Vegan Banana Bread

Yes!  You can make banana bread without eggs, who knew.  Until I started researching these things, I thought it was impossible to bake anything without eggs.  I read labels all the time now, since my middle son started eating a plant based, vegan style diet almost two years ago.  He doesn't eat eggs or cheese either, the only thing he eats from the dairy section is almond milk.  Food items at the market will say vegan or non-dairy on the packaging, but read the ingredients and low and behold it will have eggs in it.  EGGS are not dairy, but are sold in the dairy section of the market.  What they are, is a by-product of an animal - the chicken or poultry if you will, and poultry = not vegan! Well, Well, Well, what a secret if you are new to this whole vegan thing.

Although this recipe did not use eggs at all, I am sharing two tips with you today.  This first tip, is a substitute for eggs that I found using ground flax/flax meal.  I always have a bag of flax in the pantry for vegan cooking. So here goes the mix:

1 tablespoon of ground flax + 3 tablespoons of water = 1 egg.  Whisk until the mixture becomes thick, creamy and has an egg like consistency.  Use in place of eggs in baking.

The second tip, is using bananas that have over ripened.  I peel them, put into a resealable bag, squeeze all the air out as I am sealing the bag, and put them in the freezer so I always have bananas if I need them for baking.  The bananas that I put in the freezer didn't turn brown, so the color was consistent with the other bananas that I used for my banana bread.  Egg replacement using bananas: 1/2 mashed banana = 1 egg.  If you don't want the flavor of banana use another replacement.
Recipe below.
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Some of the ingredients for my bread. I always get everything out before I start baking, it's easier that way.

 Sift the dry ingredients together, gets rid of lumps in anything.

 Almond milk and cider vinegar.

 No mixer required, stirring in the dry ingredients.

 Chop walnuts up and fold them in.

All done and ready to jump into the pan!

 I used canola oil to grease two 9 x 5 loaf pans and dusted them with flour. One for now and store one in the freezer for later.

 Ready for the oven, bake at 350 degrees for 1 hour.

 And you have yourself  two beautiful, golden brown, banana breads that are actually good for you!

Chunky pieces of banana make it really moist, and the walnuts give it a little crunch!

MOIST VEGAN BANANA BREAD

Ingredients

2 cups unbleached flour

3/4 cups cane sugar

1/2 cup dark brown sugar

3/4 teaspoon baking soda

3/4 teaspoon salt

1 teaspoon cinnamon

1/2 cup unsweetened almond milk

1 teaspoon apple cider vinegar

4 large ripened bananas, mashed

1/4 cup canola oil

2 tablespoons pure maple syrup

1 teaspoon vanilla

3/4 cup chopped walnuts, optional

Directions

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.  Grease 2 - 9 x 5 loaf pans with a little canola oil and dust them both with flour, set them aside.

In a medium bowl, sift the flour, sugars, baking soda, salt and cinnamon together, set aside.  In a large mixing bowl, whisk the almond milk and the cider vinegar and let it sit for about 1 minute. Add the mashed banana, canola oil, maple syrup and vanilla, whisk until combined.  Add the dry ingredients to the wet ingredients, about a cup at a time, and fold in with a spatula. DO NOT OVER MIX, or the batter will be tough.  Fold in the walnuts with a spatula.

Divide the batter between the two loaf pans.  Bake for 1 hour, or until a cake tester inserted comes out clean (see note).  Remove from the oven and place on a cooling rack for 5 minutes. Loosen the bread around the edges of the pans with a knife or spatula.  Flip the pans over until the breads drop out of the pans.  Remove pans and let them cool on the rack. Serve warm or cold.

NOTE:  Remember, all ovens vary so baking time will differ. Be sure to use a cake tester or a toothpick inserted into the bread to check to see if it's done.  When the tester comes out clean, the bread should be done.