Banana Bread

Every once in a while, you come across a dud recipe. This time it came to me in the form of Banana Bread. The recipe sounded good. It came from a  Penzey's catalog and the woman who sent it in raved about how good it is. But then again, if I were to submit my recipe to a catalog/magazine, I would rave too. It was a little different than other banana breads I usually make because it calls for buttermilk, which I happened to have in my refrigerator. I will be honest, it made the recipe more appealing.

It's not that the recipe is bad, but it is not worth repeating. We ate the bread, and the boys seemed to like it. We've had better is all. Ray and I thought it was lacking in the banana flavor. With most quick breads, it is better the next day. This bread was actually worse!

The recipe that follows is for a tried and true Banana Bread. It is adapted from Cooking Light. I have made it both ways in the little loaf pans and the big loaf. All depends on what you are in the mood for. The recipe is simple and the bread has a lot of flavor.

Mom's Banana Bread 
Adapted from Cooking Light

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• 1  cup  sugar
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  • 1/4  cup  butter, softened
• 1 2/3  cups  mashed ripe banana (about 3 bananas)
• 1/4  cup  skim milk
• 1/4  cup  low-fat sour cream
• 2  large egg whites
• 2  cups  all-purpose flour
• 1  teaspoon  baking soda
• 1/2  teaspoon  salt
• Cooking spray

Preheat oven to 350°.

Combine sugar and butter in a bowl; beat at medium speed of a mixer until well-blended. Add banana, milk, sour cream, and egg whites; beat well, and set aside.

Combine flour, baking soda, and salt; stir well. Add dry ingredients to creamed mixture, beating until blended.

Spoon batter into 4 (5 x 2 1/2-inch) miniature loaf pans coated with cooking spray. Bake at 350° for 45 minutes or until a wooden pick inserted in center comes out clean. Let cool in pans 10 minutes on a wire rack; remove from pans. Let cool completely on wire racks.

To make one 9-inch loaf, spoon batter into a 9 x 5-inch loaf pan coated with cooking spray; bake at 350º for 1 hour and 10 minutes. 

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