June 2019, Bake #1: Banana Bread w/ Chocolate Chips
June 9, 2019
We had some old bananas, so Carrie suggested I make some banana bread. I used this recipe from Simply Recipes:
- 2 to 3 very ripe bananas, peeled (about 1 1/4 to 1 1/2 cups mashed)
- 1/3 cup melted butter, salted or unsalted
- 1 teaspoon baking soda
- Pinch of salt
- 3/4 cup sugar (1/2 cup if you would like it less sweet, 1 cup if more sweet)
- 1 large egg, beaten
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 1 1/2 cups of all-purpose flour
- Preheat the oven to 350°F (175°C), and butter a 4x8-inch loaf pan.
- In a mixing bowl, mash the ripe bananas with a fork until completely smooth. Stir the melted butter into the mashed bananas.
- Mix in the baking soda and salt. Stir in the sugar, beaten egg, and vanilla extract. Mix in the flour.
- Pour the batter into your prepared loaf pan. Bake for 50 minutes to 1 hour at 350°F (175°C), or until a tester inserted into the center comes out clean.
- Remove from oven and let cool in the pan for a few minutes. Then remove the banana bread from the pan and let cool completely before serving. Slice and serve. (A bread knife helps to make slices that aren’t crumbly.)
Process
We had some chocolate chips in the baking cupboard, so I threw some of those in there, too. Maybe, like, half a cup’s worth? I just kept pouring them into the batter until it seemed like a healthy amount.
I kept the bread in the oven closer to an hour than 50 minutes.
Result
The outside was a little more crisp than I would have liked. It might be because I used too much canola oil to grease the pan, or because I used oil instead of butter?
The inside was moist and the chocolate chips were warm and gooey, which was nice, but the whole thing fell apart a little too easily in my opinion. This may be because I didn’t allow it to cool enough before digging in. I also wonder if the crisping of the crust kept too much moisture in the bread. Is that a thing?
Still, I’m happy to err on the side of too moist than too dry.
Verdict
It’s a good way to use old bananas. Which is basically the whole reason people make banana bread, right?
Anyway, it was an easy enough recipe, with satisfying results. Kind of boring, though.
I should spend some time investigating the impacts of different pan-greasing techniques. How does butter vs. spray oil compare? What are the consequences of over-greasing? Etc.
