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.
If you’re a sourdough bread baker, you’re going to appreciate this recipe. A few years ago, I had the pleasure of sampling the most delicious banana bread. 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 didn’t ask for the recipe, 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 until golden brown and 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!
More Sourdough Discard Recipes You’ll Love!
- Sourdough Discard 101: Recipes & Faqs Answered
- Best Sourdough Zucchini Bread
- Fluffy Sourdough Pancakes
- Cinnamon Sugar Sourdough Waffles
Ultimate Sourdough Banana Bread
- Prep Time: 10 minutes
- Cook Time: 65 minutes
- Total Time: 1 hour 15 minutes
- Yield: 1 loaf or 3 mini loaves
- Category: Sourdough Baking
- Method: Baking
- Cuisine: American
- Diet: Vegetarian
Description
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. Recipe adapted from The Boathouse restaurant in Manly, Australia.
Notes:
Out of sourdough starter? You can still make this recipe (and it’s delicious!). Increase the milk to 125 ml (1/2 cup) total.
You will need a standard 9×5-inch loaf pan or three 7x3x2 mini loaf pans for baking.
Ingredients
- Butter, for coating the pan
- 375 g overripe bananas (appx. 1 1/2 cups lightly smashed)
- 225 g (1 1/4 cups lightly packed) light or dark brown sugar
- 1½ tsp pure vanilla extract
- 2 large eggs
- 100 g (appx. 1/2 cup) bubbly, active sourdough starter
- 250g (2 cups) all-purpose flour
- 1½ tsp baking soda
- 1/4 tsp fine sea salt
- 125ml (½ cup) neutral flavored oil
- 60ml (1/4 cup) milk
- Powdered sugar, butter, and mascarpone cheese for serving, optional
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 360 F.
- Lightly coat three 7x3x2 mini loaf pans or one 9×5-inch loaf pan with butter.
- Add the bananas, sugar, and vanilla to a bowl. Cream with a hand held mixer or stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, about 30 seconds to 1 minute (some small lumps of banana are okay).
- Add the eggs, one at a time until fully incorporated. Add the sourdough starter.
- Sift the flour, baking soda, and salt together in a separate bowl. Working in batches, add this to the banana mixture.
- Add the milk and oil and mix until just combined. Do not over do it; the banana bread will be tough.
- Pour the batter into the prepared pan(s). If using the mini loaf pans, place them onto a baking sheet and transfer to the oven.
- Bake for 45 minutes (for the mini loaf pans) or 60- 65 minutes (for the standard 9×5-inch pan), until rich golden brown and a toothpick comes out clean. Cover with foil if the loaf browns too quickly.
- Cool in the pan for 20 minutes, and then transfer to a wire rack to cool completely.
- Serve with powdered sugar for a nice touch!
Keywords: sourdough banana bread, banana bread, easy banana bread, boathouse banana bread
Comments
Emily Palmer Brown says
This was easy, moist and rich in flavor. My bananas were wonderfully soggy ripe- no yellow left on skins- and I used coconut oil. Great banana bread option!
★★★★★
Nicky says
Amazing recipe! Soft , tasty!
★★★★★
Abigail says
The best banana bread I’ve had! Yesterday I made this recipe into muffins (I think it made about 16 muffins) and they’re almost gone. Next time I’ll have to try making it with melted butter.
★★★★★
Leonie says
Girl I have never commented on a recipe before but this is SO good? What the hell?? I was depressed because my sourdough bread didn’t turn out great but I think the lord in heaven assigned me my starter so I could make this.
C says
Made this recipe but made it into cupcakes rather than loaves. They look great – impatiently waiting for them to cool so I can try them!
★★★★★
Abby says
Did you change the baking time because you made muffins instead of a loaf?
C says
Hi Abby, yes I adjusted the timing down to 25mins but checked them at around 20mins. They turned out really well – light, fluffy and very tasty. I’d probably cut the sugar next time round as I found them a little too sweet but no-one else thought so!
★★★★★
Mrs Mackintosh says
Baked this yesterday night to use up some excess starter and save some overripe bananas from going to waste. Turned out beautifully moist, lovely texture and delicious! Thank you for sharing!
★★★★★
Danielle says
This was phenomenal! Cut the sugar down to 150 g, subbed the oil 65%/35% applesauce/olive oil, and added walnuts. Brought it to a party and the banana bread was rated higher than a cake from a bakery featured on food network shows! Thanks for sharing
★★★★★
Deb says
Wow! This is a moist and delicious banana bread. I am new to the sourdough world and this is the first recipe I tried. It worked out perfectly and the family told me not to lose the recipe. I did put in a bit less sugar as I added chocolate chips. Thank you for sharing!
★★★★★
SG says
Have made this so many times and aways get rave reviews. I add in walnuts and chocolate chips, and usually half the amount of brown sugar, and it still turns out pretty sweet. My husband once made banana bread using a different recipe and it tasted no where near as good as this one. Super fluffy and perfect.
