4-H Banana Bread
Ingredients :3 1/2 c Flour
4 tsp Baking Powder
1 tsp Salt
1/2 tsp Baking Soda
2/3 c Shortening (I prefer Crisco butter-flavored sticks)
1 1/3 c Sugar
4 eggs
6 VERY ripe Bananas (solid black on the outside - so ripe, the stems fall off, and you can smell them across the room - Usually takes about 3-4 weeks for them to get ripe enough after I buy them)
Instructions :
Pre-heat oven to 350ºF.
Cream shortening and sugar in a mixer until light and fluffy. Beat
all the eggs together in a small bowl or measuring cup, just to
combine them together. Slowly combine the eggs with the
shortening/sugar.
Combine all the dry ingredients in a separate bowl, and mix
together. Set aside.
Put all 6 bananas in a blender or food processor and puree them.
Slowly add bananas and dry ingedients to the shortening/sugar/eggs,
alternating back and forth. About 1/3 of each at a time should do.
Mix until smooth, using a spatula to scrape the edges of the bowl
and the mixer to be sure all ingredients are combined.
Grease two 1.5-lb loaf pans, and pour the batter evenly into both
pans. Use a spatula to flatten the top of the batter, all the way
around the edges. Using the edge of the spatula, create a "line"
down the length of the center of the batter, to encourage a uniform
crack across the bread.
Bake at 350ºF for 60 minutes. Once done, remove the pans and set on
their sides for 10 minutes. Flip them over and set them on the
opposite side for another 10 minutes. This will allow the bread to
simply dump out of the pans. Cool completely on a wire rack. Wrap in
waxed paper overnight. This bread is perfectly edible while still
warm, but even better if enjoyed the next day, after the moisture
has had a chance to even out. Slice thick, and serve warm with LOTS
of butter!