Favorite Banana Bread Recipe

Do you have over-ripe bananas on the counter? Your family is bound to appreciate it if you turn them into banana bread...

Note that this recipe calls for sour milk. This is an old recipe, dating from when people kept a milk cow and sour milk was easy to come by. You probably don't have a cow, so use this easy substitute: Just add a tablespoon of vinegar to the measuring cup before you measure the milk. Do this when you first start gathering ingredients so the vinegar and milk have a chance to blend.

Preheat the oven on to 350 degrees.

Ingredients:

One well-greased loaf pan
2 cups flour
1 teaspoon soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
2 eggs, beaten
1/2 cup sour milk
1/2 cup shortening
1 cup sugar
1 cup well-mashed bananas

Using a large mixing bowl, beat the sugar and shortening together until they look smooth and creamy. Add the beaten eggs and bananas and mix well.

In a separate bowl, mix the flour, soda, and salt. Be sure you mix these well so the soda doesn't end up all in one spot.

Add the flour mixture and the milk to the banana and sugar mixture and mix it well.

If you like, you can mix in a handful of chopped nuts.

Now put it all in the loaf pan and put it in the oven. Start watching it after about a half hour - it may take closer to an hour to bake, depending upon the size of your loaf pan and your individual oven. Watch for signs that the bread is pulling away from the edges of the pan, then test by inserting a toothpick in the middle. When the toothpick comes out clean, the banana bread is done.

You can also bake this in "individual sized" aluminum pans - remember that with less mass the bread will bake faster.