A Quick {Bread} Post
| June 8, 2010 | Posted by Lauren under Desserts, HOTR Eats |
One of my absolute favorite things to bake is quick bread. I love the idea (and smell!) of freshly baked bread, and the recipes are always extremely easy. No yeast, fancy ingredients, or complicated steps required. In fact, you don’t even need an electronic mixer — just a couple of bowls and a good old fashioned spoon.
I recently made two different types of quick breads that I wanted to share. The decision to make the first came when I unexpectedly uncovered a can of pumpkin in my pantry. Even though we’re officially out of pumpkin season, I was so excited by this find that I knew right away what I needed to do — bake bread.
However, a quick look in the fridge almost ruined those plans. I had no eggs, and as exciting as the challenge of baking a vegan version sounded, I’d never made quick bread without eggs before. Was it possible to make a delicious tasting treat without them — that even my carnivorous boyfriend would love?
Well my friends, I won’t leave you in suspense for very long. The answer (as I’m sure you can guess) is yes!! I found a recipe for vegan pumpkin bread on allrecipes.com that had gotten rave reviews. The original recipe calls for coconut milk, and claims that’s the secret ingredient to making it moist. I didn’t actually have that on hand, so I used almond milk instead. The bread still came out extremely moist and flavorful. Best of all – it easily passed the test. I didn’t tell EC it was vegan (in fact, I think I still haven’t told him), and he loved it…all the while never even suspecting a difference. You might call me a bad girlfriend…but I like to think that I’m a resourceful cook simply looking for an unbiased review. 
Vegan Pumpkin Bread
(Adapted from Super Moist Pumpkin Bread on allrecipes.com)
Ingredients
- 3 TBS ground flax
- 1/2 cup water
(Mix together until thick and set aside)
- 2 cups whole wheat flour
- 1 cup all-purpose flour
- 1 tsp baking soda
- 1/2 tsp baking powder
- 3/4 tsp salt
- 3 tsp pumpkin pie spice (or preferred combination of cinnamon, nutmeg, etc)
- 1 1/2 cups sugar
- 1 cup oil (I ran out of canola so used 1/2 cup olive oil and it still came out great)
- 2/3 cup almond milk
- 1 tsp vanilla
- 1 can pumpkin puree
- 2/3 cup flaked coconut (plus a little extra if you’re like me and love coconut)
Directions
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees and prepare (grease and flour) two 8×4 inch loaf pans.
- Combine the dry ingredients (flours, baking soda, baking powder, salt, and spices). Set aside.
- In a separate bowl, mix the sugar, oil, almond milk, vanilla, and pumpkin until well combined. Then stir in the flax + water mixture.
- Slowly add the dry mixture to the wet, stirring just until combined. Finally, add in the coconut. Batter will be thick. (At the last minute, I decided to add a glug of maple syrup to the batter, just to give it a little extra sweetness).
- Pour evenly into the two pans and bake for 60 minutes, or until a knife inserted into the center comes out clean. Cooking times can vary depending on your oven.
- Allow to cool, slice, and enjoy!
Oh, and I also might have taken the other half of the batter and made it into chocolate pumpkin bread by adding 1/2 cup extra dark cocoa + 1 tbs oil + 4 tbs milk + maple syrup.
Apparently we only have one bread pan in the apartment – so I improvised
As much as I love all things chocolate, I have to admit that I thought the regular pumpkin bread was better. I put a lot of cocoa in this bread, which hid the pumpkin flavor too much. However, this was absolutely delicious all crumbled up and mixed with Greek yogurt (+ cereal + PB)
—
The second recipe is for one of my all time favorite types of bread – banana. It’s so simple to make, and delicious as a mid-day snack, or even as part of breakfast. I made this for my family the other day and it was gone in less than 24 hours.
The recipe comes from Elise at Simply Recipes. I loved how simple (yet delicious) it looked. I made a few changes, so to see the original recipe, click here.
