Vegan & Oil Free! Blueberry and Banana Loaf

by Basil and Bay

1 LOAF

1 hr

A combination on some of my favourite things; banana bread, blueberry muffins and loaf cakes.

blueberry and banana breakfast loaf oil free vegan

This is a fairly quick and straightforward recipe that uses mainly store cupboard ingredients. You can also sub out the fresh blueberries for frozen if you need to.

Whats great about this loaf?

Quick to make
Easy
Low cost
Not overly sweet
Perfect for breakfast
Great for a afternoon snack
Egg, Dairy and Nut free.
Portable – Snacks on the go? duh?!

Tips for a great Loaf:

Do NOT over-mix the batter.

I repeat, DO NOT overmix the batter!

You have probably heard this before, but it’s true! I made a batch of blueberry, lemon muffins whilst recipe testing a few months ago and they came out a bit too dense. Tasty, but dense.

When I tried them again—the only difference I made was; I mixed the batter waaay less—they came out much fluffier and lighter.

Don’t let those juicy bluebs sink!

Gently fold in the blueberries and seeds using a silicone spatula. To prevent the blueberries from sinking to the bottom and creating soggy-bottomed muffins – No one likes a soggy bottom! Especially Mary Berry….

Toss the blueberries in a few tablespoons of extra flour before adding them to the batter. But Meg, how does this work I hear you ask?

When you bake fruit, it releases its natural juices and sugars, so the extra flour that you’ve coated the blueberries in, absorbs some of that liquid and keeps the fruit in place. Pretty cool right?

Vegan & Oil Free! Blueberry and Banana Loaf

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Recipe details

Yield 1 LOAF
Time spent: Prep time: 10 Minutes Cook time: 50 Minutes Total time: 1 hr

Show Nutrition Info

Per serving

% Daily value

Ingredients

Dry Ingredients:

120g or 1/2 cup Barley Flakes or Old fashioned oats
130g or 1 cup Wholemeal flour
50g or 1/4 cup brown sugar. (I use light brown)
40g or 1/3 cup pumpkin seeds. (or seed of your choice) Sunflower seeds would work well too.
2 Tsp Baking powder
1 Tsp Bicarbonate of Soda / Baking Soda
1/2 Tsp Salt

Wet Ingredients:

280g or 1 cup mashed banana
56ml or 1/4 cup Unsweetened Plant milk
56g or 1/4 cup Apple sauce
100g or 1/2 cup Fresh Blueberries

Optional:

Extra blueberries to top loaf
1 tbsp extra sugar to top loaf – for an added crunch
Extra Barley Flakes / Oats to top

Instructions

Preheat the oven to 180°C / 356°F
Grease a loaf pan or line with baking/parchment paper or a loaf tin liner.
Mash the bananas by hand with a fork until a fairly smooth consistency has been reached.
In a large bowl, mix the dry ingredients together.
Add the apple sauce, banana and plant milk to the dry ingredients.
*Mix until combined, until the flour is incorporated. Best practice for quick bread/loaf batters – Do not over mix – it causes the gluten proteins to create a ‘elastic batter’ = a loaf that won’t rise well.
Fold in the fresh blueberries.
Pour the batter into the loaf pan.
Optional: Add a few extra blueberries, extra sprinkle of sugar and barley flakes to the top of the loaf, and gently press into the mixture slightly.
Bake at 180°C / 356°F for 50 – 55 minutes – until a skewer poked into the centre of the loaf comes out clean.
Remove from oven, and allow to cool slightly on a wire rack before slicing.

Tips

I baked mine in a 2lb loaf tin (approx 23cm long X 12.5cm wide / 9inches long x 5 inches wide
*If the batter is on the drier side when mixing (due to the wholemeal flour). Gradually add 3 – 4 tbsp extra of plant milk
The baking time may vary, depending on the power of your oven, I recommend cooking for the lower amount of time first, checking with a skewer and cooking for a further 5 minutes and cover with foil if needed to prevent it growing too much.
Lasts up to 3 days in a airtight container.
Can be frozen for up to 3 months. (it never lasts long enough here to freeze!) Freeze once completely cooled wrap slices in parchment or cling film in a freezer safe container. To defrost, thaw overnight in the fridge. If slightly soggy, toast lightly before serving again

Comments

Cathy on May 22, 2023

How do you make this a non vegan

Like Reply
- Basil and Bay on May 23, 2023
  
  I suggest looking for another recipe as I am a vegan recipe developer so don’t develop recipes with eggs or any other animal products. Try searching for blueberry loaf.
  
  Like

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Vegan & Oil Free! Blueberry and Banana Loaf