Banana Bread

Sometimes I buy extra bananas... about 3 more than I could eat before they go bad. By "bad" I mean overly ripe and kind of mushy. Why do I do this? Because icky bananas are perfect for banana bread. The more brown spots the banana has, the better tasting the banana bread will be. Some people might argue that point with me, but it is purely opinion. This is also my blog, so I would win that argument. Keep in mind, I don't mean the banana has to be ripe to the point it is attracting flies.

Banana bread is very easy to make. As it seems to be with most things I make, the hardest part is waiting for it to cool before eating. This is one of the baked goods that taste better when it isn't extremely hot right from the oven. I tend to try eating something right out of the oven and then complain that it doesn't taste good. Once the food cools down and my taste buds recover, I realize the food is fine.

So go buy too many bananas, make some banana bread in about a week, and practice your patience and self control.

Banana Bread (Printer-friendly PDF Version)
3 ripe bananas
1/2 C shortening (or butter)
1 C sugar
2 eggs
2 C flour
1/2 t baking soda
nuts (very optional)

Note: I haven't tried the recipe with butter, so I'm not sure how that turns out.

The first thing you need to do is peel the bananas, break them into pieces and mash them. After they are a gooey blob, set them aside.

In a mixing bowl, mix the sugar and the shortening (or butter). It will be mixed enough when it has a soft, crumbly consistency. Add the mashed up bananas and mix them in well.

Next, add the two eggs and beat them into the mixture until well mixed. Finally, add the flour and baking soda. Mix that until it forms a sticky dough. Scrape the sides to ensure all the flour is mixed in.

Split the dough between two bread pans (or one if you want really thick bread). You can, and I don't recommend it, add some sort of nut on top of the dough. This will most likely ruin the dough and leave it inedible (unless you like that sort of thing... not that I'm judging you...)

Bake the banana bread in a preheated oven set at 275 degrees for 60 minutes. Remove the bread pans from the oven after 60 minutes (or maybe longer if you insist on making just one loaf) and let cool for 10 to 15 minutes. Use a butter knife to loosen the loafs from the pan and flip them out onto a cooling rack. Let cool nearly completely before consuming!