REAL Sourdough Banana Bread

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A delicious sourdough banana bread recipe that goes through a traditional fermentation process to produce all the benefits of real sourdough! This recipe makes 2 large loaves for you to enjoy now, to share with friends, or to freeze to enjoy later.

The Problem With Many “Sourdough” Recipes

If you’re into sourdough baking you’ve undoubtedly noticed the increasing trend in “discard recipes”. This trend has been gaining massive traction in recent years to the point where it seems like the majority of “sourdough” recipes that come up in online search results are for recipes using sourdough discard, but have nothing to do with sourdough baking beyond that. This practice involves creating discard as an ingredient rather than merely the byproduct of managing a healthy starter, resulting in far more “discard” being produced than is natural to the sourdough making process. This means that many bakers keep much larger starters than are necessary (unless you run a commercial bakery), feed them daily (which is unnecessary), and overfeed their starter (instead of just enough to keep it active), thus deliberately scaling it up in order to generate more starter for these “discard” recipes. These trendy recipes are built around the discard itself rather than the process of sourdough baking. Indeed, this craze is a modern-day practice that has become disconnected from traditional sourdough baking and frankly has completely lost sight of the whole intended purpose of sourdough baking. It’s not only a departure from the frugal, resource-efficient roots of sourdough baking, it also defeats the primary intended purpose of sourdough baking: its health benefits.

And that’s where the biggest problem with this sourdough discard trend lies and not just discard recipes but an increasing majority of “sourdough” recipes currently online: the recipes are presented as “sourdough” recipes when they’re not actually sourdough at all. They’re just standard recipes that call for some sourdough discard or starter to be added to the batter and then baked. It’s like shredding cabbage, mashing it down with salt, skipping the fermentation process, and calling it sauerkraut. And unfortunately a lot of well-meaning beginning sourdough bakers are being led to believe that they’re reaping the health benefits of sourdough baking when in reality they’re not.

Traditional sourdough baking involves using wild yeasts (the sourdough starter as opposed to commercial yeast) and the process of fermentation to produce a superior product to conventional baked goods. These benefits include producing a more complex flavor and texture, breaking down the gluten and phytic acid to make it easier to digest, decreasing its glycemic index, and increasing the bioavailability of the baked goods’ vitamins and minerals, as well as enabling it to keep longer. These benefits of sourdough baking are only made possible through the fermentation process, something which many of these sourdough recipes skip altogether. So instead of actual sourdough what you have are just regular muffins, cakes, crackers, cookies, etc, with some tangy flavor added. And nothing more. Fun and tasty? Yes. Sourdough? Not remotely.

REAL Sourdough Banana Bread

I’ve been experimenting making a true sourdough banana bread with an overnight to 24 hour long ferment. The issue I faced in doing this 1) the sourdough batter without the addition of the mashed bananas was too dry to properly ferment and build gas and 2) I was concerned that adding the bananas in advance and letting the batter ferment would result in a very brown and off-putting appearance. However after my attempt at option 1 failed, I tried option 2 and it worked like a charm. Yes, the batter turned a little darker but only on the surface layer (this mixed right in to return to its previous lighter shade) and the flavor was richer because of the ferment. You have a couple of options for the ferment: Leave the batter out overnight and then the following day add the remaining ingredients and bake the banana bread OR place the batter in the fridge the following day to extend the fermentation time until the following day, then add the remaining ingredients and bake it. While I like long ferments for my regular breads, I find the results a little too tangy for my taste with this sourdough banana bread. Feel free to experiment and see what you prefer.

Sourdough Banana Bread Ingredients

Here are the ingredients you’ll need to make this sourdough banana bread:

• Flour – I use all-purpose.
• Unfed sourdough starter
• Coconut oil and butter: this combination enhances the moistness (oil) and flavor (butter) of the banana bread. If you prefer you can substitute the coconut oil with a different oil of your choice.
• Brown sugar and maple syrup: I like the flavor that both in combination contribute but you can use just one or the other (and increase the amount) if you prefer.
• Bananas: very ripe ones will produce the most flavor.
• Eggs
• Baking soda and baking powder: these are added after bulk fermentation to help create a lighter and fluffier texture.
• Vanilla extract: use a quality pure extract. Also check out my tutorial for How to Make Vanilla Extract – it’s easy!
• Salt – I use kosher.
• Chocolate chips and/or butterscotch or peanut butter chips: these are optional but I can’t resist them!
• Chopped toasted walnuts or pecans: these are optional.

Can I Let Batter With Eggs Sit Out Overnight?

Yes. The sourdough banana bread will be baked at 350 F for an hour which will kill any potential bacteria. Salmonella and other bacteria is killed when exposed to temperatures ranging between 145-165 F.

Can You Freeze Sourdough Banana Bread?

Yes! Let the sourdough banana bread cool completely, wrap in plastic wrap followed by aluminum foil and freeze for up to 3 months. Let it thaw in the fridge or on the counter and then slice.

Sourdough Banana Bread Recipe

Let’s get started!

In a large mixing bowl, add the flour, sourdough starter, melted coconut oil, melted butter, brown sugar, maple syrup, vanilla extract, eggs and mashed bananas. Use a hand mixer to mix this into a thick batter. Cover with plastic wrap and let it sit at room temperature overnight or up to 24 hours.

The following day add the salt, baking soda and baking powder and mix to thoroughly combine.

Stir in the chocolate chips and nuts if using.

Grease two 9×5 inch loaf pans and preheat the oven to 350 F/180 C.

Divide the batter between the loaf pans, smoothing the tops, and bake on the middle rack for about 1 hour or until an instant read thermometer registers the internal temperature as 200 F/93 C. Remove the banana bread from the oven and let the bread cool in the pans for about 10 minutes.

Remove the sourdough banana bread from the pans and transfer to a wire rack to cool completely before slicing.

Enjoy!

For more sourdough recipes be sure to try my:

• Sourdough Naan
• Sourdough English Muffins
• Whole Wheat Sourdough Waffles
• Cinnamon Raisin Sourdough Bread