Best Banana Bread

When the weather is cold, there’s something about sweet smells wafting from the kitchen, warming the soul.

I’ve been experimenting with Banana Bread, there are many, many recipes and variations to be found, and we’ve finally landed on our favorite, which is an adaptation from Bon Appétit - we loved the use of brown sugar and Greek yogurt for a deeper, richer flavor.

Best Banana Bread

INGREDIENTS

Nonstick vegetable oil spray

1 and 3/4 cups all-purpose flour

1¼ teaspoons baking soda

¾ teaspoon kosher salt

1/2 cup (packed) dark brown sugar

⅓ cup mascarpone, plain whole-milk Greek yogurt, or sour cream

1 stick unsalted butter, room temperature

2 large eggs

4 large very ripe bananas, mashed (about 1½ cups)

½ cup chopped bittersweet or semisweet chocolate (optional)

DIRECTIONS

Preheat oven to 325°.
Lightly coat loaf pan with butter and line with parchment paper, leaving a generous overhang on long sides. (this makes loaf removal easier!)
In a small bowl, gently mash the bananas (the more ripe the better) leaving the bananas with some texture.
Whisk flour, baking soda, and salt in a medium bowl.
Using an electric mixer ( I love my royal blue Kitchen Aid) on medium-high speed, beat brown sugar, Greek yogurt, and butter in a large bowl until light and fluffy, about 4 minutes.
Add eggs one at a time, combining egg fully & scraping down the sides of the bowl after each addition.
Reduce speed to low, add flour mixture, and mix until just combined.
Fold in banana mixture and add chocolate and/or walnuts if desired. I’m a purist and like it best without the additions. Scrape batter into prepared pan; smooth top.
Bake bread until a tester inserted into the center comes out clean, 60–65 minutes. Transfer pan to a wire rack and let bread cool in pan 1 hour.
Turn out bread and let cool completely

Use banana bread for french toast, crumble slices of bread and toast in a pan with butter to top vanilla ice cream.