Banana Raisin Bread

I had planned on making a yummy, yeasty cinnamon-raisin bread this week. But I had some bananas that were starting to head South pretty quickly just staring at me from their perch on the counter. Sure, I could have put them in the freezer but I wanted to use them. Any baked good with bananas was really sounding good to me. So, I did a quick google search and found a banana raisin bread recipe on the Sun-Maid Raisin site.

It looked great, so I figured I'd give it a shot. I made the mandatory changes - I really cannot make a recipe exactly as it states, I always have to mix up a few things here or there to give it my own flavor and cater to my family's specific tastes. I know I'm not alone in this, right?

Banana Raisin Bread

• 1/3 cup butter or margarine, melted
• 2/3 cup granulated sugar
• 2 large eggs
• 1 teaspoon vanilla
  
• 1 cup (2 medium) mashed ripe bananas
• 3 tablespoons milk
• 1 cup all-purpose flour
• 1 cup whole wheat flour
  
• 1 teaspoon baking powder
• 1 teaspoon cinnamon
  
• 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 1/2 cup raisins

1. Cream the butter and sugar together for 5 minutes. Add eggs and vanilla, mix well. Add bananas and milk, mix well.
2. In a separate bowl, combine the flours, baking powder, cinnamon, baking soda and salt. Slowly stir the flour mixture into the banana mixture. Stir in the raisins.
3. Bake in a greased loaf pan at 350 degrees for 55 to 60 minutes.

I really liked the texture of this bread. It is dense and holds up well to toasting. It also makes some mean French toast. I'm definitely going to do a double batch next time. I might even try going to all whole wheat flour.

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