Easy Eggless Banana Bread

My goal was a simple one; make a gluten-free vegan banana bread that was straightforward, easy, something that my 7-year old would eat, and that looked and tasted like the banana bread I see in every local café. Easy, right?! I had played around with eggless recipes for years, and never found something that I was entirely happy with. Sure, I had one that was okay, but it wasn’t “the one”. It was a little unreliable, sometimes stodgy, and just not quite good enough to be my go-to. It was time to find something new!

Inspired by other vegan bakers, I decided to use buckwheat as the main player in this quick bread (like cake but quicker to make). Initially, I tried using a buckwheat pancake mix as my flour base, but that didn’t go so well. It turned out as heavy as lead. Edible, but not awesome. Next, I went with melted margarine instead of oil, adding chocolate chips and walnuts to the mix. Unsurprisingly, the chocolate melted on contact with hot fat, and we had chocolate banana bread instead. Not quite the effect I was going for.

Spurred on by several ripening bananas in the fruit bowl, I purchased a bag of buckwheat flour from the health food store and went back to basics. After making so many loaves, I had a fairly good idea of the basic ingredients: flour, sugar, oil, banana, ‘eggs’. Mix wet with dry and bake. This easy eggless banana bread is made like any other banana bread, except that we are substituting the wheat flour with gluten-free alternatives, and the eggs with flax seed. It couldn’t be simpler! Isn’t it funny how the simple things are often the best?

Easy Eggless Banana Bread {vegan, GF}
An easy quick-bread free from gluten, grains, dairy, eggs and soy.

Makes 1 loaf

Ingredients
1 cup buckwheat flour
¾ cup almond flour
¾ cup tapioca starch
2 teaspoons baking powder
1 teaspoon baking (bicarb) soda
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
3-4 very ripe bananas, peeled and mashed (about 1 cup puree)
½ cup brown sugar
½ cup vegetable oil
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
½ teaspoon cider vinegar
2 flax eggs (see instructions below) *

Method
Preheat oven to 180°C (350°F). Line a large loaf tin (base measures 11 x 21 cm) with non-stick baking paper, with the long sides overhanging.

Measure 2 tablespoons flax seed meal into a small bowl. Whisk in 6 tablespoons of water, mixing until it starts to thicken. Set aside.

In a large mixing bowl, sift together flours, baking powder, baking soda and cinnamon.

In a separate jug or bowl, mash bananas until almost smooth, add in sugar, oil, vanilla, vinegar and flax eggs. Whisk to combine.

Add wet ingredients to dry, and stir gently with a wooden spoon, just until flour streaks disappear. Scrape batter into prepared loaf tin, and smooth the surface.

Bake in preheated oven for 55-60 minutes, or until a skewer comes out clean (check at 40 minutes and cover with a foil tent if you think the cake might burn). Cool for at least 10 minutes in tin before removing to a wire rack to cool completely.

Cut with a serrated knife for best results.

If you slice and freeze, you can enjoy a slice or two each day, toasted for breakfast.

Notes
*Use chicken eggs, if you prefer.