This buttery quick bread has become my favorite way to use up two things I always seem to have a surplus of: overripe bananas and sourdough starter discard. Naturally sweetened with just enough honey and jazzed up with the balancing tang from sourdough discard, this sourdough discard banana bread is not your typical banana bread recipe.
Recipe Background and Details
I love using sourdough starter to create crusty loaves of bread or bubbly pizza crusts. But sometimes I also need to just shove the jar in the fridge and forget about it. Even on those weeks I don't have time to fuss with long-fermented sourdough recipes, I still crave the interaction with my beloved starter. That is precisely why I love adding sourdough discard, or unfed starter, to my everyday quick bakes like this sourdough discard banana bread, my Sourdough Discard Cinnamon Rolls and Sourdough Discard Sandwich Bread!
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How to make Sourdough Discard Banana Bread
This batter comes together in a flash. First, mash bananas in a large mixing bowl and add wet ingredients on top. Whisk well to combine. Next add dry ingredients that you have quickly mixed together in a separate bowl. Finally, add to a buttered loaf pan and bake!
Step-by-step photos
What can I use my sourdough discard for?
Well, this sourdough discard banana bread of course! But seriously, you can add sourdough discard to almost any baked good recipe. You will need to adjust the flour and liquid measurements to accommodate the addition of starter. Basically for every 100 grams of starter you add, subtract 50 grams liquid and 50 grams flour from the recipe. And you will treat sourdough discard as a liquid when adding it to the recipe. I find it best suits breads, quick breads, muffins, and yeasted doughs like cinnamon rolls and pizza crust. Be sure to give my popular sourdough discard recipes a try: Sourdough Discard Cinnamon Rolls, Sourdough Discard Soft Pretzels, and Sourdough Discard English Muffins, and Overnight Sourdough Pancakes.
I hope you will give this sourdough banana bread recipe a try. I have really been diving deep into my sourdough recipe development over the past month or so, so if you enjoy sourdough recipes stay tuned! As always, thanks for being here. xo - Anita
More Sourdough Recipes
- Sourdough Ginger Molasses Cookies
- Soft Sourdough Snickerdoodle Cookies
- Sourdough Pumpkin Bread (discard or active starter)
- Sourdough Discard Apple Bread
Sourdough Discard Banana Bread
Naturally sweetened with honey and balanced with the tang of sourdough discard, this Sourdough Discard Banana Bread is not your typical banana bread recipe.
- Total Time: 65 minutes
- Yield: 1 loaf
Ingredients
- 2 cups all purpose flour
- 1 teaspoon cinnamon
- 1 teaspoon baking soda
- 1.5 teaspoons baking powder
- ½ teaspoon fine sea salt or kosher salt
- 1 stick (4 ounces) butter, melted*
- ¾ cup honey
- 2 eggs
- ½ cup sourdough discard*
- 3 medium bananas, mashed (about 2 cups)
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Butter a 9x5 inch loaf pan and line it with parchment.
- In a small bowl combine dry ingredients (flour, cinnamon, baking powder, baking soda, salt) and whisk to combine.
- In a large mixing bowl mash bananas thoroughly with a potato masher or a fork. Add remaining wet ingredients (sourdough discard, vanilla, eggs, honey, and butter) whisk well to combine. *if your honey is solid or crystallized, warm it with the butter. I have done this many times.
- Add dry ingredients and fold until no streaks of flour remain and ingredients are all well incorporated.
- Transfer batter to prepared pan and bake on center rack for 55-60 minutes, covering loosely with foil after 45 minutes.
- When thoroughly baked, a wooden skewer should come out with a few moist crumbs attached. If wet batter remains, give another 5 minutes and test again.
- Remove from oven and allow to cool for 10 minutes in pan before removing to a wire rack.
- Enjoy warm with butter!
Notes
I almost always use salted butter because that's what we prefer to keep on hand in our home. You can use salted or unsalted in this recipe and if you are worried about the salt, simply lower the salt amount from ½ teaspoon to ¼ teaspoon (I never do this).
You can use fed or unfed (discard) starter. The fed will result in a higher rise in your loaf.
- Prep Time: 10 minutes
- Cook Time: 55 minutes
- Category: quick bread, sourdough, breads and breakfast
- Method: baking
- Cuisine: American
Brianna says
Very good texture and taste, I gave it 4 stars though as your baking soda/baking powder amounts don’t work out and by my research it’s just scientifically off, so I’m surprised it’s worked for you/everyone else. My first batch the loaf rose FAR too quickly due to the gas production and overflowed all over the place, it couldn’t set with such fast expansion. I did some research and brought the baking soda down to 3/4 of a teaspoon, no baking powder and it came out perfect. I brought the honey down to 2/3 of a cup and replaced 50 grams of the flour with whole wheat too! Really great base to start from and experiment with and I appreciate you sharing!
anita | wild thistle kitchen says
Hey Brianna. I'm glad your second loaf came out well. I always find comments like these so interesting. The "I don't know how it possibly worked for everyone else" comments. Well, it works because I wrote the recipe after testing it myself several times in my very own kitchen. I'm sorry these amounts did not work for you, but the recipe is not "just scientifically off" just because it did not work for you. It is possible that your starter was overly acidic, which is quite common especially with older discard, and this could have caused the extreme reaction you encountered. Another reason it overflowed could be that the pan size was too small. I did a quick search and these leavener proportions are very common in other sourdough discard banana bread recipes with high ratings like my recipe. Thanks for giving it a try and for your feedback. - Anita
Dell Hernandez says
This came out soooo delicious!! I added walnuts! My husband loved it! And I really liked that the recipe didn’t add sugar !
