Bananas — You can easily speed up the ripening process by storing bananas in a brown bag on the counter overnight, then baking them (unpeeled) on a baking sheet at 300F for about 20 minutes until they are brown all over. Let them cool down before adding the mash to the batter.

Frozen Bananas — Frozen-and-thawed bananas have more broken-down cell structures where almost all the flavor compounds have been released. To use frozen bananas, simply let them thaw on the counter for about half an hour to 1 hour, peel them, and place them into the wet ingredients bowl for mashing. There will be some excess liquid, don't throw it away as it will have lots of flavor. Boil it down, reducing it to half its volume, for a more intense flavor without making the batter too wet.

Weigh Your Ingredients — Bananas will pretty much always vary in weight, and using too much or too little will not result in the same decadent crumb. Flour is also notoriously difficult to measure by volume correctly. If you don't own a kitchen scale, try to go by the look of the batter. You may need to add more flour (in 2-tablespoon increments), until the batter can hold a V shape on your spatula for a few seconds.

Fold Gently — Do not overmix the batter. Combine gently with a spatula until just mixed—a few spots of flour here and there are fine.

Let Cool — Let the pan cool down completely after taking it out of the oven. With batter as hydrated as this, you would be risking the entire loaf crumbling apart otherwise. Believe me, I made this mistake too many times because of impatience... example in the FAQs.

Varieties — If you don't prefer chocolate in your banana bread, leave them out completely for a plain loaf. If you want even more banana, place a halved banana as a topping. Note that this additional banana will reduce the time you can leave it out on the counter. Toasted walnut and hazelnut also work great as mix-ins.

Moisture — This recipe is specifically for moist banana bread, but if you're not a fan—increase the amount of flour by about ½ cup (60g). You will have a drier loaf that you can easily toast and spread butter onto.

Less Sugar — If you'd like to use less sugar, reduce the amount by up to 25%. Further decreasing sugar will likely result in less-than-ideal results since sugar does a lot more than simply sweetening your bakes.

GF — If you try this recipe with gluten-free flour, make sure to increase the amount by at least ½ cup (60g) for adequate binding.