Sourdough Banana Bread
Sourdough banana bread is a quick and easy way to use up a sourdough discard, and it'll add just a hint of sourdough tang (and nutrition) to homemade banana bread!
Ingredients
- 8 tbsp 113 g unsalted butter, at room temperature
- ½ tsp baking soda
- ½ cup 113 g unfed sourdough starter (discard)
- 1 ½ tsp baking powder
- ⅔ cup 142 g light brown sugar, firmly packed
- 1 tsp vanilla extract
- 2 cups 240 g unbleached all-purpose flour
- 1 tsp cinnamon
- ¼ tsp nutmeg
- 1 tsp salt
- 1 ¾ cups 397 g mashed banana (should take about 1 ¾ lbs unpeeled bananas)
- ¼ cup 85 g maple syrup
- 2 large eggs
- ¾ cup 85 g chopped nuts, raisins or chocolate chips (optional)
Instructions
- Preheat your oven to 325°F (163°C). Lightly grease a 9" x 5" loaf pan or its slender cousin, the 12" x 4" tea loaf pan.
- In a large mixing bowl, whip together the butter, sugar, vanilla, cinnamon, nutmeg, baking soda, baking powder, and salt until everything's nice and smooth.
- Drop in the mashed bananas, your choice of honey or maple syrup, eggs, and that sourdough starter, mixing well after each addition.
- Gently stir in the flour until just combined. If you're throwing in nuts or raisins, now's the time.
- Scoop your batter into the prepared pan, smoothing out the top. Give it a little rest at room temperature for about 10 minutes.
- Slide your creation into the oven for 45 minutes. To prevent the top from getting too tan, you can lay a piece of aluminum foil gently across the surface. If using a thermoregulating ceramic pan, skip the foil and add 20 more minutes to your bake time but increase the temperature to 350°F.
- After the first check, give it another 25 minutes in the oven (20 if using a tea loaf pan). When done, a toothpick inserted into the center should come out mostly clean.
- Allow your banana bread ten minutes of relaxation in its pan before moving it to a cooling rack to cool completely.