dry yeast
- 2 tablespoons + 2 teaspoons granulated sugar, divided
- 2 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted
- 1½ ripe bananas, mashed
- 2½ cups all-purpose flour
- ⅛ teaspoon sea salt
- ⅓ cup sugar
- 2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
- 3 tablespoons unsalted butter, softened (see notes)
- ½ cup walnuts, roughly chopped
- 1 egg, beaten
- In a large bowl, heat milk until warm - about 30 seconds in the microwave should do. Add the yeast and 1 teaspoon granulated sugar. Whisk together until thoroughly combined and let sit until foamy, about 10 minutes.
- Add the remaining granulated sugar, butter, bananas, 2¼ cups flour and salt to the yeast mixture and stir to combine. Continue adding flour, 1 tablespoon at a time, until dough comes together to form a shaggy ball; it should be tacky but not sticky. Then knead the dough by hand (or with a dough hook attachment) until it's smooth and elastic - this will take about 10 minutes (or less if using a stand mixer). Shape dough into a ball and place in a lightly oiled bowl, cover and transfer to the refrigerator to chill for at least 3 hours or overnight.
- While the dough rises, combine the sugar and cinnamon. Set aside.
- Line a baking sheet with parchment paper.
- After the dough has risen, punch it down and divide into 4 equal pieces.
- Using a rolling pin, roll one piece into a circle, about 12 inches in diameter, and transfer to the prepared baking sheet. Spread one-third of the butter in an even layer over the top of the dough, leaving a 1” border around the edges. Sprinkle on one-quarter of the filling and one-third of the walnuts. Repeat with remaining portions of dough, leaving the last circle bare. Transfer to the refrigerator to chill for 30 minutes.
- Place a 2" round cutter in the center of the stack of dough. Use a sharp knife to cut dough into 16 wedges, leaving the area inside the round cutter intact.
- Using your hands, gently twist two adjacent wedges away from each other a few times and pinch ends to seal. Repeat with remaining wedges of dough.
- Preheat oven to 375 degrees.
- Let dough rise for 30 minutes and then brush top of loaf with the beaten egg and sprinkle with remaining filling.
- Bake for 18-22 minutes until golden. Transfer to a wire rack to cool.
