This Sourdough Toss Banana Bread comes together very quickly, is wonderfully moist, delicious, and is an easy way to use up your starter sourdough toss. The added sourdough starter brings a slight tinge to the flavor profile, complementing the rich and sweet ingredients. I love this recipe because the ingredients are flexible and include staples I always have on hand – a banana bread loaf if you will.
Banana bread is something I had at least once a month growing up. A family of four always seems to have extra bananas on hand, you know, the ones in the kitchen that are so black and brown that no one ever touches them. Well, these are the bananas you want to use for this banana bread. Get the darkest, brownest, ripest bananas you have (or put some in the kitchen and wait a week until they're perfect).
As you can see below, I like to use mine Cast iron bread pan to make banana bread because cast iron gives a thin but noticeable crust with just a little crunch. Plus, it cleans up so, so easily.
But let's back up for a second and look at how banana bread came to be. I mean, if you think about it, I'm not sure I could have been the first person to say, “Hey, let's try bananas in this bread.” It's a strange concept when you step back for a moment, but god, it works so well.
A short (but interesting) history of banana bread
Banana bread is a sweet, moist, and quick bread made with mashed bananas, a fruit from the tropics of Southeast Asia (I mean, we all know what bananas are!). In the 18th and 19th centuries, bananas were considered a luxury item in the continental United States, which makes sense. They grew far away and shipping them was expensive. It wasn't until the early 20th century that the American-owned United Fruit Company began importing bananas from Latin America, making them more accessible.
It is generally thought that there is banana bread gained popularity in the early 1930s. It is often said that quick bread gained traction during the Great Depression, a way to use up ripe bananas at a time when food waste was avoided at all costs. Additionally, since bananas have a high sugar content and are sweet, they are a fantastic swap for white sugar.
The invention and growth of baking powder also contributed to the rise in popularity of banana bread. During the early 1930s, baking powder became more accessible, allowing chefs and bakers to experiment with new baking techniques and leavening baked goods without a starter sourdough or yeast. This new category of quick bread included banana bread.
Today, banana bread is as American as it gets. Chances are, you're like me with a parent (hey, mom!) or grandparent who did it often on the weekends. It's a classic quick bread whose simplicity and versatility have made it a staple in almost every American kitchen.
What sourdough starter to throw down?
For this banana bread, use a toasted loaf the beginning of sourdough: It's been fermented for a few hours (overnight for me), smells a bit sour, has bubbles on top and sides, and has a looser consistency than when you first fed it.
If you keep a sourdough clearing bootloader memory in the fridge, like me, you'll always have leftover baked goods ready to make this banana bread!
Add moisture with olive oil
I'm not sure if olive oil is a common ingredient in banana bread or not, but I add it here just like I would. sourdough bread: brings richness, moisture and softness. Olive oil is key to helping this banana bread stay moist.
Olive oil is key to helping this banana bread stay moist.
Turn this banana bread into zucchini bread
Zucchini may not immediately sound like a great addition to a quick sweet bread, but trust me, in the heat of summer when zucchini grows like weeds, this is what you'll be reaching for.
Because zucchini has an incredible amount of moisture, and when mashed, it acts like a banana, bringing a lot of moisture and softness to anything it's mixed into.
To turn this banana bread into courgette bread, remove the banana and add 300g of grated courgette (I use steel box grater to chop zucchini). Instead of mixing the sourdough starter with the banana, add the starter to the egg mixture and stir to combine. Add the zucchini to the egg mixture just before folding in the flour.
How does this differ from the banana bread in your cookbook?
In mine sourdough cookbookI have a recipe for starter banana bread that I call “Banana Bread 2.0”. It's an evolution of this recipe, which has been on The Perfect Loaf for almost as long as the site has been around (10 years!). I have modified that recipe to match what I remember my mom cooking for us when we were kids.
They are both great recipes, you can't go wrong making either 🙂
Description
This banana bread made with sourdough starter mix is an easy and delicious way to use up extra sourdough starter. You'll find this quick bread is your go-to for lazy weekends and anytime you want a quick dessert!
- 240 g (2 cups) all-purpose white flour, spelt, whole wheat, einkorn, or a mix
- 3 g (1/2 teaspoon) baking soda
- 3 g (1/2 teaspoon) fine sea salt
- 125 g (1 cup) chopped walnuts (and/or pecans), plus a handful more for topping
- 126 g(1/2 cup or 1 stick) butter, at room temperature
- 100 gr (1/2 cup lightly packed) brown sugar
- 2 large eggs
- 125 g (3/4 cupstirred down) throw in the sourdough starter
- 42 g (2 tablespoons) honey
- 4 (approx 365 g) super ripe and mashed bananas
- 28 g (2 tablespoons) extra virgin olive oil
- 4 g (1 teaspoon) vanilla
- the liveliness of 1 lemon (optional)
- Preheat your oven to 350°F (175°C).
- In a large mixing bowl, mix flour, baking sodaAND salt.
- In a small bowl, mix a handful of ground beef nuts and a few tips of sugar. Set aside to use later as a topping.
- In another container (or a mixer) cream butter AND sugar until fluffy. Add eggone by one. While mixing, scrape down the sides of the bowl. Add the beginning of sourdough, honeymashed bananas, VANILLAAND olive oil.
- Fold the flour mixture into the wet, stopping to scrape down the sides if necessary. Then, fold the remainder nuts AND lemon peel. Pour the dough in 9” x 5” baking pan. and smooth the top with a spatula. Sprinkle over the reserved chopped walnuts and sugar.
- Bake for 55-65 minutes until internal temperature in center is 200-205°F (93-96°C). Let cool in the pan for 10 minutes, then gently remove to a wire rack to cool completely.
- This banana bread will stay moist for days after baking, but be sure to wrap it in beeswax wrap, a kitchen towel, or place it inside an airtight container to prevent too much moisture loss.
endnoteS
To turn this banana bread into courgette bread, remove the banana and add 300g of grated courgette. Add the chopped zucchini to the egg mixture just before folding in the flour.
Instead of nuts, try chopped walnuts or almonds, or leave out all the nuts.
What's next?
If you're looking for more sourdough starter cakes, check it out My top 3 beginner tossing recipes (think: waffles, pancakes, oh my!).
Or, check out all of ours sourdough starter recipes for more inspiration.
