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.
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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
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
Denise says
Thanks for this suggested adjustment! I made per recipe and loved it with walnuts. Am excited to cut back on the oil and sugar!
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
Melanie Thompson says
I love love love this recipe! I have made it 3 times, once as is, once with pecans, once with walnuts. This honestly makes the world’s best banana bread. I was not expecting to love it before I made it since it didn’t have any warm spices – no cinnamon, no nutmeg, no cloves, but had to use up over-ripe bananas and wanted to use some sourdough starter. Try this recipe, it will NOT disappoint, I promise!
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.
Melanie Thompson says
I didn’t find too much oil, was perfect and moist. If you use a Pyrex glass measuring cup it has “cup” measurements on one side and “ML” measurements on the other. I put 1/2 cup of oil (I’ve used Canola and I’ve used Avocado Oil) in the cup, then add 1/4 cup of milk to the cup, which brings the liquid to 3/4 cup. Perfect everytime!
Kimberly says
I did mine in the same size loaf pan and it also took 90 minutes. Followed the recipe to a T. I think it just needs to be adjusted in the actual recipe.
Kristen says
I did everything to a T and had the same issue. Not sure why but just had to put foil over the top so it didn’t burn
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!
Melanie T says
I hope you try it “as is” because this banana bread is amazingly tender – I might even say **luscious** exactly as written. I have made this many times, I now look forward to bananas going bad on me – actually make “tsk” sounds when my husband eats one before it gets the perfect amount of browning. I regularly make it for gifts – a few of those folks think it isn’t banana bread without nuts – for those I finely chop pecans and sprinkle them on the top before the loaf goes in the oven.
Megan says
Is this supposed to be runny before baking? Asking because I can’t remember if I added the second cup of flour..
Jan says
I am so happy with this recipe! I’ve been baking for thirty years and this is the best recipe I’ve had. The starter in it, I believe, makes all the difference!
Denise Speer says
This is the BEST tasting banana bread I have ever tasted! I’ve been baking for over 40 years and this is my absolute favorite!
Theodora says
I love this recipe. It is simple, quick and a perfect for coffee break or a breakfast sweet, I’m making it when ever I can….that is when we have over ripe bananas.
Stephanie S says
I’ve made this recipe a few times and it’s mind blowing good, everyone wants more!
Does anyone know if I can easily double this recipe or if I need to make 2 separate batches for multiple loaves? It’s summer now so if I’m running my oven for an hour I’d like to bake at least 2 at a time.
Lucie says
I triple this recipe without a problem. I add chocolate chips, cut the sugar in half and adjust the salt but the rest of the recipe remains the same. Best banana bread ever!
Alejandra Velasco says
Hi! Thanks I was reading the comments looking if someone said something about adding chocolate chips, my son (5) loves his banana bread with chocolate chips
I’ll cut the sugar in half every time I add chocolate chips
Paulo Manso says
What a wonderful banana bread! Tried the recipe today and everyone loved it! Though I mixed everything except salt and baking soda and let the batter sit on the counter for a few hours to ferment for better digest ability, then finished adding ingridients and baking. Just perfect. Thanks a lot!
Annabelle says
I already have a favourite banana bread recipe and while i was making this, thought i must be crazy trying a new recipe… no cinnamon?! The liquids being added last?! But I’ve started making sourdough so wanted to use the discard… anyway, it was amazing and I completely stand corrected and am happy that I stayed the course
Luke says
It’s really good , easy ,sweet moist banana bread impressed !
Thank you
Madison says
Can you use plant based milk to make it vegan?
Rebecca says
One of my earliest childhood memories involves making banana bread with my mom’s youngest sister. I’ve been making banana bread ever since, and I have to say this is the BEST recipe I’ve tried yet. I was a little nervous that it wouldn’t turn out as well because I used sourdough starter that had been fed a couple of days ago, but it was fine. I added cinnamon and used some King Arthur whole wheat flour for a nuttier flavor. I also added chopped pecans and used melted unsalted butter in place of the oil. This recipe is getting filed in the permanent folder in my kitchen. It definitely gets 5 stars from me!
Holly says
I was a bit worried because I tripled the recipe and it filled 4 loaves and a pan of muffins😳. I used sourdough discard, not active starter because I had a need to purge my discard. I added a heaping Tablespoon for each batch (so 3), and lowered the baking temperature to 350 because I live at a high altitude. The texture is very nice and the flavor is delicious.
Jill says
I was 50 g short on banana so I added 50 g shredded coconut. YUM!
