Vegan banana bread

• 3 very ripe bananaspeeled and mashed — the blacker the peel, the better
• 60 ml coconut oilmelted and slightly cooled
• 150 g light brown sugarpacked
• 60 ml unsweetened oat milkor any plant milk
• 1 tsp vanilla extract
• 190 g all-purpose flour
• 1 tsp baking soda
• 1 tsp ground cinnamon
• ¼ tsp fine salt

1. 1

   Preheat your oven to 175°C (350°F). Lightly grease your loaf pan with a little coconut oil or line it with parchment paper.

2. 2

   In a large bowl, mash the bananas thoroughly with a fork until almost completely smooth — a few small lumps are fine. You want about 280g (1¼ cups) of mashed banana.

   Tip: The riper the banana, the sweeter and more flavorful your bread. Spotty, black-peeled bananas are ideal.

3. 3

   Whisk the melted coconut oil and brown sugar into the mashed banana until well combined. Add the oat milk and vanilla extract and whisk again until smooth.

4. 4

   In a medium bowl, whisk together the flour, baking soda, cinnamon, and salt until evenly mixed.

5. 5

   Add the dry ingredients to the wet ingredients and fold gently with a rubber spatula until just combined — stop as soon as no dry flour streaks remain. Don't overmix or the loaf will turn out dense and tough.

   Tip: A few folds too many and you'll develop gluten, making the crumb chewy rather than tender. Err on the side of undermixing.

6. 6

   Pour the batter into your prepared loaf pan and smooth the top with the spatula. Bake for 38-42 minutes, until the top is deep golden brown and a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean or with just a few moist crumbs.

   Tip: If the top is browning too fast before the center is cooked, loosely tent a piece of foil over the pan for the last 10 minutes.

7. 7

   Let the loaf cool in the pan for 10 minutes, then turn it out onto a wire rack to cool completely. Slice and serve at room temperature. Leftovers keep well wrapped at room temperature for 3 days, or freeze individual slices for up to 3 months — thaw at room temperature or pop in the toaster straight from frozen.

• loaf pan (23x13cm (9x5 inch))
• mixing bowl (large)
• mixing bowl (medium)
• fork
• whisk
• rubber spatula
• toothpick

Per serving

Nutritional values are estimates only.