Amazing Sourdough Banana Bread {Discard or Fed Starter}
This sourdough banana bread is next level delicious with an intensely soft sturdy crumb. The recipe works great with discard or fed starter.
Make room in your heart for another banana bread recipe.
With a uniquely soft texture, this sourdough banana bread is absolutely the most incredible banana bread ever.
Let’s Talk About Sourdough for a Minute
The sourdough in this recipe contributes to overall flavor without screaming: I AM SOURDOUGH, HEAR ME ROAR. In fact, if you ate a piece of this bread without knowing any details, I’m almost positive you wouldn’t peg it as a sourdough recipe at all.
However, where the sourdough absolutely shines is in the lusciously soft texture that is unlike any other banana bread I’ve ever had.
You guys, this bread is so incredibly delicious.
I use a 1:1:1 sourdough starter. The consistency is thick but runny. This recipe works well using discard or fed sourdough starter.
Banana Bread Batter
This one-bowl banana bread batter is very straightforward.
Mix the wet ingredients:
- neutral-flavored oil
- brown sugar + granulated sugar
- mashed bananas
- sourdough starter (fed or discard)
- eggs
- vanilla
And then stir in the dry ingredients:
- flour (all-purpose or whole wheat)
- baking powder + baking soda + salt
- ground cinnamon
A Substantial Loaf
This recipe makes one large loaf of banana bread. Which means!! —> Don’t try shoving the batter into a smaller loaf pan. You’ll be sad and so will your oven when things go awry and start over flowing into bubbling, burning carnage.
*Use a 9X5-inch loaf pan*
If you only have smaller loaf pans (like an 8 1/2 X 4 1/2-inch size), fill the pan slightly more than 2/3 full and use the rest of the batter for mini loaves or a few muffins.
Read the note in the recipe below for high elevation baking where batter tends to rise faster and sometimes overflow!
I have made this bread at least a dozen times and while the loaf pan is full, it has never overflowed (I live at about 2,500 feet elevation). It domes up beautifully while baking.
A Tried-and-True Banana Bread Recipe
I am so excited for you to try this recipe.
If you don’t have a sourdough starter, beg, steal or borrow until you do! I promise this bread is worth it.
I’ve added *a few* chocolate chips with good results. Baked in mini loaf pans with good results. Doubled and tripled the recipe with good results. Delegated the making of to the children with good results.
It’s just one of those amazing and soul-fulfilling recipes I can’t envision my life without. Long live sourdough banana bread. 💗
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Sourdough Banana Bread
Ingredients
- 1 ½ cups (350 g) mashed bananas (about 3 medium bananas)
- ½ cup (140 g) sourdough starter, fed or discard
- ½ cup (100 g) neutral-flavored oil (see note)
- ½ cup (106 g) packed light brown sugar
- ½ cup (106 g) granulated sugar
- 2 large (100 g out of shell) eggs
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 1 ¾ cups (249 g) all-purpose or whole wheat flour (see note if using whole wheat)
- 1 teaspoon baking soda
- 1 teaspoon baking powder
- ¾ teaspoon salt
- ½ teaspoon ground cinnamon
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Line a 9X5-inch loaf pan with parchment paper and lightly grease with cooking spray (I cut a strip of parchment paper and line the bottom and two long sides). Set aside.
- In a large bowl, whisk together the bananas, sourdough starter, oil, brown sugar, granulated sugar, egg and vanilla until very well-combined.
- Add the flour, baking soda, baking powder, salt and cinnamon. Mix with a rubber spatula until just combined and no dry streaks remain. Don't over mix.
- Pour the batter into the prepared pan. Bake for 50-60 minutes until the top springs back lightly to the touch and a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean.
- Remove the bread from the pan and let cool on a wire rack.
Love this recipe! Ultra moist and delicious! A loaf of this banana bread is gone within 2 days in this household and there’s only two of us! Double thumbs up.
I made this with brown butter!!! Sooo yummmmy
Can you use bread flour? I make so much sourdough that’s all I ever have on hand!
