Quarantine Baking: The Banana Bread Trend

While we are all remaining safely at home to prevent the spread of the coronavirus, many of us have turned to our kitchens for a sense of nourishment, entertainment and comfort. As bags of flour fly off of grocery store shelves, many of us are learning to bake yeast breads, roll our own fresh pasta and mix up puffy Dutch baby pancakes. And, in particular, we are seeing an uptick in banana bread baking in many households. A good banana bread recipe provides a feeling of warmth to the home. 

From the baked fruity aroma to the soft bread itself, banana bread loaves are the ideal comfort food at this time. And in homes like mine, it provides a vehicle for eating chocolate for breakfast! Whether folding chocolate chips into the batter, or topping a slice with chocolate hazelnut spread, no fruit befriends chocolate as well as bananas. 

I have been hearing a lot about banana bread making right now. People are home, and cooking is not only a necessity, but has become a nice way to pass the time, while also trying new things. And although stocking up on bananas may sound like a good idea, they just don’t last forever. But as their peels turn brown, it is the perfect time to incorporate them into some creamy batter.

In my own home, we’ve made many renditions of this treat so far. We always include chocolate chips but we have also mixed in rainbow sprinkles, swirled in food coloring and topped a loaf with chocolate coins. Mini loaf pans and muffin tips help vary the portion sizes and baking times and they freeze well. Recently, my three-year-old son Ezra asked to eat a whole mini loaf instead of just a slice. With everything going on, I said, “Sure, why not?!” Over the course of a whole day, he got pretty far.

When I shared a banana bread photo on Facebook, Talia Diamond asked for the recipe. Her sons Gabe and Ryan, in sixth and ninth grades at The Emery Weiner School loved it and can’t wait to whip some up again. She shared that her son Gabe “loves to bake, and we all love chocolate chips!” Here’s the recipe we both used.  

Ari and Avi Govshteyn, ready to put their banana bread in the oven. 

Season Paquette loves baking with her boys Ari and Avi Govshteyn, in second and third grades at Beth Yeshurun Day School. Especially with the uncertainties of today, she says, “Banana bread makes it into the rotation often; it’s nice for the boys to have something familiar.” When not in quarantine, the boys love baking for others. Avi shares, “I think it’s a nice way to show people you care about them.” This is the recipe Season uses. She also recently made this chocolate banana bread.  

Jennifer Rosenzweig says that no one in her home actually eats bananas - she buys them in order to bake banana bread or to freeze for smoothies. Her sons Zachary and Jacob, in seventh and sixth grades at Trafton Academy, are lifelong banana bread fans. This is the recipe Jennifer uses.   

Julie Blumberg finally jumped on the banana bread bandwagon, since her family kept consuming the bananas on their own. When she got to it, she used this recipe and topped hers with chocolate chips and chocolate sprinkles, which her three-year-old daughter Zoe loved!

What are you baking? Share your banana bread recipes – or other delicious recipes – in the comment section below.