Can I freeze this banana bread?

Yes! This chocolate chip banana bread recipe freezes quite well. We recommend freezing already-sliced bread and defrosting just a slice or two at a time, as needed. Defrost for an hour or two on the counter when you're ready to serve. Sliced bread will keep in the freezer for 3-4 months before it starts to dry out.

Why does the recipe call for baking powder AND baking soda?

Baking soda and baking powder are an important duo : Baking soda reacts with a bit of acid (in this case, apple cider vinegar and a touch of baking powder) to make the bread rise. The soda + powder combo also helps baked goods brown, which gives our moist banana bread a richer, deeper color. (See this technique in action in our Banana Muffins , Apple Butter Coffee Cake , and Pumpkin Bread ! )

Can I make this into banana bread muffins?

If you'd like to make muffins, we recommend following our classic chocolate chip banana muffins recipe, or trying our small batch banana muffins ! We also use a very similar batter in our banana bread coffee cake .

Chocolate Chunk Banana Bread

Description

This moist banana bread is packed with chocolate chunks! Mash over-ripe bananas until smooth, then add a few simple ingredients for a quick bread batter. Bake in a 9x5 metal loaf pan for a rich, complex loaf. Easy to make ahead of time!

Ingredients

Scale

270 grams ripe banana (about 1 cup when mashed, or 2-3 large bananas)
70 grams sugar (⅓ cup)
1 egg
53g unsalted butter (¼ cup), melted
4 grams vanilla extract (1 teaspoon)
270 grams all purpose flour (about 2 ¼ cups when measured correctly by scooping and leveling)
2 grams ground cinnamon (1 teaspoon)
4 grams kosher salt (1 teaspoon)
5 grams baking soda (1 teaspoon)
7 grams baking powder (1 ½ teaspoons)
80 grams milk (⅓ cup)
14 grams apple cider vinegar (1 Tablespoon)
6 ounces roughly chopped dark chocolate baking (about 1 ½ 4-ounce bars)

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Instructions

Heat oven to 325° Fahrenheit. Line a 9x5" metal loaf pan with parchment paper.
Mash banana in a large mixing bowl until it is relatively smooth.
Add sugar, egg, melted butter, and vanilla extract to the bowl with the banana; whisk to combine.
Add flour, cinnamon, kosher salt, baking soda, and baking powder. Stir until flour is about halfway mixed.
In a separate small bowl or measuring cup, whisk together milk and apple cider vinegar. Slowly stream this liquid mixture into the batter, stirring until ingredients are just combined.
Reserve a handful of chopped chocolate for topping the banana bread. Stir the rest of the chocolate into the batter until it is evenly distributed.
Transfer batter to the prepared loaf pan; top with remaining chocolate chunks.
Bake 45-60 minutes at 325° F, until the top is lightly browned and a cake tester inserted into the center of the coffee cake comes out clean. Carefully transfer to a wire cooling rack; let cool completely before slicing and serving.

Notes

Additions and substitutions. Add chopped, toasted nuts (walnuts, pecans) to the batter for extra texture. Use bittersweet chocolate chips instead of chopped baking chocolate. Use melted coconut oil or vegetable oil in place of the melted butter if you prefer. Use more or less ground cinnamon to suit your tastes, or add a pinch of nutmeg and/or ground cloves for extra depth.

A note about measuring the bananas: If you mash up 2 big bananas but they don't quite reach 270 grams, don't worry! We've tested this recipe several ways and you can go as low as 215 grams of banana if you need to: the final texture won't be *quite* as soft, but it's still good! If you have extra mashed banana left over, pop it in the freezer for smoothies.

Please use a kitchen scale! Measuring flour by volume (with cups) is notoriously unreliable – for best results, use a scale to measure by weight with the gram measurements provided! We use and recommend Escali kitchen scales. If you don’t have a kitchen scale, measure ingredients (especially flour, which is the most finicky) with the scoop and level method for best results.