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Don’t discard your extra sourdough starter! It makes a great addition to easy baking recipes, including this banana bread recipe.
When did sourdough become so popular?
In 2020, it took me a few days to figure out why Instagram was filling up with sourdough starters.
At the time, amateur bakers found themselves scrambling to buy all the yeast they could find on store shelves. (I guess they quickly realized that weeks/months at home provided a great time to bake.)
There was one major problem, though. The yeast “supply chain” wasn’t equipped to accommodate a massive baking surge in the spring. And so, much like the story of toilet paper, there developed a yeast shortage.
Enter sourdough.
Would-be bakers quickly caught on to the natural yeast that lives around us every day. With some patience and daily nurturing, you can basically turn flour + water into a vibrant sourdough mixture that can leaven bread all on its own. It’s pretty special when you think about it.
I’m NOT a sourdough expert.
In fact, when I reconstituted an Alaskan sourdough starter that I brought back from my last trip to Alaska (be sure to listen to the end of The Supplements Episode to learn more about that) it was the first time I’d ever successfully gotten a sourdough starter, started.
Why do you need Sourdough Discard recipes?
What I found (as any sourdough baker will tell you) is that you end up with A LOT of “discard” as you continually feed your starter. And while yeast was nowhere to be found, flour wasn’t far behind in those early days of lockdown.
In other words, I didn’t want to waste a single ounce of flour if I didn’t have to. Hence the reason I started searching for sourdough discard recipes.
King Arthur Flour (who by the way has the MOST amazing baking resources ever) has a great guide to sourdough AND has some yummy ideas for sourdough discard recipes. I made their Sourdough Discard Crackers, but if you’ve ever looked through my Instagram feed, you know I love me a good quick bread recipe!
So with a little research, my own baking knowledge, and a plentiful supply of frozen bananas and chocolate chips, this beauty was born:
If you’re interested in getting started making your own sourdough starter, definitely start with King Arthur Flour’s tutorial.
OR… do as I did. “Cheat” a little and begin with a dry sourdough starter that you can reconstitute. There’s this dry sourdough starter available on Amazon.
King Arthur also has a fresh sourdough starter that I’ve heard wonderful things about. You *might* be able to snag the one I used by purchasing this Sourdough Cookbook. (They include a packet of the same starter I used with every purchase of the cookbook).
And lastly, it looks like breadtopia has a dry sourdough starter in stock.
Of course, if you’re not really in the mood for chocolate chips in your banana bread, then I recommend making thisHealthy Banana Breadfrom my friend Olena at ifoodreal instead!
Or better yet, make them both! ~Regan
Sourdough Discard Banana Bread
5 Stars4 Stars3 Stars2 Stars1 Star
5 from 10 reviews
- Author: Regan Jones, RD
- Total Time: 1 hour 5 minutes
- Yield: 1 loaf
Description
Don’t discard your extra sourdough starter! It makes a great addition to easy baking recipes, including this banana bread recipe.
Ingredients
- 2 cups (240 g) all-purpose or cake flour
- 1/2 teaspoon (3 g) baking soda
- 1/2 teaspoon (3 g) salt
- 1/2 cup (100 g) oil
- 1/2 cup (100 g) lightly packed brown sugar
- 2 large flax eggs or eggs, if preferred (I actually like this best with homeade flax eggs)
- 3/4 cup (125 g) sourdough starter discard*
- 3 very ripe medium-size bananas, mashed (about 350 g)
- 1 teaspoon (4 g) vanilla extract
- 1 cup (170 g) chocolate chips**
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Coat an 8-inch loaf pan with cooking spray and set aside.
- In a medium-size mixing bowl, combine flour, baking soda and salt.
- In a separate mixing bowl (or stand mixer) beat oil and sugar until well combined. Beat in eggs, sourdough starter discard, bananas and vanilla.
- Gradually beat in flour mixture, scraping down sides of bowl as necessary. Fold in chocolate chips.
- Pour batter into prepared pan. Bake for 55 minutes or until wooden pick inserted in center comes out mostly clean. Be careful not to overbake.
- Let cool in pan 10 minutes then remove to wire rack to cool completely.
Notes
*This is a large amount of “discard.” If you don’t have that much discard, you can supplement with some of your fed starter. I accumulate my daily discard in the fridge to have plenty to bake with when ready.
**If preferred, substitute chopped walnuts or pecans for chocolate chips.
HOW TO bake this bread WITHOUT sourdough discard: use an additional 1/3 cup (63 g) all-purpose flour and add in 1/3 (63 g) water to the recipe with the other wet ingredients.
- Prep Time: 10
- Cook Time: 55
- Category: Dessert
- Method: Baking
- Cuisine: American
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