Hawaiian Bread Recipe

My first memory of Hawaiian Bread is when I was 9 or 10 years old and totally embarrassed my mom. Sorry Mom!! At the time my Dad worked for an insurance company and as part of his job he was expected to invite visiting district representatives to church with us then to Sunday dinner afterward. For one of these dinners my Mom had made Hawaiian bread, and one of the men complimented it. Always eager to make a good impression with polite conversation, I mentioned that my mom had to make two batches because she forgot to put the baking soda in the first time. She quickly added that we were eating the bread with the baking soda, and everyone laughed. I didn’t know it then, but now that I’m a grown-up I realize how mortifying my childish comment must have been.

Anyway, despite that awkward memory Hawaiian Bread has always been my favorite “quick” bread. It’s better than banana bread because it has coconut and pecans for texture and crunch, and pineapple keeps it super-moist and adds a little tang. I’ll bet once you try it you’ll like it better than banana bread too! Unless you’re like Princess and don’t like bananas at all.

Hawaiian Bread Recipe in Pictures

Hawaiian Bread Recipe - Recipe FrontYou can always tell a “good” recipe by the condition of the card or page it’s on – the best ones are always messy. Obviously this recipe for Hawaiian Bread is amazing! It’s as quick and easy to throw together as plain banana bread, but better because one batch makes two loaves – one to eat now and one to freeze for later.

 

Hawaiian Bread Recipe - Recipe BackMy mom taught me how to bake so she knew I didn’t need all the directions, just the important ones. For those of you who are newer to baking, follow the “quick bread” method of mixing “wet” and “dry” ingredients separately, then combining at the end.

Z-Man and iMatt helped me make the Hawaiian bread – Z-Man did the “dry” and iMatt did the “wet.”

 

Hawaiian Bread Recipe - Mash BananasFirst you need bananas. I toss overripe bananas into the freezer for baking with later.

 

Hawaiian Bread Recipe - Mashed BananaOnce the frozen bananas thaw they’re really easy to mash up. Even if the only thing we could find to mash them was a random beater.

 

Hawaiian Bread Recipe - Preparing the PansWhile iMatt mashed banana, Z-Man prepared the pans.

 

Hawaiian Bread Recipe - Four PansHe had lots of practice because we needed to make a double batch: 2 loaves for Teacher to take to school, one for family brunch, and one just to eat.

 

Hawaiian Bread Recipe - EggsThen Z-Man cracked some eggs into a large bowl…

 

Hawaiian Bread Recipe - FlourWhile iMatt measured out the flour.

 

Hawaiian Bread Recipe - Sugar and BananaZ-Man added sugar, vanilla, oil and the mashed banana.

 

Hawaiian Bread Recipe - Salt, etciMatt added baking soda and salt.

 

Hawaiian Bread Recipe - OilWhen Z-Man added the oil, “Ew, this looks gross!” I realized that these boys need to do more cooking and baking.

 

Hawaiian Bread Recipe - Chopping PecansNext iMatt started chopping the pecans. I think the best chopper ever is the old-fashioned one I got from my Grandma – all the other ones I’ve used either don’t chop finely enough or turn the nuts into powder.

 

Hawaiian Bread Recipe - Not Enough PecansThat’s a good start but the jar needs to be full so keep chopping!

 

Hawaiian Bread Recipe - iMatt ChoppingHe really enjoyed chopping the pecans! Can you believe how big he’s getting? The blog is older than he is!

 

Hawaiian Bread Recipe - Z-Man Smiling“Smile, Z-Man!” He’s getting big too – almost a teenager, yikes!

 

Hawaiian Bread Recipe - Add Banana to OilZ-Man took a turn with the pecans, then added crushed pineapple to the wet ingredients.

 

Hawaiian Bread Recipe - PecansFinally there were enough chopped pecans!

 

Hawaiian Bread Recipe - CoconutMeasure the coconut, then we’re ready to put this bread together.

 

Hawaiian Bread Recipe - Bigger BowlWait! We need a bigger bowl – there’s no way all that dough will fit in the ones we have. First the dry ingredients go in…

 

Hawaiian Bread Recipe - Add Wet IngredientsThen the wet…

 

Hawaiian Bread Recipe - Add Pecans and CoconutAnd finally the pecans and coconut.

 

Hawaiian Bread Recipe - Z-Man StirsZ-Man took the first turn stirring.

 

Hawaiian Bread Recipe - iMatt StirsThen iMatt did his share.

 

Hawaiian Bread Recipe - I StirI finished up to make sure everything was mixed in well – nobody wants to bite into a pocket of dry ingredients!

 

Hawaiian Bread Recipe - Divide the Dough into PansWe divided the dough among the four prepared pans.

 

Hawaiian Bread Recipe - DoughIt smells amazing!

 

Hawaiian Bread Recipe - BakeThen we baked it for about an hour. Please ignore the dirty oven!

 

Hawaiian Bread Recipe - Golden Brown and DeliciousGolden brown and delicious.

 

Hawaiian Bread Recipe - Remove from PanRemove the bread from the pans while it’s still warm. I’m told it cuts more easily when it’s completely cool, but we’ve never been able to wait that long.

Hawaiian Bread Recipe

This recipe is over 20 years old and calls for much more sugar and oil than we’re used to eating. The last time I made Hawaiian Bread it was way too sweet and greasy so I cut back on sugar and oil this time.

  • 3 beaten eggs
  • 1 C mashed banana (2-3, depending on size)
  • 2 C sugar (I halved this and it was plenty sweet)
  • 1 C oil (I halved this also, and it was still moist)
  • 1 8oz can crushed pineapple
  • 1 C chopped nuts (we prefer pecans)
  • 1/2 C coconut (flaked, sweetened)
  • 2 3/4 C flour (we used whole wheat pastry flour)
  • 1 tsp baking soda
  • 1 tsp salt
  • 1 tsp vanilla
  1. Mash the banana. In a large bowl mix with the eggs, sugar, oil, pineapple, and vanilla. In a separate bowl mix the flour, baking soda, and salt. Combine the contents of both bowls and add the nuts and coconut. Stir until well combined.
  2. Divide into 2 greased and floured loaf pans. Bake at 350° for about 1 hour, or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean.
  3. Cool briefly, then turn out onto wire rack to cool completely. Stop in refrigerator or wrap well and freeze.

Hopefully when you make Hawaiian Bread you won’t forget the baking soda. And if you do, I hope your daughter is more tactful with you than I was with my mom!

Amy Sue

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

CommentLuv badge

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.