Amy says
I can’t seem to fully mix the starter in with the other wet ingredients. It’s stringy in comparison. Is this normal?
anita | wild thistle kitchen says
Hi Amy. Yes, it can be normal if your starter is a little on the thicker side or if it is cold from the refrigerator. Just use a whisk and mix it vigorously and it will come together. 🙂
Tara M says
This recipe is the bomb. I follow it exactly and it comes out perfectly every time! It’s always a hit. Best part is no added sugar!
Barbara S says
I absolutely love this recipe! I have made several times and always get rave reviews. I like that it only uses honey and bananas for sweetener. I do add chopped walnuts, which I feel adds additional fiber and texture so it is somewhat healthier. I always have a lot of sourdough discard leftover so I am looking for ways to use it. This is definitely a winner!
anita | wild thistle kitchen says
Hi Barbara! I'm so happy you've been enjoying this recipe. Thanks for letting me know! And the walnuts sound like a great addition. My grandma always added walnuts to her banana bread. 🙂 - Anita
Tracy says
I just made these banana bread in muffins!! They have a fabulous taste! Not sure if my oven is a lot hotter being gas, but had to take them out after 25 minutes or they would have burned. What oven temp and bake time do you use to make your muffins? Mine looked a bit darker, your minis looked golden!
anita | wild thistle kitchen says
Hi Tracy! I'm glad you like the flavor. Yes, 20-25 minutes at 350 is pretty standard for banana muffins. I think the minis took about 15 minutes.
Julia says
I want to make this recipe but don’t have enough honey on hand. Can I substitute the honey with something else?
anita | wild thistle kitchen says
Hi Julia! You can do a combination of honey and another sweetener like white or brown sugar or maple syrup. Or use another sweetener for the full amount of honey.
karen prunick says
I made this today. It turned out great!! I used a Vietnamese cinnamon which gave it an unexpected slight heat. Texture was perfect but might use a different cinnamon next time.
Kim says
Such a great recipe! what's the best way to store leftovers (of there are any!)
anita | wild thistle kitchen says
Hi Kim! I'm so happy you enjoyed this recipe! Just store it in something airtight to keep it moist such as a ziploc bag or tupperware with lid. It does not last long around here either! Thanks again for this lovely feedback and 5 stars! xo - Anita
Sonja says
Can I use more starter discard than 1/2 cup or will it mess it up? I usually have an abundance! Looking forward to trying this recipe tomorrow morning. Thank you!
anita | wild thistle kitchen says
Hi Sonja. You could probably bump it up to 3/4 of a cup of starter with good results. Just know that it will increase the volume and you may need to use a larger loaf pan or split it between two pans so it doesn't overflow.
Tessa says
Is the butter in this recipe salted or unsalted?
Thanks!
anita | wild thistle kitchen says
Hi there! You an use either - I almost always use salted but it will work with either one.
Kathy says
Amazing moist, simple ingredients, sourdough discard banana bread! Thank you for sharing. I’ve tried so many banana bread recipes but THIS recipe leaves me wanting to finish the loaf all in one sitting, it’s so delicious and moist.
Beth says
I’m just curious why you need to butter your pan if you’re using parchment paper?
anita | wild thistle kitchen says
Hi there. I just like to be really careful as some of the batter will still come in contact with the pan and depending on the type of pan you're using it can stick.
Beth says
That makes sense. Thank you for your response. Starting that recipe right now.
Taylor says
I’ve made this recipe over 10 times in the last 2 months, everyone loves it!
Could you substitute gluten free flour for the regular flour??
anita | wild thistle kitchen says
Hi Taylor! That makes me so happy!! Yes, I think a cup-for-cup gluten free flour blend would work well in this recipe 🙂 Let me know if you try it! Thanks for your kind feedback! - Anita
Pamela says
Made this recipe tonight, so easy! Best and most beautiful banana bread I have ever made!
anita | wild thistle kitchen says
That is the best news! Thank you for trying my recipe and coming back to leave this wonderful feedback! I'm so glad you love it!! xo - Anita
Beverly says
I made this because I wanted a recipe with less sugar and I am so glad I did. I used my un-fed sourdough starter discard that had been in the refrigerator for about a week. Great instructions and the bread turned out perfectly. Soft but strong enough to toast. This will be my go-to banana bread recipe from now on. Thanks a bunch.