The Melaniff Family Cookbook

Banana Bread

Ripe bananas freeze easily. Mash adding 1 T lemon juice for each cup of bananas to prevent darkening, freeze in 1½ C portions.

Ingredients

1¼ C sugar

½ C butter, softened

2 eggs

1½ C bananas, over ripe and mashed

½ C buttermilk

1 t vanilla

2½ C flour

1 t baking soda

1 t salt

1 C nuts, chopped (if desired)

Procedure

Place oven rack in the lowest position. Heat oven to 350°F

Grease bottoms only of 2 loaf pans, 8½ x 4½ x 2½ inches, or 1 loaf pan 9 x 5 x 3 inches.*

Mix sugar and butter in a large bowl. Stir in eggs until well blended.

Add bananas, buttermilk and vanilla. Beat until smooth.

Stir in remaining ingredients except nuts just until moistened. Stir in nuts.

Bake in 8-inch loaves about 1 hour, 9-inch loaves about 1¼ hours or until a wooden pick inserted into the center comes out clean. Cool 5 minutes.

Loosen sides of loaves from pans; remove from pans. Cool completely before slicing.

Wrap tightly and store at room temperature up to 4 days, or refrigerate up to 10 days.

*In muffin pans; bake for about 30 minutes.