A Woman's Home Companion: Banana Bread

Many years ago I asked my mother for a copy of an old cookbook that she had. It was the Woman's Home Companion Cookbook, and I received a well-loved copy of the book as a Christmas gift in 1986. The book was first published in 1942 and this was an original copy. If you ever have a chance to pick up a copy of your own, it is worth having on hand. It has very few photos and those that are there, seem so outdated, they are actually quite humorous. But these recipes are tried and true and there are so many of them that are still delicious today, whether made as they were originally printed or slightly updated as I have done with this recipe for banana bread.

Here is a version I made with chocolate chips and walnuts. I used the unbleached white flour/wheat germ combination for the flour.

Banana Bread (Woman's Home Companion Cookbook)

(1 standard sized loaf)

** Flour, 1 3/4 cups

Baking powder, 1 1/4 teaspoons

Baking soda, 1/2 teaspoon

Salt,  3/4 teaspoon

Shortening, 1/3 cup ( I use butter)

Sugar, 2/3 cup  white or brown or a combination

2 eggs

1 cup mashed bananas

Optional add-ins: 

3/4 cup chocolate chips

1 tsp. cinnamon

1 tsp. ground ginger

3/4 cup chopped pecans or walnuts

~ 1 tsp. grated orange zest or lime zest 

3/4 cup coconut, sweetened or unsweetened

~ 2/3 cup dried fruit, such as dried blueberries or cranberries

**You can use all unbleached white or a combination of white and wheat. I often use 1 1/3 cups of unbleached white mixed with 1/2 cup wheat germ...which adds a nice nutty flavor.

1) Sift flour; add baking powder, soda and salt. Set aside.

2) Cream butter with sugar; add eggs and mix until smooth.

3) Add dry ingredients alternately with the mashed bananas until combined. 

4) Stir in your add-ins.

5) Spread in greased loaf pan and bake in 350 degree oven for ~50 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the middle has very few moist crumbs on it when you pull it out.

I typically remove it from the pan about 5 minutes after I take it out of the oven, mostly because I am ready for a taste test!

Here is another version I made with large flaked organic coconut and dried blueberries.

This bread is really good for breakfast the next day. I lightly toast it either in my toaster or in a toaster oven.

enjoy!

your in baking-

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