Seeded Banana Bread with Dried Figs & Turkish Apricots (Vegan)
This will be my last vegan baking recipe for a while. Just taking the opportunity to catch up on a few posts requested; this banana bread is probably my favorite! I've always loved banana bread, and this vegan recipe adds awesomeness from different seeds and some favorite dried fruits. Being nut-free and low in sugar, it's perfect for kids and makes a healthy and tasty snack. Turkish apricots are preferable over typical dried apricots as they don't contain preservatives. The seeds and fruit add lovely texture and flavor. Serve as is or with your favorite dairy or non-dairy butter or yogurt; nut butters and jam are also great.
This will be my last vegan baking recipe for a while. Just taking the opportunity to catch up on a few posts requested; this banana bread is probably my favorite! I've always loved banana bread, and this vegan recipe adds awesomeness from different seeds and some favorite dried fruits. Being nut-free and low in sugar, it's perfect for kids and makes a healthy and tasty snack. Turkish apricots are preferable over typical dried apricots as they don't contain preservatives. The seeds and fruit add lovely texture and flavor. Serve as is or with your favorite dairy or non-dairy butter or yogurt; nut butters and jam are also great.
- 1/2 cup water
- 1/4 cup sunflower seeds
- 1 tsp ground cinnamon
- 2 tsp chia seeds
- 1 tsp pure vanilla essence
- 1 cup plain un-bleached flour
- 1/4 cup spelt flour
- 3 tsp baking powder
- 1 tsp ground cardamom
- 1/4 cup linseeds
- 1/4 cup raw sugar
- 1 1/2 cups mashed over-ripe banana (approx. 2-3)
- 1/4 cup neutral oil (sunflower or ricebran)
- 1/4 cup dried figs roughly diced
- 1/4 cup turkish apricots roughly diced
- 1 tsp pepitas
- Carbohydrate 15.7434159353651 g
- Cholesterol 1.22499999751467 mg
- Fat 3.19382843547224 g
- Fiber 1.89148439735601 g
- Protein 2.89226312228949 g
- Saturated Fat 0.454731186967753 g
- Serving Size 1 1 Serving (67g)
- Sodium 34.2434999348235 mg
- Sugar 13.8519315380091 g
- Trans Fat 0.314837687390225 g
- Calories 97 calories
Step-by-step
- In a small bowl combine the chia seeds with the water and set aside for at least 10 minutes until it forms a runny jelly like consistency similar to raw egg.
- Preheat the oven to 180°C/356°F and grease and line a medium sized (I used a 20cm/11cm) loaf pan.
- Sift the flours and baking powder into a large bowl, add the spices, seeds and sugar and stir to combine.
- In a small bowl combine the mashed banana with the oil, chia gel and vanilla. Whisk until smooth.
- Add the wet ingredients to the dry and stir until just combined. Add the dried fruits and fold through.
- Pour the mixture into the prepared loaf tin and scatter over the pepita seeds.
- Place in the preheated oven and bake for 40 minutes until lightly golden and cooked through (check with a skewer inserted into the middle of the bread). Allow to cool for 5 minutes in the pan before transferring to a wire rack to cool completely.
- Serve as is or with your favourite dairy or non-dairy butter or yoghurt. Nut butters and jam are also great… enjoy!
Over-ripe bananas do the heaviest structural lifting in this formulation. As fruit degrades past the spotty yellow stage, complex starches convert into simple sugars, softening the cellular walls and releasing free moisture. That heavy liquid content requires careful management so the crumb sets properly instead of turning gummy. Chia seeds mixed with water form a viscous hydrocolloid gel that mimics the binding properties of albumin in eggs, trapping moisture evenly throughout the flour matrix.
Sifting the unbleached plain flour and spelt flour with baking powder incorporates air pockets essential for rising, since the dense weight of mashed fruit and whole seeds works against expansion. Cardamom and cinnamon introduce aromatic volatile compounds that cut through the heavy sweetness of the fruit. Fold the roughly diced Turkish apricots and dried figs into the batter gently at the final stage. Dense dried fruits tend to sink during baking if coated insufficiently or mixed too early; distributing them evenly prevents pockets of heavy sugar from pooling at the bottom of the pan.
Preheat the oven strictly to 180°C before the batter goes inside. A hot oven triggers immediate carbon dioxide release from the baking powder, lifting the heavy batter before the starches gelatinize. Scatter pepitas across the top surface right before baking to add a toasted crunch to the crust. Test doneness by inserting a wooden skewer directly into the geometric center of the loaf. If the skewer emerges clean or with a few dry crumbs attached, the structural proteins have set and the bread is finished. Let the loaf rest inside the pan for exactly 5 minutes before turning it out onto a wire rack to stop residual steam from softening the exterior crust.
