Banana-Nut-Chocolate Chip Bread

A slice of serenity.

With nothing sweet in the house, but graham crackers, I turned to an ol’ favorite: Banana Bread with Chocolate Chips and Nuts.

My bananas were not as mushy as I would’ve liked. The skins should be an ugly black. And I hadn’t taken time to put my bananas in the freezer, which always gives overripe bananas an extra zing. But the addition of chocolate chips and pecans propped up the ingredients.

Jazzing Up an Old Recipe

This recipe from Port and Fin is built around one from the old Joy of Cooking recipe. I use mini Ghirardelli chocolate chips, because they don’t overwhelm the look of the sliced bread. And, as usual with baking, I cut back somewhat on sugar. The ingredients in this recipe give the loaf a lighter look than some that use brown sugar.

After a nibble test, I sliced and froze the rest of the loaf. The frozen slices were the best.

Keep your overripe bananas in the freezer and mash them for bread when needed. (Sorry that bottle of milk, sitting out on the counter, photobombed the ingredients. There’s no milk involved.)

Remember licking the bowl when you were a kid?

Into the oven for an hour. I think the use of an 8″ loaf pan rather than a 9″, gives more loft to the loaf.

Tips for a Perfect Loaf of Banana Bread

Overripe, black-skinned bananas work best for bread. If you take bananas from the freezer, let them thaw and become mushy before using.
If there are a few lumps in your mashed bananas, that’s fine.
Don’t overmix.
Line loaf pan with parchment paper, leaving a few inches of overhang to make it easy to lift loaf from pan.
Alternatively, grease or spray pan, dust with flour, and shake off excess.
Turn cooked loaf out onto a cooling rack.
Wrap bread in foil and freeze entire loaf or slices. Reheat slices in microwave for 20 seconds, or so, Allow whole loaf to thaw on countertop.