Sourdough Banana Bread
Sourdough Banana Bread! Tangy sourdough discard brings out the banana flavor in this bread. Sour cream adds moisture and reinforces the sourdough flavor. The chocolate chips are a delicious bonus.
Who doesn’t love a good loaf of banana bread. What makes a good banana bread?
Well, first of all, there needs to be plenty of actual banana in the bread. Second of all, banana bread should be super tender and moist.
You know what helps make a quick bread super tender and moist? Sourdough discard!
If you don’t already have one, I can show you how to make a sourdough starter and how to feed a sourdough starter.
If you don’t have a starter yet, you can make fabulous Chocolate Chunk Banana Bread or Buckwheat Banana Bread in the meantime.
If you’ve got your discard ready to go, let’s get started….
Ingredients
Ingredient Notes
- Sourdough Discard – The recipe was tested using a 100% hydration sourdough starter. If your starter has a different percentage of water you may need to adjust the flour or liquid in the recipe.
- All Purpose Flour – Medium protein content AP flour is perfect for making quick bread that is tender but still has enough body that it doesn’t taste like a cake.
- Bananas – You want to use bananas that are quite ripe. They’re perfect when they’re heavily speckled with brown spots. Previously frozen bananas are fine.
- Sour Cream – Acidic sour cream adds richness and makes a tender bread. You can use whole milk, yogurt or buttermilk in place of the sour cream.
- Mini Chocolate Chips – Mini chocolate chips float better in the wet batter than full sized chips.
How to make Sourdough Discard Banana Bread
See the recipe card for exact measurements and detailed instructions.
- Mash the bananas with a fork. You want to leave the mash quite chunky.
- Combine the mashed bananas with the sourdough discard and other wet ingredients in a measuring cup or small bowl.
- Stir until the wet ingredients are well-combined.
- Combine all the dry ingredients in a large bowl and whisk to combine.
- Gather the dry ingredients, wet ingredients and chips.
- Pour the wet ingredients into the dry ingredients.
- Mix until the batter is about 2/3 combined then fold in the chocolate chips.
- Pour the batter into the prepared pan. Top the batter with extra chips and banana slices (optional).
- Chill the batter for 30-60 minutes while the oven preheats. The chilling time will allow the flour to absorb more moisture and the bread will rise higher in the oven.
- Bake until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean. Cool in the pan for 10-15 minutes then use the sling to lift the loaf out onto a cooling rack. Cool completely before slicing.
Storage
Sourdough Banana Bread will keep at room temperature for 2-3 days. Left over slices can be frozen. Do not refrigerate the bread.
More Sourdough Discard Recipes
- Sourdough Discard Crumb Cake
- Sourdough Blueberry Muffins
- Sourdough Brownies
- Sourdough Blondies
- Sourdough Bundt Cake
- Sourdough Granola
- Sourdough Pancakes
- Sourdough Waffles
- Sourdough Biscotti
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Sourdough Banana Bread Recipe
Ingredients
- 3 medium bananas (very ripe, 12oz peeled)
- 8 oz sourdough discard (100% hydration, 1 cup)
- 2 oz sour cream (¼ cup, see note)
- 2 oz vegetable oil (¼ cup)
- 2 large eggs
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 6 oz mini chocolate chips (1 cup)
- 5 oz all-purpose flour (1 cup, see note)
- 6 oz granulated sugar (¾ cup)
- 1 teaspoon baking powder
- ½ teaspoon baking soda
- ½ teaspoon salt
- ½ teaspoon ground cinnamon
- ⅛ teaspoon nutmeg
Instructions
- Butter and flour a 9"x 5” loaf pan or butter the pan and line with parchment paper.
- Mash 3 medium bananas with a fork, leaving them a little chunky. Add 8 oz sourdough discard, 2 oz sour cream, 2 oz vegetable oil, 2 large eggs and 1 teaspoon vanilla extract and to the bananas. Mix to combine and set aside. In another bowl, toss 6 oz mini chocolate chips with 2 teaspoons of water to moisten. Sprinkle a teaspoon of flour over the chips and toss, set aside.
- Combine 5 oz all-purpose flour, 6 oz granulated sugar, 1 teaspoon baking powder, ½ teaspoon baking soda, ½ teaspoon salt, ½ teaspoon ground cinnamon and ⅛ teaspoon nutmeg in a large bowl. Whisk the dry ingredients to combine and make a well in the center. Add the banana mixture and stir until about 2/3 of the flour is incorporated. Fold in the chocolate chips and mix until everything is combined.
- Pour the batter into the prepared pan and spread to level. Sprinkle additional chocolate chips and banana slices on top if you'd like. Refrigerate the batter in the pan for 30-60 minutes to give the flour time to absorb more moisture. If your discard was active the batter may rise a bit in the fridge. Meanwhile, preheat the oven to 350 °F.
- Bake until golden brown and a toothpick inserted in the middle comes out with moist crumbs, about 1 hour and 5 minutes.
- Cool for 10 minutes in the pan, then turn out onto a cooling rack to finish cooling.
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Very good, perfect for breakfast! I ended up making two loaves, not intentionally, but I got distracted when adding the starter and added too much to the liquids. It wasn’t double the amount, but enough that I went ahead and doubled the recipe. The density is perfect. Then I couldn’t find the mini-chips at the market, we live in a small town, so I did without my chocolate addiction. Thought about using regular chips, but was concerned they would have been too large. Used just pecans and hazelnuts, well chopped and toasted.
Banana and chocolate! Perfect! I want to make this recipe, to use up my discard, but am wondering if there is enough flour in it, vs. the amount of liquid.
I wouldn’t post the recipe if it didn’t work. Yes, I’ve made this several times and it’s delish. My starter is 100% hydration. So if your starter is different you may need to adjust the flour or liquid.
Delicious and moist. My picky eater grandson loved it!