Banana Tea Bread

I've been making this banana bread for years and years. This recipe comes from the very first cook book I ever received from my parents when I first moved out on my own...it's 'The New Doubleday Cookbook' by Jean Anderson & Elaine Hanna. By no means is it a vegan cookbook, but fortunately, this recipe has made a fantastic transformation and is as good, if not better, than the original...it's moist, fluffy and delicious just as it has always been! I'm happy to share with you this wonderful banana tea bread that I have loved for many years and look forward to loving for many more to come. 

Here is a before...I topped this one with some crumbled walnuts...even the batter is delish! I could sit and eat that all day...

And the after, so perfect and golden brown...beautiful banana bread ♥

Ingredients

• 1 3/4 cups spelt flour, or flour of choice*
• 2 teaspoons baking powder
• 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1/3 cup veggie oil**
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 1/3 cup organic pure cane sugar or finely chopped dates
• 4 small or 3 large bananas (preferably overripe), mashed

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Combine flour, baking powder, baking soda and salt in a medium/large size bowl and set aside. In a small bowl mix oil, sugar and vanilla. Combine wet ingredients with dry ingredients and mix briefly, set aside. Mash bananas, you should have approx. 1 3/4 - 2 cups, add to batter and mix until combined. Pour or spoon into a well greased loaf pan...I used coconut oil to grease mine. I don't use vegan butters, margarines or sprays as I don't care for them. Bake for about 50 min to an hour. With my oven it only goes for 50 min. You can also do the toothpick test in the center of the loaf, if it comes out clean it's about ready. Remove from oven and let cool for 10 min.

*To make gluten free use gluten free all purpose flour or gluten free flour of choice.

**I have made this replacing the oil with unsweetened apple sauce I purchase from Trader Joe's. It was just as good, a little denser and didn't rise as much but the flavor was still pretty good. I also added 1 teaspoon of cinnamon to the batch for a different flavor.

Others toppings you may like are sesame seeds, rolled oats, sunflower seeds and pecans just to name a few.

FYI: I have just recently come across spelt flour and love it ! Here is more info on the nutritional aspect and history of spelt flour from Whole Foods: Spelt if your not familiar with it. This will be a new addition to my pantry, or fridge since that is where I keep my flours. :)

Now I will share with you how I keep my banana bread fresh and moist until the very last bite...

I use aluminum foil...two pieces about a foot and a half long, overlapping each other...or you could purchase the large size aluminum foil and use one piece....

Take the lengthwise ends and bring them together, folding over at the top to seal...

Fold up each end to seal...I do this after 5 or10 minutes of cooling and it has always worked to keep my bread moist.

 Enjoy !