Thirty Thousand Pounds of Banana (Bread)

I know I said this would be posted last night... so even though I am typing this on the afternoon of the 5th, I am changing the post date to May 4 at 11:59 pm. That's the kind of POWER I have! Mwahahahahaha!

Ahem. Sorry.

So the title of this post is after a weird/funny Harry Chapin folk song from the 70s. Why is that what popped into my head when I was making this banana bread? Your guess is as good as mine.

Now here's the thing. I really hate bananas. I don't even like banana flavored things because, as I like to think of it, banana is a "bossy" flavor that usually overpowers any other flavor in it's vicinity. BUT for some reason, I like this banana bread. Really! Truly! I don't know if the nuttiness of it tempers the banana flavor or what but this is one banana-y baked good I can get behind.

Anyhoo, let's make this bread! Get your ingredients together... mixing bowl, loaf pan (grease it), flour, sugar, shortening, eggs, some smushy old bananas, salt, baking powder and baking soda, and some pecans. Well, that's my favorite nut, but if you'd prefer something else, knock yourself out. (This is my current overused catchphrase of choice. Knock yourself out. I can't stop saying it.)

Go ahead and measure out the flour, soda, powder, and salt and stir together. Then in a seperate bowl, cream your shortening and sugar, then add the eggs one at a time and blend well. Look at that sunny little egg all ready to give itself up to the good of the recipe.


Now chop up the nuts and stir them in:


I didn't take pictures of the next two steps because, to be honest, they were kind of gross looking. Nothing pretty about pulverized overripe bananas, folks.

Speaking of, keep in mind that for this recipe, the couple-days-past-ripe bananas are best. So long as they aren't rotten, it's okay if the peels are turning brown and the banana inside is kinda squishy. This just makes the flavor a little better and also makes them easier to mash up. So just get your bananas, peel em, and smush em up real good. Nice and smooth.

What you want to do at this point is alternate between adding the flour mixture and the smushed banana to the creamed butter/sugar/eggs bowl. Blend well after each addition. At the end you'll have a nice batter that isn't too runny.

Pour that into your pre-greased loaf pan:

Now bake! 350 degrees for about 55 minutes. The finished bread should (a) smell divine and (b) be a wonderful brown color that is probably cracked in a few places. Such as:


I cooled it in the pan for just a few minutes and then popped it out and let it cool on a wire rack. Make sure it is completely cooled before you wrap it up or else the moisture will make it soggy!


When it is all cool, wrap in wax paper or a large ziplock to store. Or, you know, just slice it open right then and try a piece. Or two. Who could resist this?


Recipe Ingredients & Amounts:
1 ¾ cup sifted flour
1 ¼ teaspoon baking powder
½ teaspoon soda
¾ teaspoon salt
2/3 cup sugar
1/3 cup shortening
2 eggs
½ cup chopped nuts
1 cup banana pulp (2-3 ripe bananas)

Happy baking!