Laurin’s Banana Nut Bread

On this auspicious day, I bring you: Laurin’s Banana Nut Bread! The recipe that will follow is actually my veganization of a recipe for Banana Bread that I used for years (with critical acclaim!). It was not hard to veganize, truth be told, since the only not vegan elements were eggs and butter. For the eggs I used flax seeds, and for the butter I used Smart Balance Organic (I would have used a stick of Earth Balance, but I didn’t have any on hand and Ho Foods is a 15-20 minute drive away).

A word of caution, it may seem that this bread is very dense and almost doughy by time you get all of the ingredients incorporated, but don’t be afraid (and don’t overmix, a little flour will straighten itself out while baking)! This is what mine looked like when I got it into the bread pan before baking:

It takes up about a third-1/2 of the pan before baking, and after baking it rises up to 3/4 of the pan. A short loaf, but very dense and nutritious! Perhaps a little more liquid would change the consistency, but I think it’s very delicious the way that it is and I recommend you try it my way first before you attempt any alterations.

Without further ado!:

Laurin’s Banana Nut Bread

1 3/4 cup flour (I used 1 cup unbleached all purpose and 3/4 whole wheat pastry)

3/4 sugar (I used Florida Crystals)

1 tsp baking powder

1/4 tsp baking soda

1/4 tsp salt

1/2 tsp cinnamon (I probably used closer to 1 tsp, and I also sprinkled some apple pie spice in there, which consists of cinnamon, nutmeg and… something else… ginger?)

1 cup nuts (I used some crushed up walnuts)

substitute for 2 eggs (I used 3 tbs ground flax seeds with 5 scant tablespoons water)

8 tbs (or 1/2 cup) vegan butter, melted

3 bananas, mashed (need at least 1 1/2 cups)

1 tsp pure vanilla extract

opt: cinnamon-sugar for sprinkling

Preheat oven to 350 F and grease & flour a average sized loaf pan (I think this recipe may yield 2-3 mini loaves if you have mini loaf pans).

I always combine all of the dry ingredients first in a large bowl then set it aside to work on all the wet stuff. So, combine all dry ingredients (through the 1 cup nuts) in a large bowl and set aside.

Prepare your egg replacer, in my case, ground flax seeds. Whip them up in a small bowl with fork or whisk til thickened and set aside. Get butter ready for microwave. What I do is put the butter into the bowl I use for the wet ingredients. I usually like to cut it up into even sized hunks so that it melts a little more evenly. It should only take 10-20 seconds. In any case, you should take it out of the microwave after 5-10 seconds and stir it up, then put it back in if it’s still too lumpy/solid.

Now it’s time to get your hands dirty (or a fork). I like to peel the bananas then mush them up with my fingers into my measuring cup until I get 1 1/2 cups. You may want to just cut them up all nice and neat then mash them up with a fork, but where would the fun be in that? (banana haaaaaaands!)

Once you have enough banana (and you clean your hands) mix them with the butter, then stir in the egg replacer and finally the vanilla extract.

Once the wet ingredients are combined, add them to the dry ingredients and fold until they are incorporated. But don’t get too crazy, you just want it all to be wet without too much flour left. Overstir and you run the risk of a tough bread (because the gluten in the flour will get all excited).

Pour (or scoop/spoon) batter into loaf pan and spread evenly. At this point I like to sprinkle the hell out of the top with some cinnamon sugar. It gives it a nice sweet crust on the top.

Bake on middle rack for 50-60 minutes, or until a fork, or toothpick or whatever you stick it with, comes out clean. Let sit in pan for a little bit, til the pan cools off, then you may want to put the loaf itself onto a cooling rack. I usually cut it into slices once it sufficiently cools and individually wrap them.

Yield: 1 loaf, or 2-3 mini loaves depending on how full you fill the pans

I think I froze almost half this loaf so I could have banana bread any time! As with most sweet breads, this one tastes good out of the oven, but absolutely divine after sitting for a day or so. I love spreading my slices of banana bread with butter (yes, really! it’s very good, you should try it!)

I hope you like the bread. It’s relatively easy and straightforward to make, and a very good idea to make if you have a few ripe bananas just lying around.

Also, it tastes perfectly wonderful without the nuts if you’re not a fan.