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Zoe Francois' Banana Bread

Banana Bread

byZoë François
Total 1 hour and 30 minutes
Active 20 mins
Makes 2 loaves
This is my favorite banana bread. For this recipe, we make two loaves of banana bread with the same batter — one loaf with a decadent swirl of Nutella, and the other simple, plain, and delicious.
Ingredients
  • 1/2 cup (110 grams) unsalted butter, melted, plus more at room temperature for greasing the pans
  • 3 cups (400 grams) all-purpose flour
  • 2 teaspoons baking powder
  • 1 1/2 teaspoons baking soda
  • 1 1/2 teaspoons kosher salt
  • 2 cups (480 grams) mashed ripe bananas
  • 1 cup (200 grams) lightly packed brown sugar
  • 1/2 cup (120 ml) whole milk
  • 2 large eggs
  • 2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract
  • 1/4 cup (70 grams) chocolate-hazelnut spread, such as Nutella
    Directions
    1. Preheat the oven to 350°F / 175°C. Generously butter two 8 x 4-inch / 20 x 10 cm loaf pans, then line them with buttered parchment paper.
    2. In a large bowl, whisk together the flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt. In a separate bowl, combine the bananas, brown sugar, melted butter, milk, eggs, and vanilla extract and mix well with a wooden spoon.
    3. Add the dry ingredients to the banana mixture and stir just until smooth.
    4. Heat the chocolate-hazelnut spread in the microwave for about 20 seconds to soften, which makes it easier to swirl into the batter.
    5. Pour half of the batter into one of the prepared pans and set aside for the plain loaf. Pour half of the remaining batter into the other prepared pan, then drizzle half of the chocolate-hazelnut spread over the batter. Pour the remaining batter into the pan. Drizzle the remaining spread over the top and run a knife all the way through the batter in a zigzag pattern to distribute.
    6. Bake until a tester comes out clean, about 50 minutes. Let the loaves cool in the pans for about 10 minutes, then remove from the pans and set on a wire rack to cool.