Just doing some more experimenting tonight. Bananas getting dark scream out for banana bread, so this time I've made a near-vegan bread (no dairy, no eggs, but uses some butter) which uses a minimum of butter and is supplemented in taste by the inclusion of coconut milk, medjool dates, and a little taste of cloves.
One of my "beefs" with sweet breads is the tendency of chefs to put far too much oil in them. People are always saying "oh, they're so moist" -- well, I think to myself silently, that's because they're full of oil and fat. But in this recipe, one gets moistness with a minimum of oils and fats, which strikes the best kind of balance.
1. Start out with a scant 1/2 cup of brown sugar and a scant 1/2 cup of white sugar. Combine with 1/2 stick butter at room temperature. Combine in mixer.
2. Now add the remaining ingredients: 3 very soft bananas, 2 cups flour, generous 1/2 tsp baking soda, 1/4 cup coconut milk, 1 tsp vanilla extract, 1 tsp cinnamon, scant 1/4 tsp ground cloves, and 1/2 tsp salt. Combine in mixer.
3. To this mixture, add by hand 10-20 sliced medjool dates. If they are hard, don't worry, they will soften up while being baked.
4. Butter a bread pan and dust with flour. Place mixture into bread pan and bake at 350F for 70 mins. If you use a convection oven, bake at 330F.
The exterior will get a bit crisp but this is necessary so that the interior bakes thoroughly. The interior will remain soft and moist.
Comments
this is unreal! i just got mejdool from TJ's yesterday & was thinking what to make with it? this eggless recipe is just perfect for that. one quick Q, can i replace the coconut milk with regular milk?
thanks
Posted by: richa | May 13, 2007 05:00 AM
I am not sure if you realize but butter is dairy too, so your bread isn't actually vegan unless you used a butter substitute... just wanted to give you a heads up.
Posted by: misterbeans | May 13, 2007 07:12 AM
Misterbeans: thanks, by the way do you use a butter substitute in your cooking? What do you use?
Posted by: Evil J | May 13, 2007 08:05 AM
Hi Richa, yes, you can use milk or I've even used almond milk from Trader Joe's which works well too.
Posted by: Evil J | May 13, 2007 08:07 AM
If you wanted to get this Vegan, you could use one of the Earth Balance products - they have worked well for me in baking!
Posted by: Joe | May 13, 2007 05:21 PM
transfat free margarine is a good vegan vutter substitute.
Posted by: bee | May 17, 2007 06:55 AM