Banana bread is a comfort food classic. My secret is plenty of brown sugar, overripe bananas, and a specific mixing order for the ultimate sourdough banana bread.
If you’re a sourdough bread baker, you’re going to appreciate this recipe. A few years ago, I had the pleasure of sampling the most delicious banana bread. It came from The Boathouse restaurant, a fantastic beachside spot in Manly, Australia. I couldn’t get over how remarkably soft, sweet and scrumptious it was. The texture was like velvet.
At the time, I didn’t ask for the recipe, so I searched online until I found it. And now, my version is yours: one with sourdough and one without. Both are incredible.
What Makes This The Ultimate Sourdough Banana Bread?
First, it uses all brown sugar. No white at all.
When combined with perfectly overripe bananas and pure vanilla extract, it creates the most exquisite caramel flavor. It will blow you away.
Second, the ingredients are mixed in a specific order.
Typically, when making a quick bread like this you’d simply combine the wet and dry ingredients and call it a day.
But here, you’ll cream a portion of the wet ingredients first, then add the dry ingredients, followed by the milk and olive oil.
Weird? Weird.
I was definitely hesitant about this at first (the batter looks totally strange when you get to the oil part).
But upon further research, this particular mixing order is the science behind its velvety soft texture.
Third, there’s no cinnamon in this sourdough banana bread.
And I don’t miss it!
Cinnamon is strong, and the lack of it really lets that caramel flavor shine though.
Finally, I added bubbly, active sourdough starter to the original recipe.
I wanted to see if adding bubbly, active starter as opposed to leftover starter discard would increase the rise… and it did!
Alternatively, you can use leftover discard instead. It just won’t rise as high.
Sourdough Banana Bread Recipe: Step by Step
Grab Your Ingredients
Ok, so you know the drill: measure out everything before you begin.
Preheat your oven to 360 F (that’s not a typo).
Baking the sourdough banana bread 10 degrees higher than 350 F gives the bread a nice lift.
You’ll also need a stand mixer or electric hand held mixer.
Butter Your Loaf Pans
Typically, I’d bake this sourdough banana bread in a traditional 9×5-inch loaf pan.
I’m using three 7x3x2-inch mini loaf pans instead. I like to freeze them individually. So cute!
Coat nicely with softened butter.
Mix the Ingredients
Start by creaming the brown sugar, vanilla and bananas together. Don’t bother to slice the bananas, just break them up by hand.
Then add the eggs and the sourdough starter. Followed bythe flour, baking soda and salt.
Now add the oil & milk…
The liquids will not blend in right away. Just keep mixing on low speed until completely absorbed.
Bake the Banana Bread
Place the loaf pans onto a sheet pan and transfer it to the oven.
Bake on the center rack until golden brown and a toothpick comes out clean.
Cool before serving.
Bottom Line?
Friends, please look no further!
This sourdough banana bread is truly unique.
It’s soft, sweet, and packed with comfort and flavor (everyone always asks for the recipe when I make it!).
Take a cue from The Boathouse and serve it with salted butter or mascarpone cheese for a decadent treat. But plain is fine too!
More Sourdough Discard Recipes You’ll Love!
- Best Sourdough Zucchini Bread
- Fluffy Sourdough Pancakes
- Cinnamon Sugar Sourdough Waffles
Ultimate Sourdough Banana Bread
5 Stars 4 Stars 3 Stars 2 Stars 1 Star 4.9 from 284 reviews
- Author: Emilie Raffa
- Prep Time: 10 minutes
- Cook Time: 65 minutes
- Total Time: 1 hour 15 minutes
- Yield: 1 loaf or 3 mini loaves
- Category: Sourdough Baking
- Method: Baking
- Cuisine: American
- Diet: Vegetarian
Description
Banana bread is a comfort food classic. My secret is plenty of brown sugar, overripe bananas, and a specific mixing order for the ultimate sourdough banana bread. Recipe adapted from The Boathouse restaurant in Manly, Australia.
Notes:
Out of sourdough starter? You can still make this recipe (and it’s delicious!). Increase the milk to 125 ml (1/2 cup) total.
You will need a standard 9×5-inch loaf pan or three 7x3x2 mini loaf pans for baking.
Ingredients
- Butter, for coating the pan
- 375 g overripe bananas (appx. 1 1/2 cups lightly smashed)
- 225 g (1 1/4 cups lightly packed) light or dark brown sugar
- 1½ tsp pure vanilla extract
- 2 large eggs
- 100 g (appx. 1/2 cup) bubbly, active sourdough starter
- 250g (2 cups) all-purpose flour
- 1½ tsp baking soda
- 1/4 tsp fine sea salt
- 125ml (½ cup) neutral flavored oil
- 60ml (1/4 cup) milk
- Powdered sugar, butter, and mascarpone cheese for serving, optional
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 360 F.
- Lightly coat three 7x3x2 mini loaf pans or one 9×5-inch loaf pan with butter.
- Add the bananas, sugar, and vanilla to a bowl. Cream with a hand held mixer or stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, about 30 seconds to 1 minute (some small lumps of banana are okay).
- Add the eggs, one at a time until fully incorporated. Add the sourdough starter.
- Sift the flour, baking soda, and salt together in a separate bowl. Working in batches, add this to the banana mixture.
- Add the milk and oil and mix until just combined. Do not over do it; the banana bread will be tough.
- Pour the batter into the prepared pan(s). If using the mini loaf pans, place them onto a baking sheet and transfer to the oven.
- Bake for 45 minutes (for the mini loaf pans) or 60- 65 minutes (for the standard 9×5-inch pan), until rich golden brown and a toothpick comes out clean. Cover with foil if the loaf browns too quickly.
- Cool in the pan for 20 minutes, and then transfer to a wire rack to cool completely.
- Serve with powdered sugar for a nice touch!
