Sourdough Banana Bread

5 stars

Light, fluffy and moist, this sourdough banana bread comes together easily and is incredibly delicious! Sourdough discard paired with dark brown sugar and ripe bananas creates the most tender and flavorful banana bread you'll ever eat. Enjoy warm with melty butter and a drizzle of honey. Instructions included for adding chocolate chips or chopped walnuts!

Prep Time10

Cook Time1

Total Time1 10

Course: Dessert/Breakfast

Cuisine: American

Servings: loaf

Calories: 3230kcal

Author: Rachel Kochlin

Equipment

Ingredients

113 grams melted butter ½ cup (or neutral flavored oil)
225 grams packed brown sugar 1 cup
2 large eggs
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
125 grams sourdough discard ½ cup
60 grams sour cream ¼ cup (or greek yogurt)
375 grams mashed ripe bananas 1 ½ cups (about 3-4 bananas)
240 grams all-purpose flour 2 cups
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon salt
½ teaspoon cinnamon
¼ teaspoon nutmeg

Instructions

Preheat the oven to 350°F. Grease and flour a 9x5 inch bread loaf pan or grease and line with parchment paper.
Add the melted butter and brown sugar to a large bowl. Cream together with an electric hand mixer or stand mixer for 1-2 minutes until lighter in color. Add the eggs and vanilla and beat again until combined. Mix in the sourdough discard, sour cream and mashed bananas.
In a separate bowl, whisk together the flour, baking soda, salt, cinnamon and nutmeg. Add the dry ingredients to the wet ingredients and use a rubber spatula to fold together until just combined.
Pour into the prepared loaf pan and bake for 55-60 minutes until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean or mostly clean (moist crumbs are OK).
Let cool in the pan for 15 minutes then remove from the pan and finish cooling the loaf on a wire rack. I like to enjoy warm with lots of salted butter and a drizzle of honey!

Notes

Variations:

Chocolate chips. These are a great addition to any sweet bread but especially banana bread. After you mix the dry and wet ingredients, fold ¾ cup chocolate chips into the batter for a little extra sweetness. You can use milk, semi-sweet, or dark chocolate.
Walnuts. They can be a great addition just like the chocolate chips if you are wanting a little bit of a crunch and nutty flavor. Fold in 1 cup of coarsely chopped walnuts after you mix the dry and wet ingredients.

Helpful Tips:

Ripe Bananas. Ripe bananas are key. They should be speckled with brown spots, or even better, brown all over. You can use bananas that are setting out on the counter or even frozen bananas - just make sure they are un-thawed before using in the recipe. Yellow bananas will not work well for banana bread.
Use toothpick to check on bread. Insert a toothpick into the center of the bread to check for doneness. If it comes out mostly clean with just a few moist crumbs then the bread has finished baking. If you pull out toothpick and it's clean, that's OK too.
Tin foil over bread. If you discover your bread is not done in the center but your edges are browning, loosely place a piece of tin foil over the loaf so the edges don’t continue to brown while the center continues to bake.

Storing:

Room temperature. If you’re planning on eating the banana bread within 3-4 days, it can be left out at room temperature. Store in an airtight container or ziplock bag.
Refrigerator. If there's any bread left after 3-4 days at room temperature, store in the refrigerator in an airtight container for another few days.
Freezer. Once the loaf has completely cooled, wrap it tightly in plastic wrap then in aluminum foil. For individual slices, wrap each individually in plastic wrap then aluminum foil. It can be stored for up to 3 months.

Nutrition