Banana Bread...Twice

I picked up some 29c/lb blackened bananas the other day that were just begging to be made into banana bread. I had an unusual hankering to actually follow a recipe for this one, especially since it belonged to a low-fat vegan cookbook, and I've never intentionally made anything vegan and was oddly worried that I would mess something up.

So loaf #1 was made with great anticipation of the first taste. Only...I didn't love it. I was a little bit disappointed. The amount of molasses really didn't float my boat, and I ended up slicing off one more piece to eat for breakfast the next morning, and giving the rest of the loaf to my dorm-dwelling friends who are starved for home-baked foods.

When I ate said slice of bread the next morning I discovered that a beautiful thing had happened overnight. The molasses WASN'T overpowering anymore! Give me back my loaf, people! Too late.

I was also too late to make loaf #2 exactly like loaf #1. I'd had a sudden urge to make a second loaf with some changes to the recipe, and already had it in the oven when I ate the slice of the original loaf. I expected to like my  adaptation of the recipe, but found that it would need some tweaking to really be perfect. It was overly dry and dense, and especially so because it's hard not to over-mix batter that's so dry.
So alas, I was left with a less-than-favorite loaf of bread.

The good news is that I only share the best! So here's the recipe for the original loaf:

Low-Fat Vegan Banana Bread
Originally from the Veganomicon Cookbook, taken from this blog.

Vigorously Mix:
   2 or 3 Ripe Bananas (depending on size), mashed up really well.
   1/4 cup Applesauce
   1/4 cup Canola Oil
   1/2 cup Sugar
   2 tbsp Molasses
Sift in:
   2 cups All-Purpose Flour
   3/4 tsp Baking Soda
   1 tsp Cinnamon
   1/4 tsp Nutmeg
   1/2 tsp Salt
Mix just until there are no more giant patches of dry mixture. NOT the time for vigorous mixing, my friends.

Bake for 45 minutes to an hour at 350. I only say an hour because my oven tends to be slow. You might want to keep an eye on yours between 45 and 50 minutes.

Then please, for heaven's sake, wait until the next day before you eat it. It will taste better.