4-H Banana Bread

Ingredients :

3 1/2 c Flour
4 tsp Baking Powder
1 tsp Salt
1/2 tsp Baking Soda
2/3 c Shortening (I prefer Crisco butter-flavored sticks)
1 1/3 c Sugar
4 eggs
6 VERY ripe Bananas (solid black on the outside - so ripe, the stems fall off, and you can smell them across the room - Usually takes about 3-4 weeks for them to get ripe enough after I buy them)

Instructions :

Pre-heat oven to 350ºF.

Cream shortening and sugar in a mixer until light and fluffy. Beat all the eggs together in a small bowl or measuring cup, just to combine them together. Slowly combine the eggs with the shortening/sugar.

Combine all the dry ingredients in a separate bowl, and mix together. Set aside.

Put all 6 bananas in a blender or food processor and puree them.

Slowly add bananas and dry ingedients to the shortening/sugar/eggs, alternating back and forth. About 1/3 of each at a time should do. Mix until smooth, using a spatula to scrape the edges of the bowl and the mixer to be sure all ingredients are combined.

Grease two 1.5-lb loaf pans, and pour the batter evenly into both pans. Use a spatula to flatten the top of the batter, all the way around the edges. Using the edge of the spatula, create a "line" down the length of the center of the batter, to encourage a uniform crack across the bread.

Bake at 350ºF for 60 minutes. Once done, remove the pans and set on their sides for 10 minutes. Flip them over and set them on the opposite side for another 10 minutes. This will allow the bread to simply dump out of the pans. Cool completely on a wire rack. Wrap in waxed paper overnight. This bread is perfectly edible while still warm, but even better if enjoyed the next day, after the moisture has had a chance to even out. Slice thick, and serve warm with LOTS of butter!