Sourdough banana bread is the perfect way to use your sourdough discard and over-ripened bananas! The addition of sour cream makes it so moist and tender.
The sourdough discard gives it the tangy flavor we sourdough bakers crave.
This simple recipe will quickly become your new favorite!
Over ripe bananas never had it so good. Not until they met sourdough starter discard and created the best sourdough banana bread recipe ever!
Holy moly you guys, this recipe hits all the right notes when it comes to the perfect banana bread.
Just the right amount of sweetness from the ripe bananas and the dark brown sugar. Plus, deliciously tangy notes from the sourdough discard and sour cream.
It's full of banana flavor and the crumb is so moist and tender!
This recipe is so simple to make and can easily be turned into sourdough banana nut muffins with the addition of chopped walnuts.
Step by step instructions
This recipe is made without the use of electric mixers. Everything is easily mixed by hand, so let's get started and get some "nanner bread" in the oven!
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Whisk the dry ingredients together in a large bowl with a whisk. Set aside.
- In a small bowl use a fork to mash the bananas until smooth. Set aside.
- In a separate bowl, melt the butter in the microwave. Add the brown sugar to the butter and use a spatula to cream until smooth and creamy. Stir in the eggs, sourdough discard, vanilla extract, sour cream and mashed bananas.
- Add the wet and dry ingredients together and stir until just combined.
5. Pour the batter into a lightly greased 9" x 5" loaf pan and bake for 50-60 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the middle comes out clean.
Let the banana bread cool in the loaf pan for 15 minutes. Run a knife around the inside of the pan to help release the loaf.
Allow the loaf to rest on a cooling rack until cooled down so that it is easy to handle and has a chance to set up a little.
Serve warm slices of sourdough banana bread smothered with homemade butter for a delicious treat!
You may want to double the recipe!
Tips for success
Sometimes that banana bread mood strikes, but you can only get your hands on green bananas! No worries, you can use your oven to get them to release their sugars and soften up.
Preheat your oven to 250 degrees and place the bananas on a baking sheet. (Don't peel them!) Let them bake for 30-40 minutes or until they start to turn brown. Let cool completely before using.
This recipe requires three bowls. The first of which is for the dry ingredients. Don't skip this step! It's very important to whisk the baking powder and baking soda with the flour in order to make sure it gets well incorporated into the batter.
Don't have a kitchen scale to measure flour?
Use the scoop and level technique to measure your flour if you do not have a kitchen scale. To do this, use a spoon to fluff up the flour in the bag. Use a spoon to scoop the flour into a measuring cup until it is heaped on top. Take a butterknife and level off the top. This should give you the most accurate measurement for flour.
Because flour is measured by weight in these recipes, if the flour is scooped straight out of the bag with the measuring cup, there will be more flour than called for in the recipe.
I tested the recipe with dark brown sugar, light brown sugar and white sugar. I preferred the taste of dark brown sugar because it lends a richer flavor, but any of these sugars work great.
The older and more acidic your sourdough starter discard, the better! It's what really gives this bread it's unique flavor. I keep a separate jar in my fridge to collect sourdough discard just for recipes like this one!
How to store
Let the loaf cool completely. Wrap tightly in plastic wrap and keep on kitchen counter at room temperature for up to 3 days.
Banana bread can be frozen in individual slices, half loaf or whole loaf.
To freeze, allow banana bread to cool completely. Wrap tightly in foil first and then place in a plastic freezer bag. Make sure to remove excess air in the bag before sealing to help prevent freezer burn. Freeze for up to 3 months.
When ready to eat, allow to thaw at room temperature, in wrapper for a few hours. Slices can be quickly warmed in the microwave on high for 30 seconds.
Other recipes you may like to try:
We hope you love this sourdough banana bread as much as our family does! Let us know in the comment section below!
