A great way to use up those brown bananas and leftover sourdough starter, this sourdough discard banana bread is light, fluffy, and so easy to make! Ready in an hour, this easy banana bread will become your new favorite recipe!
Banana bread is one of my favorite things to make! It's so versatile and so easy to make.
This recipe is a great way to use up that extra sourdough starter you have in the refrigerator. The sourdough starter adds extra tang and a little bit of rise to this bread.
Check out these other moist banana bread recipes as well!
- One Bowl Chocolate Chip Banana Bread
- Cinnamon Streusel Banana Bread
- Banana Nut Bread- Without Baking Soda!
- Sourdough Discard Banana Muffins
Be sure to check out what to serve with banana bread for lots of delicious recipes!
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Why You'll Love This Recipe
- You can make sourdough discard banana bread in one bowl! Mix together the wet ingredients and then top them with the dry ingredients. Mix and bake! No need to break out the stand mixer or the hand mixer for this recipe!
- It's a great use for leftover sourdough discard. Don't throw out that extra sourdough discard. Keep it in a mason jar in the refrigerator and then use it in recipes just like this!
- This recipe is great for meal prep! You can make this recipe on a Sunday and eat it for breakfast or snacks throughout the week.
Ingredients For Sourdough Discard Banana Bread
- Bananas- You want your bananas to be brown and spotty. The browner the better. When bananas get really brown, they get super sweet and intensify their banana flavor. Yellow or green bananas don't have the sugar that overripe bananas would have.
- Sourdough starter- inactive, meaning it hasn't been fed and likely is coming straight out of the refrigerator.
- Brown Sugar- For added sweetness. You could use granulated sugar instead.
- Baking Soda and Baking Powder- to help with leavening. Even though we are using sourdough starter, the baking soda and baking powder do most of the rising in the bread.
- Butter- To add fat and texture to the bread. If you would prefer this dairy free, you can substitute coconut oil instead.
- Vanilla Extract and Cinnamon- Adds flavor to the banana bread.
What is Sourdough Discard?
Sourdough starter discard is the portion of your sourdough starter that you are not feeding. When you are "feeding" your starter to make bread with, you feed it equal parts water, flour, and starter. You can't feed your entire starter, as it doubles and sometimes triples in size, and that's a lot of starter to have on hand! Keep your excess sourdough starter in a mason jar in the refrigerator. If you are new to sourdough, be sure to check out this post all about how to keep your sourdough starter happy.
Equipment
Step by Step Photos
How To Make Sourdough Discard Banana Bread
- Preheat the oven to 375 degrees.
- Butter a 9 by 5-inch loaf pan. Set that aside.
- In a medium bowl, mix together the all purpose flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt, and cinnamon. Set that aside.
- In a large mixing bowl, mash the bananas until they are pureed.
- Add the starter, melted butter, brown sugar, eggs, and vanilla to the bowl with the mashed banana. Mix well until fully combined.
- Add the dry ingredients to the wet ingredients and mix together until just combined. It's ok if there are a few lumps left in the batter.
- Pour the batter into the prepared loaf pan. Place the loaf pan into the preheated oven.
- Bake for 60 minutes or until a toothpick is inserted into the bread and comes out clean.
- Allow the bread to cool on a cooling rack before slicing. Enjoy!
Variations of This Recipe
- Add 1 cup of chocolate chips to make a chocolate chip banana bread.
- Mix in one cup of chopped walnuts for banana nut bread.
- Substitute ½ cup of coconut oil for the butter to make a dairy free banana bread.
- Swirl in ½ cup of peanut butter for a peanut butter banana bread.
- Add ½ cup of white chocolate chips or cinnamon chips for added sweetness!
Tips and Tricks
- Make sure your butter the loaf pan well. The bananas have a lot of sugar in them, plus there is brown sugar in the recipe, so it might stick. Butter is the best to use. I find that cooking spray causes the banana bread to stick.
- If the top of the bread starts to brown too quickly, tent aluminum foil over the top of the bread. This will slow the browning of the bread.
- This recipe makes one loaf, but you could separate this into small loaves if you have the tins. You could also easily double this recipe.
Frequently Asked Questions
Yes! If you have extra active starter you can use that. The rise will be a little higher, but there's nothing wrong with that!
Yes! Once the bread is comes to room temperature, wrap the bread in plastic wrap and place it in a gallon Ziploc bag. Freeze for up to 4 months. When ready to defrost, place the Ziploc bag on the counter to defrost.
Yes! Spoon the batter into prepared muffin tins and set the baking time to 20-22 minutes. Butter the muffin tin or use muffin liners for banana bread muffins.
If you've overmixed the batter, the bread might sink. Make sure to mix until the batter is just combined. It's ok if there are a few lumps left in the batter when you bake it.
Other Recipes To Try
Did you love these Sourdough Banana Bread Recipe? I'd so appreciate it if you would give this recipe a 5-star review! That will help other hungry readers find my recipes!
And don't forget to tag me on Instagram or Facebook and share this recipe on Pinterest! Thanks for sharing this journey with me and enjoy these delicious recipes!
- Chicken Sausage and Mini Pepper Pasta
- Sourdough Zucchini Bread
- Feta and Olive Stuffed Broiled Tomatoes
- Sourdough Bread- In the Instant Pot!
- Sourdough Discard Pancakes
📖 Recipe
Sourdough Discard Banana Bread
Ingredients
- 2 cups All Purpose Flour
- 2 teaspoon Baking Powder
- ½ teaspoon Baking Soda
- ½ teaspoon Salt
- 2 Bananas Brown
- 1 cup Starter Inactive
- ½ cup Brown Sugar
- 2 Large Eggs
- 1 teaspoon Vanilla
- ½ cup Butter Melted
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 375 degrees.
- Butter a loaf pan. Set that aside.
- In a medium bowl, mix together the flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt, and cinnamon. Set that aside.
- In a large bowl, mash the bananas until they are pureed.
- Add the starter, melted butter, brown sugar, eggs, and vanilla to the bowl. Mix well until fully combined.
- Add the dry ingredients to the wet ingredients and mix together until just combined. It's ok if there are a few lumps left in the batter.
- Pour the batter into the prepared loaf pan.
- Bake for 60 minutes or until a toothpick is inserted into the bread and comes out clean.
- Allow the bread to cool before slicing. Enjoy!
Notes
- Make sure your butter the loaf pan well. The bananas have a lot of sugar in them, plus there is brown sugar in the recipe, so it might stick. Butter is the best to use. I find that cooking spray causes the banana bread to stick.
- If the top of the bread starts to brown too quickly, tent aluminum foil over the top of the bread. This will slow the browning of the bread.
- This recipe makes one loaf, but you could separate this into small loaves if you have the tins. You could also easily double this recipe.
Laura F
I've been baking this recipe for a couple of weeks. We love it! It's not too sweet. It truly bakes in an hour. Other recipes that I've tried take forever. I use an active starter and omit the baking powder and soda. It rises beautifully and is so moist.
Lynn Polito
I love hearing that! Thank you so much for making my recipe!