★★★★★
Emilie Raffa says
Thank you! I LOVE adding walnuts to this recipe. In fact, I’m on a weird walnut kick right now, adding walnuts to everything. Glad you liked the recipe! xx
Amy says
Just made this and it was delish! I did veganise it by replacing the eggs with two table spoons of chia seeds soaked in 6 tablespoons of water for ten minutes. Worked perfectly!
★★★★★
Sarah says
I have a question. I Was adding everything with a scale. The oil amount didn’t seem right. My 9×5 loaf had to bake for around 90 minutes for it to not be doughy in the middle. What could have gone wrong with this. I’m just starting my sourdough journey and I’m not sure if this was a success or failure. Only time will tell in the morning. I added white chocolate chips to mine.
G says
Did you change the scale from gram to mL ?
Rachel Wells says
You can’t measure ml with a scale. Ml are a volume measurement. Grams are weight, which are measured with a scale. Your batter had too much oil.
★★★★★
Val says
I’ve made this bread a few times now and it sure is tasty! But I’ve had issues with the bake time and the bottom/sides getting over cooked and dry (for reference I use a 9×5 pan and baked for 60min).
Next time I make it I will try baking at 350 or decrease time in the oven.
★★★★
Dana Zia says
Just made this tonight and it was delicious!! The only change I made was halved the sugar and added cardamom and walnuts. I’ll be making this again!
★★★★★
Jessica says
Hi, I haven’t made it yet. I am curious, why do you add the milk and oil after the flour? Wouldn’t it eliminate the risk of it being tough if you already had those liquids in with the egg sugar etc. before adding the flour slowly?
Thanks!
J9 says
I’ve never left a comment before. This banana bread is so good that I had to say it. Fluffiest and moistest and most deliviousness. Wow that crunchy crust with the soft inside. You can’t beat this.
★★★★★
Anne Curry says
★★★★★
Mel says
Really like this. I subbed half the brown sugar with coconut sugar.
★★★★★
Leah says
Hello!
Is it possible to do a long ferment on this banana bread? I am interested in the benefits of fermenting. Thanks!
Tiana Smith says
I love King Arthur’s sourdough pancake recipe, with the overnight fermentation. I May try to do that for this recipe—mix everything except the egg, baking soda, salt, which I’ll add tomorrow morning.
Has anyone tried this already?
★★★★★
Katie says
I’ve been leaving out just the eggs and milk for the overnight ferment in the fridge. Then adding them in the morning before I bake. Works great! Next time I’ll have to try leaving out the baking soda till the morning too.
★★★★★
Astrid says
I tried this recipe for 3-4 times, everytime with different method haha.
First one: mix all ingredients and ferment for 5 hours in fridge. Bake
2nd: mix all ingredients and bake
3rd: mix ingredients except baking soda/salt and mix in the morning before bake
4th: mix all ingredients, let ferment in RT (30 celcius) for 2 hours, then put in the fridge for few hours before bake.
To be honest, all turns out great and my family couldn’t tell the difference haha. Probably there was some minor difference but it’s not obvious.
Very yummy banana bread and so easy to make
Thank you for sharing ❤️
Lynette says
Thank you for providing measurements in grams. If we could have a temperature for done, this recipe could be replicated exactly! This is my family’s all time favorite banana bread recipe! We make it twice a month with over bananas sold for fifty cents a bag at our local Mexican food market. We add a few pecans to the top before backing. Delicious !
★★★★★
Birdie says
Tried the recipe this morning and it’s delicious! I only used a hand mixer for the bananas, brown sugar, vanilla and eggs… the rest of the ingredients were mixed in by hand.
★★★★★
Sunny says
OMG! Emilie! This is absolutely THE BEST banana bread I’ve ever tasted! I have just begun my sourdough journey and I am loving the results of everything I have baked so far. I first made your sourdough pancakes (after a thorough search & review of ‘the best sourdough pancakes’ recipes available on Google!) and then found your banana bread recipe. It works for all the reasons you outline and it is simply DA BEST! The brown sugar, I believe, is the reason, and the order in which all ingredients are added to the mixer. Wow. I love it! Thank you for helping aspiring bakers/cooks realize some beautiful, enticing and delicious recipes! Cheers!
★★★★★
Becky Sue says
Possibly the best banana bread recipe out there. The only thing I would do differently next time is add walnuts.
★★★★★
Rachel says
I changed this to suit what I had, and it was still amazing!! I only had two old bananas, so I used canned pumpkin to substitute for the rest. I used sourdough discard, buttermilk instead of milk, and I added cinnamon and apple pie spice because I like spices in my banana bread and also because of the pumpkin. Thanks for the recipe!
★★★★★
Megan says
Is this supposed to be runny before baking? Asking because I can’t remember if I added the second cup of flour..