Sourdough Banana Bread Recipe
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Equipment
- 9" x 5" loaf pan
- Mixing Bowls
- Measuring cups/spoons
- Spatula
Ingredients
Wet Ingredients
- 8 tablespoons (113 g) unsalted butter
- 1 cup (200 g) dark brown sugar (see notes)
- 2 large eggs
- 3 medium (350 g) very ripe bananas (mashed)
- 3 tablespoons (45 g) sour cream
- 1 teaspoon (5 g) vanilla extract
- ½ cup (125 g) sourdough starter discard (see notes)
Dry Ingredients
- 2 cups (220 g) all-purpose flour
- 2 teaspoons baking powder
- ½ teaspoon baking soda
- 1 teaspoon (5 g) fine sea salt
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350°F (176°C) and lightly grease a 9" x 5" loaf pan.
- Whisk the flour, salt, baking powder and baking soda together in a bowl and set aside. In a separate bowl mash the bananas with a fork until smooth and set aside.
- Melt the butter in the microwave in a mixing bowl. Add the dark brown sugar and use a spatula to cream them together until smooth. Add the eggs, mashed banana, sourdough discard, sour cream and vanilla extract and stir to combine.
- Add the wet and dry ingredients together and stir until just combined. (Do not over mix!) If adding walnuts, gently fold them into the batter with a spatula.
- Pour the batter into the loaf pan and bake for 50-60 minutes or until a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean.
- Allow the banana bread to cool in the loaf pan for 15 minutes before transferring to cooling rack to cool completely.
Notes
- Use the scoop and level technique to measure your flour if you do not have a kitchen scale. To do this, use a spoon to fluff up the flour in the bag. Use a spoon to scoop the flour into a measuring cup until it is heaped on top. Take a butterknife and level off the top. This should give you the most accurate measurement for flour.
- Add ½ cup of chopped walnuts or chopped pecans if desired.
- In order to get the most sourdough flavor into this banana bread, the starter must be "aged". This simply means that the sourdough discard has been allowed to sit in the fridge for a minimum of one week before using it to bake with. This will allow the acid to build up, producing the sour flavor.
- Dark brown sugar can be replaced with either light brown sugar or white granulated sugar.
- Store at room temperature for up to 3 days, wrapped in plastic wrap or in a container with a lid.
- Store in freezer for up to 3 months tightly wrapped in foil and plastic.
Nutrition
This recipe is from Little Spoon Farm. All images and content are copyright protected. Please do not use my images or republish this recipe without prior permission. Thank you.
Christy says
Just made sourdough banana bread today and it’s delicious! Super moist. I wanted to let the sourdough do its thing, so I mixed the flour, sugar, bananas, sourdough and butter together and let it sit for an hour, then added the leavening only 1egg and baked it. It rose beautifully! Thanks for the base recipe 🙂
Sarah says
We love all of your sourdough recipes! (More than King Arthur ones if I’m being totally honest). You are my go-to for all sourdough related baking. My kids love this and the pumpkin bread recipes but I cut down on the sugar content. Today I used 1/2 brown sugar but I think we can even do 1/4 cup. Thanks for all of your wonderful recipes!!
Mary says
I halved the recipe because I only had 1.5 bananas and baked it for 35 min in an 8x8 pan and it was great!
Ellen says
We love this recipe! It is my go to for a breakfast treat to feed my family of 8. I often bake it as muffins rather than using a loaf pan and it turns out wonderful every time!
Jacquie says
My family loves this sourdough recipe! I baked 10 mins longer than directed and turned out moist and delicious!! On the sweeter side if Using ripe bananas so does not need chocolate 🙂
Lina says
I just baked this and mine over flowed in the oven. Why would this occur? Please advise. Thank you.
Amy Duska says
Hi Lina, how big is the baking tin you are using?
Mike says
Amy, not only have I started adding chocolate chips, I've also used the recipe and substituted dried cranberries for the bananas, white chocolate chips, added orange zest to taste, as well as some low sugar cranberry juice(about 1/3 cup)for moisture. It has become a favorite with s few of my taste testers. Love your site.