Peanut Butter Banana Swirl Loaf

I didn't ever get around to making this on the long weekend as I had posted that I would. Well really, it was partially because we still had some of the peanut butter banana bread that I'd made left knew we couldn't get through it all (and yes! my freezer is still packed... I need to get on top of that in the next few weeks so that we have room for strawberries) . 

So I finally got around to making it this weekend. Lesson learned while making this bread: yeast that says it has expired for almost a year... really has. Which led to me having to make this twice. And run to the grocery store to get more yeast. Thankfully, it worked the second time, as my peanut butter cravings have not subsided in the slightest since I began eating it again. 

The directions look long and complicated. It's not actually all that complicated. You need to do it on a day when you're home quite a bit, but a lot of the time involved in making this is just the waiting - waiting for the dough to be made, waiting for it to rise, etc. In all, it probably takes a bit over 4 hours to make this, but probably only 15-20 minutes of your time to do it.
I very, very sadly forgot to sprinkle the peanuts on this. And I only realized it once it was all rolled up and figured I was only asking for disaster if wanted to attempt to unroll it, just to add peanuts. I decided that a peanut-less roll was better than a second wrecked roll.  

If you use natural peanut butter like I do, you'll want to take it out of the fridge for awhile before starting the recipe so that it will be soft enough to spread.  To make this again, I wouldn't mix the peanut butter with the sugar, but would spread the peanut butter first and then sprinkle it with sugar. I found it too hard to spread when mixed together. Though this probably works well if you use good ol' Kraft pb. I doubled the filling (hey, I really like peanut butter!) and then still had to spread a bit more around the edges to cover the entire surface.

Loaf:
1/2 C water
1 C mashed ripe banana
1/4 C skim milk powder
3/4 tsp. salt
3 tbsp. maple syrup
2 tbsp. butter
3 C whole-wheat flour
2 tsp. bread machine yeast

Slightly overcooked, but still tasty

1.  Measure loaf ingredients into machine's baking pan in the order recommended by the manufacturer (I put them in in the order above).  Insert pan into the oven chamber.  Select Dough cycle.

Peanut Butter Filling:
1/2 C peanut butter 
1/3 packed brown sugar (I would have used 1/2 as much brown sugar Splenda if I wasn't pregnant)
1/2 C unsalted peanuts

1.  In a bowl, combine peanut butter and brown sugar.  Set aside.

2.  Remove dough to a lightly floured surface.  Cover with a large bowl and let rest for 10 to 15 minutes.  Roll out to an 18- by 8-inch rectangle.  Spread the filling to within 1/2 inch of edges.  Sprinkle with peanuts.  

3.  Beginning at short side, roll jelly style (I rolled from the long side, as I felt the roll was going to be more than thick enough this way. I then cut it in two).  Place seam-side down, in prepared loaf pan (oops... just read this part now. I placed it on a baking sheet).  

4.  Cover and let rise in a warm, draft-free place for 30 to 45 minutes or until doubled in volume.  Meanwhile, preheat oven to 350 degrees Farenheit.

5.  With a long skewer, poke several holes through the risen dough.  Bake in preheated oven for 40 to 50 minutes or until bread sounds hollow when tapped on the bottom.

Variation:  for a milder flavour (who would ever want milder peanut butter flavour?????), add 1 to 2 tbsp. mashed banana to the filling.