I haven’t tried this recipe with bread flour, but you could experiment! The texture will likely change a bit, but it’s worth a try.
My go-to banana bread recipe!! Delicious and straightforward, no complicated ingredients. Love it!! Thank you!
So yummy!! I added chocolate chips and we ate it for dessert. Everyone enjoyed it!
I have made this nine times now. It has turned out amazing every batch. I’ve made it with half white and half wheat flour, I’ve made it with all white flour, and both ways are delicious. I made it with nuts and without nuts, and both ways are fabulous, I made it with chocolate chips and that’s really good. Make this recipe with confidence that it’s worth your time. Thank you so much for this recipe. Also I have made this with mini loaf pans and it takes about 30 min in my oven.
100% agree
Can this be long fermented?
I haven’t tried it, but I think it probably would work fine.
So yummy! This pas time making them, I did mini muffins and used half white wheat and half all purpose flour. Made about 48. Approx 11 min per pan. Delicious!!! Thank you!!
This banana bread is amazing! Didn’t change a thing and can’t wait to make it again!
I had no idea that loaf pans came in different sizes – and that I have smaller ones! I doubled this recipe, which filled my 3 pans perfectly. I ran out of parchment paper, so I greased and floured the pans, and everything came out beautifully and SO delicious! Next time I’ll try adding mini chocolate chips
The BEST banana bread I have ever made. Added 1 cup dark chocolate chips, otherwise, followed recipe exactly. Took a little longer cook time. SOOOO good!
So easy and tasty! I received so many compliments at work on my first loaf! I was told it was even better than that from a local coffee shop/bakery. I added about 1 cup of a chocolate chips to my second try . Delish!
Great recipe.
Thanks, Mel!
insanely good!! we’ve made this deluxe bread 3 times in the last ten days. just. can’t. stop!! thank you, Mel!!❤️
Fantastic!
When you say 1:1:1, what does that mean? Flour to water to what?
Flour to water to sourdough starter.
Delectable result! I made this as gluten-free with Bob’s Red Mill 1to1 Baking, and the bread is lovely. Great crust, baked all through (banana bread can be so wet sometimes), not too sweet. This is fersure my new go-to sourdough banana bread recipe. Thanks!
This is so so good! I’ve made it twice with applesauce instead of oil and it’s delicious. Thanks Mel!
This was super good! I mixed the starter, flour, sugar, oil and banana and let it sit on the counter overnight to get more of the sourdough benefits. In the morning I gently mixed in the rest of the ingredients and baked as per instruction. Came out light and moist, delicious.
I must make this and would like to make two loaves. Could this recipe be divided between two 4-1/2″x8-1/2″ pans? May not raise as high, but would be just fine with me.
The loaves would be quite flat since there won’t be enough batter to fill those pans, but if you don’t mind that, it should work fine (keep an eye on baking time, will likely need less time in the oven).
Did this recipe twice now and it’s DELICIOUS. Thank you!
Oh my gosh! My loaf of sourdough banana bread is in the oven now and looking beautiful! It’s below zero degrees here in Wisconsin so I’ve been baking a lot of sourdough bread varieties and was so happy to see your email come through as it was time to use up some of my starter. Thanks for all the good things you share! I cannot wait to eat a slice of banana bread with butter!
have this “to go to” banana bread recipe I’ve been using for years (from a Better Homes “New Cook Book”). It’s always been good and it uses shortening instead of butter or oil. It’s a nice texture.
Anyway, I’ve been baking since 9, and it’s shocking I just made my first sour dough starter in Oct. I make tons of bread & am only now experimenting with baked goods…
I was eyeing some brown bananas on the counter & excessive starter in my fridge and thought, I’ll try a sour dough banana bread. There are a lot on line to choose from! What drew me to this was the ingredients (I know what to look for for me).
I made a loaf the other day and it was so good! I like that it’s a different variation from my standard BB. I’ll for sure use both in the future!
My daughter’s bf loved this bread & I’m in the middle of making him his own loaf now (house smells good!). So glad I found this recipe!
FYI, I use 9×5 pan, convection bake at 325, and it’s a solid 60-65 min