Banana Bread

(From Brynn J.)

This is the best banana bread recipe I have tried so far. It is part of my Relief Society cookbook from our ward in Hawaii. Man, it is so good!

*Preheat oven to 350 degrees

3 cups flour
1 1/2 tsp. salt
1 1/2 tsp. baking soda
2 1/2 cups sugar

*Mix together well, then add:

1 cup buttermilk (or mix one cup of milk with 1 Tbsp lemon juice or vinegar and let sit 5 minutes)
1 1/2 tsp. almond extract (or vanilla)
1 cup oil
1 cube melted butter

*Mix together well, then add:

3 eggs
3 mashed bananas
1 tsp. vanilla

*Mix together well; grease 2 loaf pans. Pour batter into pans and bake for 1 hour.
**Variations: for muffins, pour into greased muffin tins and bake for 25-30 minutes. You can also add chocolate chips and leave off the glaze (my personal favorite way to eat it).

**If you would like to use the following glaze recipe, then poke holes in baked bread with a fork and let bread stand for 10 minutes (very important).

Glaze
3/4 cup sugar
1/4 cup orange juice
1/2 tsp. vanilla
1/2 tsp. almond or vanilla extract
2 Tbsp. butter

*Combine all ingredients in a saucepan and bring to a simmer (not a boil). Remove from heat and pour over bread.