Make soft, rich, same-day sourdough banana bread at home with active starter or sourdough discard. One bowl. Simple recipe. My secret? All brown sugar, overripe bananas, and a specific mixing order for a velvety soft texture and bold, caramel taste.
I’ve tested hundreds of banana bread recipes in my career and here’s what I know: this is not your average sourdough banana bread. The texture is soft and smooth, like velvet. Everyone asks for the recipe. It’s the only banana bread recipe I make.
The original version comes from The Boathouse restaurant in Manly, Australia, which I adapted to include sourdough. You can use bubbly, active sourdough or sourdough discard– whatever you have is fine.
I like to make this recipe on the same day using leftover discard from fluffy sourdough pancakes, sourdough pasta or even sourdough bread. However, feel free to ferment the batter overnight if you prefer. The texture will only change slightly due to how much the flour absorbs overnight.
Want to bake more? Check out my full collection of sourdough discard recipes here.
What Makes It Ultimate?
- All brown sugar. When combined with perfectly overripe bananas and pure vanilla extract, it creates the most exquisite caramel taste. It will blow you away. No white sugar is used in this recipe.
- Specific mixing 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. I was definitely hesitant about this mixing order (the batter looks totally strange when you get to the oil part). But it’s the science behind the banana bread’s velvety soft texture.
- No cinnamon. Shocking, I know. But your won’t miss it. Cinnamon is lovely but strong and the lack of it really let’s that caramel flavor shine through.
How To make Sourdough Banana Bread {Step-by-Step Recipe}
To Start: Preheat the oven to 360 F (that’s not a typo). Baking at 10 degrees higher than the standard 350 F gives this sourdough banana bread a nice lift. Thn coast your loaf pan with softened butter Normally, I use a 9×5-inch pan. You can also use three 7x3x2 mini loaf pans instead. I like to freeze the little ones individually. So cute!
Next: Add the bananas, brown sugar and vanilla extract to a bowl. Don’t bother slicing the bananas, just break them up by hand. Cream together with a stand mixer or hand held mixer. Add the eggs and the sourdough starter.
Add: The dry ingredients, followed by the milk and oil. The liquids will not blend in right away. Just keep mixing on low speed until completely absorbed. Pour the batter into your prepared pan(s).
To Finish: Place into a sheet pan and bake until golden brown and a toothpick comes out clean. Plan on 60-65 minutes for a standard loaf pan and 45 minutes for the mini pans. Cool before cutting into thick, sturdy slices.
Final Thoughts:
Friends, please look no further. This sourdough banana bread is truly the very best. It’s soft and moist, packed with caramel-banana flavor in every bit. Take a cue from The Boathouse restaurant and serve it with salted butter or mascarpone cheese for a decadent treat! Then come back and bake my moist sourdough blueberry muffins, these easy, no-roll sourdough scones, sourdough waffles (overnight or same day) and more.
By signing up, you agree to receive emails from The Clever Carrot. Unsubscribe at any time.
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 1x
- 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) active sourdough starter or or sourdough discard
- 250g (2 cups) all-purpose flour
- 1½ tsp baking soda
- 1/4 tsp fine sea salt
- 60ml (1/4 cup) milk
- 125ml (½ cup) neutral flavored oil
- 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!
Comments
Kaytlyn says
I just made this but with 100% spelt flour cause that’s all I have left in my house. Other than the texture being more crumby, this loaf is fabulous. Thank you for a great recipe.
Dem says
Súper súper yummy! Made it last week, gluten free with gf sourdough starter and Bob’s 1to1 gf flour.
I did bake it in a 7×11 pan so I didn’t have to worry about the middle not cooking well, and it’s easier to serve to a crowd that way. Also added chocolate chips into the mix at the end and covered with foil while baking as soon as it started browning up on the outside. My husband (not gf) asked me to make it again this week and to serve to guests.
LINDA J NELSON says
I wanted to receive the health benefits of fermentation, so I followed the recipe, with the exception of adding the baking soda, until I was ready to bake the bread. I refrigerated overnight, and the next morning I added the baking soda and baked. The results were amazing; a soft, moist bread.
Robert says
Thank you I am giving that method a try today.
LINDA J NELSON says
How do you make it if fermenting the flour and starter overnight?
Heather says
Absolute best banana bread recipe! I substitute the flour with einkorn flour. The flavor is excellent!
Jewel says
Made this twice now, so good! 2 year old is my favorite helper! Thank you!
KB says
Hands down the best banana bread recipe I have ever used! Everyone wants their own loaf!
Janet says
I’ve made this recipe twice now and every time, my flour mixture always clumps into little pellets (similar to what happens when you add flour to hot liquid). I followed the recipe in the right order. Do you know what I did wrong?
Emilie Raffa says
Hi Janet! Are you adding the flour in batches? This will help. Doing so (a little bit at a time) will ensure the flour absorbs the liquid slowly. Too much too soon could be the culprit. Also: using a stand mixer or hand held mixer will help too.
Janet says
The first time, I added them in 2 batches and used a rubber spatula to fold it in, which was probably too much. I continued to bake it thinking the clumps would go away (like with pancake batter), butt they didn’t. This time, I added the flour mixture a little at a time using a whisk and I was still getting big and little clumps. I went through and broke up all of them individually. I seem to be the only one having this problem. :) My bread was good with a lovely “ear” but pretty dense. Is it supposed to be a little heavy or light? Thank you.
Caite says
Substituted about 1/3 of the flour for whole wheat. Everything was great and it turned out perfectly moist.
Max says
The first time I made this recipe I thought it’s one of the softest banana breads i’ve ever eaten. I tried to recreate it in different orders, but its never as fluffy and soft.
What’s the science of adding the oil and milk in the end? Is it like a protective layer from forming the gluten?
Lucinda Kiessling says
Forgot to rate them. Definitely 5 stars for this recipe and every recipe that I have tried of Emilie’s with great success.
Emilie Raffa says
You are so kind for circling back! Thank you, Lucinda 🥰
Lucinda Kiessling says
Used thawed out cranberries along with the mashed banana when I didn’t have enough ripe bananas. I had quadrupled the recipe and added the cranberries at the very end of the mixing. The loaves took longer to bake but they were very yummy with the tartness of the cranberries and sweetness of the banana. This will be my go to recipe from now on. Your recipes Emilie are incredible and I have tried several. My other favorites are the cranberry/orange scones and the oatmeal raisin cookies. Yum 😋 😋 😋 Thanks for sharing your recipes, Emilie.
Jill says
I agree 100%. She has GREAT recipes!!
Nikki says
These were perfect! I wanted muffins so I baked for 17 minutes. First batch I tried a higher temperature of 400 as I saw suggested in a comment here, but it made them extremely dark. Still good! Next two batches I baked at 360 and they came out perfect!
Janet E Smith says
I made this and while it worked out well, it is too sweet for me. I will decrease the sugar next time, or just eat the bananas fresh with some berries for a very healthy snack, dessert, or with a few nuts sprinkled on, and. toast for breakfast.
Fleur says
Truly an outstanding recipe. Best banana bread I’ve ever made.