Coconut Banana Bread
(Are you noticing a theme here? I may or may not add coconut to just about everything bake. I’m convinced it’s the magic ingredient that makes every dessert taste amazing.)
Ingredients
- 3 extremely ripe on-the-verge-of-going-bad bananas
- 1/2 cup melted butter (1 stick)
- 3/4 cup sugar
- 1 egg
- 1 tsp vanilla
- 1 tsp baking soda
- 3/4 cup all-purpose four
- 3/4 cup whole wheat flour
- 2 rounded tbs ground flax seed
- Pinch of salt
- Generous sprinkle (more like a pour!) of cinnamon
- As much flaked coconut as your heart desires
Directions
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees and prepare (grease and flour) one 8×4 inch loaf pan.
- In a large bowl, mash bananas and then mix in the butter until well combined.
- Add sugar, egg, and vanilla. Mix until combined, but batter will be lumpy
- Next add the baking soda, a pinch of salt, a generous layer of cinnamon and the ground flax. Mix together.
- Lastly, add both types of flour to the bowl and mix until combined.
- Back for 50 – 60 minutes, or until knife inserted into center comes out clean. Mine was done closer to 50 minutes.
- Allow to cool, slice and enjoy!
Do you like quick bread? What’s your favorite kind? Another summertime favorite of mine is zucchini. So so delicious!
GRAAAAAAH!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! HOW DID YOU KNOW THAT QUICK BREADS ARE MY FAVORITE?!?!?!?!
I’m going to try your pumpkin bread. I must I must I must. Does it actually taste like pumpkin though? Or is it just a moisture factor? It’s just that sometimes I’m afraid that ingredients don’t actually have their original taste when they get put into other concoctions (like quickbreads) and I get disappointed…
As you may or may not have guessed, my favorite quickbread is the Aha! Cocoa Mint bread
I also really like my Upside-down Pizza bread too though. So the Aha! bread for sweet, and the Upside-down one for Savory. Mmm… Haha, I don’t think anyone has any clue what I’m talking about unless they read my blog – and even then, you may or may not remember! OH WELL. I STILL WIN BECAUSE IT’S ALL IN MY HEAD!!
aletheia´s last post ..Imagining Randomness: An Interlude
Oh my gosh…I can’t believe I forgot to mention the most important point! Yes, it does still taste like pumpkin. In fact, it’s VERY pumpkin-y and delicious — which is why I didn’t like the chocolate version as much, since the chocolate masked the pumpkin flavor.
Your Aha! Cocoa Mint bread is the quick bread recipe I’m going to try next. It looks so amazing. And you win by being intriguing enough to get people to go see what the heck you’re talking about.
nice job on the vegan pumpkin bread! I totally want some now. Who cares if it’s out of season?
I LOVE pumpkin bread. My mom has a coconut pumpkin bread that she makes a lot and it’s delicious.
Teri [a foodie stays fit]´s last post ..My First Breakfast Cookie
YUM lady…I love pumpkin too but haven’t had it in sooo long. I need to get my hands on a can soon or just veganize that delicious looking banana coconut bread. They both look and sound amazing!
Claire´s last post ..stormy running thoughts
Wow, congrats on all the bread making!! I’m so jealous you have pumpkin..I had one can, it was TREASURED like it was gold dust
I myself am all about the banana bread
Freya @ Brit Chick Runs´s last post ..Three Breakfasts
Okay…maybe this is a stupid question, but is pumpkin hard to get find these days? I don’t buy it all that often, but I don’t remember ever having a problem finding it in the store. But Lindsay also commented below that she can’t find any. So either I live in a bubble, or I’m just lucky…!
I’m so jealous of your baking skills. The vegan pumpkin bread looks awesome! If you’d like to come make it for me, I suppose that’d be okay.
hbobier @ Basil Vodka´s last post ..Learning
Anytime! That way I won’t eat the entire loaf myself.
nomnom–LOVE quick breads. my favorite is banana blueberry. next time you have extra pumpkin, try making some homemade dog treats! i make pumpkin-peanut butter biscotti for my pups and she goes cah-razy for it.
andi @ livelaughbefit´s last post ..changes a foot!
