Monday, May 23, 2011

Vegan Banana Bread

My quest for a not too sweet banana bread without eggs ends here. Until I find another recipe which might sound better than this at least.
I had a bunch of bananas that were too mushy to eat as is. And, I had company so that spending the bread wasn't a problem. I had bookmarked this recipe from king arthur flour. I reduced the sugar and made it vegan. Result was an awesome bread which doesn't taste like cake.

Many people complain about banana bread being sticky and almost wet. That is mainly due to high sugars in both bananas and the added sugar. This one is moist, but not sticky and is more like bread and not too sweet like a cake.

One Year back -  Car Cake
Adapted from - King Arthur Flour
Ingredients:
Canola Oil - 1/3 cup
Sugar - 1/2 cup
Cinnamon - 1 tsp
Nutmeg - 1/8 tsp
Baking Soda - 1 tsp
Baking Powder - 1 tsp
Salt - 1 tsp
Mashed ripe banana - 1 1/2 cups (about 4 - 5 bananas)
Flax meal - 2 TBSP
Warm water to mix with flax meal - 6 TBSP
Whole Wheat Flour - 1 cup

All Purpose flour - 1 1/4 cup


Method:
Preheat the oven to 350 F (175 C). Spray a 9 X 5 pan with vegetable oil spray. Set aside. In a bowl, combine sugar, whole wheat flour, all purpose flour, salt, baking powder, baking soda, cinnamon, nutmeg. Whisk together to combine. Mix flax meal with warm water. Let it sit for 5 minutes. In another bowl, whisk together oil, bananas. Stir in the flax and water mixture. Slowly add the dry ingredients to wet and stir to combine. Pour into the prepared pan and bake for 45 - 50 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean. Cool in the pan for 10 minutes and then turn on to the wire rack to cool completely. Slice when cool.

Enjoy.

32 comments:

  1. Perfect looking bread :) love the clicks :)

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  2. Prefectly baked marvellous bread..cant believe its vegan..

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  3. I think I will give it a try. The past banana breads as you pointed out were too moist and 'bananaee'. My older one shies away from the 'banananess'.

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  4. Perfect looking bread :) love the clicks :)

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  5. Will saffola oil make any difference? I haven't checked if we get canola oil here..bread looks extremely inviting..and I have stopped checking to see the diff between a cake and a bread..:)

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  6. Thanks everyone.
    Srivalli,
    Saffola works. So does corn oil. I am sure you get corn or sun flower or palm oil. As long as the oil is odorless, it is good to use. Or use melted ghee for a non vegan version.

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  7. I replaced the Flax Meal with Chai seed - not the same quantities tho as Chai tends to glup up - also as said defo don't use olive oil - or any strong smelling oil - other than the oil, this is a pretty swell and easy to make recipe! My first vegan Bread - I think things will be just fine!

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  8. Friggin' AWESOME recipe! I've made this twice and it has received quite a few compliments. The first time I added a splash of vanilla, threw in some toasted walnuts, and subbed brown sugar for the white. The second time I added the vanilla, some untoasted pecans, and semi-sweet chocolate chips, still using the brown sugar substitution. It was absolutely delicious both times, but I'm kind of partial to the one with the chocolate :-) My one suggestion is that it looks done, if not OVER done, on the outside before it cooks through on the inside - at least with my oven. If that happens to anyone reading this, try covering the loaf with foil and baking it some more, checking every few minutes. Alternatively, you could cover it with foil, turn off the oven, and just let it sit in there while the oven cools down. Both of these adjustments worked for me. Thanks for the great recipe! I will be making this often :-)

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  9. Michelle,
    Thanks for the feedback and suggestions. I am sure someone will be very thankful for this comment of yours.

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  10. Delicious! I used coconut oil & added vanilla plus about a cup of chopped walnuts. Can't wait to make it again.

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  11. Made this today and it came out real good. Not too sweet and pairs well with nutella :). I omitted cinnamon and added cardamom. Worked well, next time am going leave out nutmeg as well. Thanks Champa for another easy, healthy and tasty recipe :)

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  12. Swapna,
    Thanks for the feedback. I am glad you liked it.

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  13. Thank you so much for sharing this recipe.

    I made it today and love it. My one year old also loved it!
    I did use chia seeds instead of flax seeds and it turned out great. Very fluffy. Have you tried using another oil? I am not much of a fan of canola oil and am thinking of substituting it next time.
    Thanks again, I shared a link on my blog.

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  14. Made it twice champa, it tasted so good!!! thanks for the recipe!!!

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  15. Very tempting bread, festivals leave me with some bananas most of the times, so a good time to try! How will this batter be once mixed? Have some flax meal I had ground a couple of months back in my fridge. Should that be good enough?

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  16. Suma,
    This is not a very thick batter. You could use those flax meal if you stored in the refrigerator. Flax seeds go rancid very fast.

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  17. can applesauce be substituted for the oil?

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    1. CC, Yes. You may. But the loaf will be denser that way. But if you do use applesauce or pureed banana in place of oil, increase the baking soda by 1/4 tsp.

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  18. Champa I made this bread today. My hubby insists on calling it cake. He knows not there are bananas in it. The small bit is finished then the slices are disappearing. Thanks.

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    1. Archana,
      Thanks for the feedback. I am glad you all liked it.

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  19. Def the best banana bread recipe I've made... five stars (if there were stars)

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    Replies
    1. Thank you for the feedback. I am glad you liked it too.

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  20. Hi Champa, I have made this bread so many times and love it each time. I was wondering how I can omit AP flour and use whole wheat completely. Do I need to increase liquid amount? Thank you :)

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    1. Swapna,
      You can either increase the water by 2 TBSP or reduce the flour. Instead of 1 1/4 cup APF, use 1 cup whole wheat flour. I would prefer whole wheat pastry flour. Otherwise, it might get very dense.

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  21. This bread was awesome too. It was so delicious, me and my boyfriend finished it really quick! It goes very well with tea. We drizzled lil agave nectar over it every-time we had it. MORE VEGAN RECIPES PLEASE!!!

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  22. Can I use Microwave to cook this bread?

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    Replies
    1. If you have the microwave that can do convection baking, yes. Otherwise, no.

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  23. Nice recepie. Will try it - can I avoid baking soda & powder. I do not like to use these chemicals. Could you also please let us know what Flaxseed does to the bread & can it be substituted? Both Flaxseed & Chia seeds are health foods but may have side effects. So please give us alternate ingredients.

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    Replies
    1. Without soda and baking powder, you won't get the bread to raise and have the texture. It will become hard and chewy. Flax seeds bind the ingredients in the same way as eggs do.

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