Banana Bread History

Just think of these muffins as delicious chocolate banana bread muffins that happen to be vegan. They are so soft and pillowy that you’d never know they don’t have any dairy. You don’t need a stand mixer or any special equipment. What makes them vegan? Traditionally, butter and eggs are used. I use extra virgin olive oil and a flax egg. A flax egg is simply 1 tablespoon of ground flax meal and 3 tablespoons of water. If you have a flax allergy or want to use an egg, go right ahead. I use Trader Joe’s 72 percent dark chocolate chips or their semi-sweet chocolate chips, which are both dairy free.

Ever wondered when and where banana bread became so popular? We all know everyone was baking during the pandemic lockdown, and many tried their hand at banana bread. It actually gained popularity after another major national crisis, the Great Depression. Bakers were trying to salvage precious resources, like spotty, browning bananas and turning them into delicious, filling foods for their families. Families used what they had to create loaves, including liver and bean loaf (bleh!) and even using canned Campbell’s tomato soup! In my 8th grade cooking class, I made my students recreate these tomato soup cakes and they were surprisingly delicious! They didn’t require many expensive ingredients and many were shelf-stable, but I don’t suggest you try them unless you’re really committed to food history.

Two modern inventions were required to make banana bread happen. The first being baking powder which was invented in 1856 by a Harvard chemist. This modern innovation allowed cooks to create “quick breads” due to the fact that (you guessed it) they were quicker than yeast. This coupled with refrigeration, led to bananas being more transportable before spoiling. The first record of banana bread came from Pillsbury’s 1933 Balanced Recipes cookbook, and then even more popular with Chiquita Banana’s Recipe Book in 1950. It’s maintained it’s popularity since then and has been transformed into many different variations throughout the years. I hope you’ll give mine a try! Be sure to let your bananas get nice and brown before baking. The darker the banana, the deeper the flavor of the banana bread. The baking time says 24-28 minutes due to varying oven temperatures but in my testing, 27 minutes was the sweet spot. Make sure to test for doneness with a toothpick starting at 24 minutes. If they’re still gooey, let them bake a few more minutes but definitely not more than 30 total. This may seem like a long bake time but the maple syrup creates a lot more moisture in the batter. I haven’t tried this in loaf form but I imagine 55-60 minutes would do it. Happy baking!

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Vegan Chocolate Banana Bread Muffins

Yield: 12

Prep time: 5 MinCook time: 27 MinTotal time: 32 Min

Ingredients

•  1 1/2 cups all purpose flour (scooped and leveled)
• 1 teaspoon baking powder
• 1 teaspoon baking soda
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 3 brown bananas (mashed with a fork or potato masher)
• 1/3 cup extra virgin olive oil (or any oil)
• 2/3 cup pure maple syrup
• 1 flax egg: 1 Tablespoon ground flax meal+3 tablespoons water
• 1 cup chocolate chips

Instructions

1. Mix the flax egg in a small bowl. Set aside
2. Mix all dry ingredients in a bowl.
3. Mix all wet ingredients in a large bowl using a whisk or stand mixer.
4. Add half the dry ingredients. Then the rest, making sure to leave some texture, not super smooth & over mixed. Fold in chocolate chips.
5. Fill 12 muffin tins with liners or spray with cooking spray, fill almost to the top.
6. Bake 24-29 minutes. Start checking with a toothpick around 24-25 minutes. When it comes out clean, let them cool. I found 27 minutes to be perfect.

Nutrition Facts

Calories

260.01

Fat (grams)

11.15

Sat. Fat (grams)

3.51

Carbs (grams)

40.56

Fiber (grams)

2.43

Net carbs

38.13

Sugar (grams)

22.51

Protein (grams)

2.81

Sodium (milligrams)

238.60

Cholesterol (grams)

0.00

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