First of all, banana blueberry sounds amazing! I’ll have to try that next.
Secondly (more importantly), that’s such a great idea!! I’ve been thinking about experimenting with some homemade treats for the pup, but don’t have a great recipe to try. Do you have a recipe for the pumpkin peanut butter biscotti? He loves peanut butter, so I’m sure he’d be in heaven!
I’m on the way over for some of that pumpkin bread!
It looks amazing! I’m insanely jealous you have a can of Libby’s! I haven’t been able to find any in forever!
using pumpkin in recipes like loaves and breads is such a fantastic tip! and the color it makes it is so beautiful! plus its got that little extra flavor too!
but even better is the chocolate one! gotta love mixing pieces of it in yogurt, ice cream, fruit, or whatever.. even just by itself too. DELICIOUS <3
kelsey@snackingsquirrel.com´s last post ..Some Like it Spicy
I <3 quick breads b/c they're so versatile. They can be breakfast, a snack or dessert. Pumpkin is my absolute favorite, though I add dark chocolate chips. I also love banana bread with blueberries. Mmmmm, I may have to do some baking tomorrow.
Jen´s last post ..Dressing the part
I love libby’s. I use babyfood sometimes instead so I can get squash or carrot flavors in!
Katherine´s last post ..Bubbles
Oh wow I can’t decide which I want to make more, the pumpkin or the banana coconut! Those are seriously my two favorite types of breads!!! Well, banana nut bread, but I’m guessing coconut would be even better. In fact I know it would. YUM!!!
OMG I’ve been on the lookout for breads that don’t use yeast and here are 2 perfect ones! I love banana bread and the addition of coconut must have made it better! Also pumpkin bread looks delicious but you can’t buy pumpkin puree in a tin in the UK so if I want to make this I have to boil up pumpkin / butternut squash until tender and then mash it! So much effort!
Yikes!! That’s definitely a lot of work! I didn’t realize canned pumpkin wasn’t available in the UK. Libby’s should really get on that!!
I have hit the bread bank, wow you’ve been busy:) You can never go wrong with a little Coconut Banana Bread. Never tried that combo but def sounds like it works. I adore the fall with all the tasty pumpkin recipes around.
Nichole´s last post ..Pilates & Pedaling – Weekend Rewind
Obviously I am a HUGE quick bread fan as well! And I am always amazed how tasty vegan breads and muffins turn out. Flax and almond milks are my go tos. Your pumpkin bread looks great (I wish pumpkin was always in season
).
Erica´s last post ..Granola, Bread & Pasta, Oh My! (Giveaway Post)
WOW that banana coconut bread looks fabulous! I love how you can see the coconut running through out. I could probably polish off that entire loaf alone!
Kelly @ Healthy Living With Kelly´s last post ..Monday Miles
I’m all over that coconut banana bread!
I just found this blog and I love it.
I love all the pumpkin breads. I love all things pumpkin
Ashley@thehungryscholar´s last post ..boo.
Vegan pumpkin bread has got to be one of my favorites! (With chocolate chips, of course
)
I haven’t made quick bread in a while but I remember making a lemon type loaf with icing that was really good
Danielle (Runs on Green)´s last post ..Dani California
Love this! I made nutella banana bread a few weeks ago and it kind of changed my life. Must repeat again ASAP… these look BOMB too!
Courtney (Pancakes & Postcards)´s last post ..It’s My Birthday, I Can Eat Cake For Dinner If I Want To.
Yummm coconut banana bread. I think the pumpkin would taste better than the choco-pumpkin, but since I haven’t tried, wouldn’t know. It just seems like choco-pumpkin would be two strong and distinct flavors combating for a place on your palette. Choco-bread though, is delicious
Make some choco-coconut w/ nuts bread next time! Please?
Jess´s last post ..Lessons Learned From Running