I will definitely make this again!
Destinee says
I make a lot of banana bread since we regularly don’t get through our fresh bananas fast enough. This is the best recipe I have used. I like to put mine in mini loaf pan (8 mini loaf pan) at 350 for 20 min. Made no other changes to the directions.
Courtney M says
This recipe is AMAZING. Made it into mini loaves and a few muffins with the batter that didn’t fit into the mini loaf tin. So so good! My kids love it too!
Nancy says
Thank you for this delicious recipe. The SD discard made the banana bread so light along with your instructions of mixing order. The bread was not only delicious but not heavy or gummy like other recipes I have made in the past. I love it and will definitely be making more. I recently purchased your cookbook and look forward to creating more of your wonderful recipes. Thank you!
Melissa says
My eight year old daughter and I loved this recipe! Thank you for sharing!
P.S. We also love your cook book and have gifted it to at least three people who also love it.
Manny Reverie says
Made this last night followed all of the directions except the following:
Just pulled the starter out of the fridge let is sit for awhile and used the amount called for (Ben Starr technique)
Added a cup of chopped pecans.
Came out fantastic! Will make riffs on this recipe sourdough gives it a great taste! Thanks!
Cat says
I made the sourdough version. It’s delightful. It’s everything you described. A bit crunchy on the outside, like velvet on the inside.
I deviated slightly from the original. I didn’t have brown sugar, but I live in Mexico where I have yet to see white sugar, so my sugar always has a little hint of molasses. I also don’t have a hand or stand mixer, so I mixed it by hand. Still came out amazing.
The only problem I can find with this bread is I can’t stop eating it.
Angelina says
Wow, this recipe is a keeper! I am blown away by the incredibly decadent taste, and not to mention the delicious and cozy smell that filled my kitchen as it baked.
I did add 1/2 tsp cinnamon and 3/4 c chopped walnuts because I love crunch in my banana bread.
Thank you very much for the recipe!
Ru L says
Beautiful
Grant says
Turned out great!
Barney F Bilello says
Fantastic recipe! Made the banana bread per the recipe without any changes and it came out beautifully.
Ang says
Wow 🙂❤ Wherever to begin on how amazing this recipe is ! Moist, flavor packed, great exterior and interior crumb and way too easy to make! If that’s not enough to sway someone then one taste and it becomes a favorite.
I did add a pinch of cloves, a dash of ceylon cinnamon & orange zest. As well, I diy a loaf tin wrap (foil wrapped around wet paper towel) to wrap around the sides of the loaf tin. This ensured a nice even baking of the loaf and delayed the sides and bottom of the banana loaf from baking up first. Nice tender exterior with a moist interior. My oven baked the loaf in 52 minutes. After it had cooled, I drizzled the loaf with a glaze of icing sugar-fresh oj-orange zest. Doesn’t get any better than that 🙂.
Thank you for sharing such an amazing recipe ❤. This is a keeper!
Krista says
I’ve made this recipe many times now and keep tweaking to get it just right. My sourdough starter is always 50/50 white/whole wheat flour. If you’re looking for some calorie reduction without sacrificing taste, I’ve found you can easily reduce the oil by half and sugar by ¼ cup without issue. Still delicious!
Shelly says
Best banana bread I’ve ever made. Taste perfect. The only thing I did differently was adding 1/2 teaspoon of cinnamon. Delicious.
Pomella Bender says
This made the best bannana bread ever. The texture was amazing and the flavor was even better. I freeze my bannanas when they are getting old. Thawing them out leaves a strong bannana liquid that I incorporated.
Excellent.
Pomella Bender says
This made the best bannana bread ever.
Unt Sah says
Thank you so much. I made this earlier today, we couldn’t wait for it to completely cool… the aroma got to all of us! I reduced the brown sugar by 80g, had no vanilla essence so used the last vanilla pod… still stunningly delicious to eat. I used the little rice bran oil i had left and topped that up with melted butter… again, soft crumb and delicious (lol). I was a bit worried about how loose the batter was… and thought it may over flow while baking, but, i trusted the process and was rewarded with one large loaf (there’s only half of it left now) of my first attempt at making something other than sourdough bread. This will be a keeper for sure. Again, thank you very much for the easy instructions and ingredients!
Samantha Agundes says
Can I use sourdough discard?
Hilary says
Can you use dairy free milk in this recipe?
Emilie Raffa says
Yes, absolutely! The flavor and texture will change slightly but it’s barely noticeable.
Kyla May says
I used dairy free milk in mine and it turned out just fine.