It’s been a crazy few weeks full of teething toddlers, illness, and more teething. OH MAN, the teething. When I was pregnant, I used to have weird dreams about Little Pea being born with a full set of adult teeth and I’d wake up feeling creeped out, but now I’m kind of wishing that had actually happened. Would it be unsettling? YES. Would it be worth it? YES.
Back to the topic at hand: Banapple Bread. I have a vegan banana bread template that I make when we have overripe bananas on hand, with different tweaks and add-ins—usually blueberries or chocolate chips, sometimes chai spices. I’ve never made it with apples, but since we’ve got a crisper drawer full of them from apple picking, I thought I’d put them to use in our favorite banana bread. And it was good!
I love this bread because it’s super moist (yes, I know, everyone hates that word—it’s damp?), it’s easy to make, and as I mentioned above, it’s easy to customize with your favorite mix-ins. Even nuts, if that’s your thing! It is not my thing. I have strong opinions about nuts in cakes, breads and muffins. Controversial opinions, even. But that’s neither here nor there.
We’ve been having trouble getting Little Pea to eat because I think her tastebuds are all out of whack from being congested and this bread has been one of the few reliable foods that she’ll eat. I’ve been giving her a slice with a smear of cashew butter for breakfast. She nods her head and says “mmm” when she eats it, so I’m thinking that means we have a winner on our hands.
Yields 1 large loaf
The perfect bread to make when you have both overripe bananas and apples on hand.
10 minPrep Time
1 hr, 15 Cook Time
1 hr, 25 Total Time
Ingredients
- 6 tablespoons warm water
- 2 tablespoons ground flax seeds
- 2 cups all-purpose flour
- 1 teaspoon baking soda
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
- 2/3 cup granulated sugar
- 1/2 cup full-fat coconut milk
- 1/2 cup melted coconut oil
- 3 large ripe bananas, mashed
- 1 teaspoon apple cider vinegar
- 1 cup peeled diced apples (about 1 medium apple—I like to use Honeycrisp)
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350ºF. Grease a large loaf pan (I use an 8 1/2 x 4 1/2-inch pan) with coconut oil.
- Whisk together the water and ground flax in a large mixing bowl. Set aside.
- In a medium bowl, whisk together the flour, baking soda, salt and cinnamon.
- Once the flax mixture has gelled, stir in the sugar, coconut milk and oil, bananas and vinegar. Slowly pour the dry mixture into the wet mixture and stir until it's fully-incorporated. Fold in the apples.
- Pour the mixture into the prepared loaf pan. Place the loaf pan on a small baking sheet and put it in the oven. Bake for 60-75 minutes, or until the top is golden brown and a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean.
- Let the bread cool for 10 minutes, then carefully remove it from the tin and transfer it to a cooling rack. Store the bread at room temperature for up to 4 days, wrapped tightly in plastic wrap or foil, or freeze it for up to 2 months.
Notes
If you prefer mini loaves, this will make about 3. Reduce the baking time to 30-40 minutes.
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