Ultimate Sourdough Banana Bread

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.

A few years ago, I had the pleasure of sampling the most delicious banana bread in all the land.

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 was too shy to ask for the recipe (crazy tourist), 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 by the 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 for 45 minutes or until 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!

Honestly. Go make it now.

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