Black-and-White Banana Loaf

This week's Tuesdays with Dorie recipe was a banana bread loaf with a twist - adding some chocolate to half the dough and marbelizing it.

The recipe calls for 4 eggs and 1 1/2 bananas. Since I know you can use half a banana as a substitution for an egg, I just threw in 2 bananas and 3 eggs. I've mentioned it before, but whenever I bake anything using bananas, I prefer to freeze them ahead of time and then thaw them out in time for the cooking. The ice crystals that form inside the banana help break down all the cell walls and release all the flavorful juices.

Making the marble design was easier than I had anticipated. I alternatively ladled in some of the white and black batters, making sure I wasn't too even while pouring them. Some spots got too much black, some too much white, and that was just right. I then did a quick zig-zag through the mixture once all the batters were added, and the simple marble look came through.

I accidentally fell asleep while baking this. The loaf itself didn't burn, but I didn't get foil on top of it in time so the crust turned out a bit darker than I had wanted. This didn't affect the flavor at all, and the bread is great to munch on.

Recipe: Baking: From My Home to Yours, by Dorie Greenspan, p. 232