Mom's banana bread recipes for National Banana Bread Day (Photos)

Mom’s traditional & quick banana bread recipes

Did you know that there’s a National Banana Bread day? Yup, it’s Feb 23 according to Foodimentary blogger John-Bryan Hopkins. He says there are five fun things you should know about bananas:

1. Banana trees are considered giant herbs, not ‘trees’ at all
2. A cluster of bananas is known as a hand, each banana is a finger.
3. Rubbing the inside of a banana peel on bug bites are said to relieve itching and inflammation.
4. Over 95% of American households purchase bananas at least once a month.
5. Bananas are one of the only fruits harvested every day of the year. They do not grow in regions that have dramatic seasonal changes.

Banana bread is great when you’re on the run in the morning, with that first cup of coffee. It’s great as a snack, dessert or whenever you need a sweet comforting feel of bread and bananas. This is better than a plain piece of toast, banana bread is great any time of the day and available to make year round.

Banana Bread

Photo credit: 

SJohnson via wikimedia commons

Like most people who buy a bunch of bananas, you probably have had a few bananas get overripe before you have the chance to eat it. Those are the best types of bananas to use in this banana bread recipe. If you don’t have time when the bananas get too ripe, just peel them, place them in a freezer type plastic zip bag and you’ll have bananas the next time you wish to bake a few loaves of banana bread.

Banana bread recipe #1:

• 1 ¾ cups sifted all-purpose flour
• 2 ¾ tsp. baking powder
• ½ tsp. salt
• 2 eggs or egg substitute
• 1/3 cup shortening or butter
• 2/3 cup white sugar
• 3-4 ripe bananas
• ½ cup of your choice of nuts; raisins or other dry fruit (optional)

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.
2. Sift the flour, baking powder and salt in a mixing bowl.
3. In a second mixing bowl, beat the shortening or butter until it is creamy, add sugar and eggs and mix for one minute at medium speed.
4. Peel and mash the bananas to egg mixture until well blended.
5. Pour flour, baking powder and salt (dry ingredients) into the wet bowl of ingredients and mix well. Mix in optional nuts and/or dry fruit.
6. Spray loaf 3 loaf pans or cake pan with non-stick spray. Pour mixture evenly into pans.
7. Bake for 1 hour and 10 minutes or until bread is done when toothpick poked in center of bread comes out clean & dry.

Quick banana bread recipe #2

Although this recipe takes about the same amount of time to bake, the mixing of ingredients is a little less cumbersome than the first recipe here.

Ingredients

• 1 ½ cups all purpose flour
• ¾ cup white sugar
• 1 ½ tsp baking powder
• ¾ tsp baking soda
• ½ tsp salt
• Sift all dry ingredients together first.

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.

Now add the wet ingredients:

• 1 cup mashed bananas
• 2 tbsp. lemon juice
• 1 egg or substitute
• 4 tbsp. vegetable oil

Stir together by hand, and don’t mix with electric mixer. Pour into greased loaf pan. Bake at 350 degrees F for 1 hour.

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