Best Of Kansas Banana-Walnut Bread - cooking recipe

Ingredients

2 cups sifted all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 1/2 cups sugar
1/2 cup firmly packed vegetable shortening
1 teaspoon vanilla
2 eggs, slighly beaten
2 large very ripe bananas, peeled and mashed (about 3/4 pounds)
1/4 cup buttermilk
1/2 cup chopped walnuts or 1/2 cup chopped pecans

Preparation

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
Coat a 9\"x5\"x3\" loaf pan with cooking spray.
Sift together flour, baking soda and salt onto waxed paper.
Beat together sugar, shortening and vanilla at moderate mixer speed for about 5 minuts until light and fluffy.
With mixer running, beat in eggs, then bananas.
By hand, stir in flour mixture alternately with buttermilk, mixing after each addition only enough to moisten dry ingredients. (Add ry ingrredients in thirds, buttermilk in two additions).
Stir in walnuts or pecans.
Spoon batter into prepared pan, spreading well to corners.
Bake for 60 to 65 minutes or until loaf is richly browned, begins to pull away from sides of pan and is springy to the touch.
Cool bread in pan on wire rack 10 minutes. Loosen loaf around edge with small thin metal spatula. Invert; turn right side up.
Cool completely.