Banana Buttermilk Bread (Act II)

ActII, Scene I: Our hero, Grubby (the little green lad up top), loves baking, and desires nothing more than to be healthy as well. Sometimes these forces oppose each other, and sometimes they are harmonious, and then there are the times when the desire to be healthier overcomes his sense of baking fundamentals (like we have here today). He slaves away over the mixing bowl, and pours the batter into the pan, thrusting it into the oven.

A few edits, revisions, touchups, substitutions, experimentations, and otherwise slight changes to the original Banana Buttermilk Bread.

Extra points for those who spot them. Points being my subscription to your blog and possible recipe highlight in a future post. Enjoy!

Ingredients

1/2 cup granulated sugar
1/2 cup cottage cheese
2 eggs, beaten
1 Tablespoon lemon juice
1/4 cup buttermilk
1 cup mashed bananas (about 2 large extra ripe bananas)
2 cups flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
optional: 1/2 cup chopped nuts

Directions

1. Grease (I used a tad of butter) a 9x5 loaf pan.
2. In a medium bowl, incorporate beaten eggs, lemon juice, and buttermilk.
3. Stir the banana mash into the wet mixture and mix well.
4. Add sugar to wet mixture.
5. In a separate bowl combine the flour, baking powder, salt, and baking soda.
6. Preheat oven to 325 degrees.
7. Gradually add to the wet mixture in small amounts until fully incorporated. Do not overmix.
8. Place the banana bread batter in a greased baking pan and bake for 1 hour.

**To test for doneness, insert a toothpick into the center of the loaf 5 minutes before baking time is over. When the toothpick comes out clean, the bread is done. You can also visually check if the bread is done by looking for a nice medium brown color and also checking that the banana bread has pulled away from the edges of the baking pan.