If you maintain a sourdough starter, you are intimately familiar with the weekly ritual: the feeding, the bubbling, and the ever-present question of what to do with all that discard. While I love a good discard cracker or pancake, I’m here today to share what I believe is the absolute best and most delicious use for it: this incredible sourdough discard banana bread.
This isn’t just a recipe to prevent food waste; this is a recipe that uses the unique properties of sourdough discard to create a genuinely superior loaf of banana bread. The result is unbelievably moist and tender, with a soft, delicate crumb that stays fresh for days. The familiar, comforting sweetness of ripe bananas is perfectly balanced by a subtle, complex tang from the starter, creating a flavor that is both familiar and wonderfully sophisticated.
This simple, no-fail quick bread will have you looking forward to your weekly discard. It’s a true baker’s delight that transforms a simple byproduct into the star of the show.
The Sourdough Baker’s Best-Kept Secret
For a long time, I viewed my sourdough discard (Sauerteig-Anstellgut) as just something to get rid of before feeding my starter its fresh meal. But then I discovered its secret magic in “quick breads” like this one. It’s not just filler; it’s a powerful ingredient that enhances the final bake in three wonderful ways.
First, it adds an incredible amount of moisture, contributing to that wonderfully tender crumb we all strive for. Second, the natural acids in the discard react with the baking soda, helping to create a beautiful, fluffy lift. But the real magic is in the flavor. The discard provides a subtle, sophisticated tang that cuts through the sweetness of the bananas and sugar. It creates a more balanced, complex, and interesting loaf—less like a simple sweet cake and more like a rustic, artisanal bake you’d find at a high-end bakery. It’s the ultimate secret weapon.
Why Sourdough Discard is a Game-Changer for Banana Bread:
- Adds Incredible Moisture and a Tender Crumb: The discard helps to tenderize the gluten and ensures the loaf stays moist for days.
- Creates a Complex, Tangy Flavor: It provides a subtle, sophisticated tang that beautifully balances the sweetness of the ripe bananas.
- The Most Delicious Way to Reduce Kitchen Waste: This recipe doesn’t just use up discard; it celebrates it as a key flavor component.
- Still a Simple, No-Knead Quick Bread: Despite using a sourdough starter, this is a fast and easy recipe that requires no kneading or long proofing times.
Ingredients & Equipment
For the Sourdough Banana Bread:
- Very Ripe Bananas: 3 large, mashed well (about 1 ½ cups).
- Sourdough Discard (100% hydration, unfed): 240g (1 cup).
- Unsalted Butter: 115g (½ cup), melted and slightly cooled.
- Light Brown Sugar: 150g (¾ cup), packed.
- Egg: 1 large, at room temperature.
- Vanilla Extract: 1 teaspoon.
- All-Purpose Flour: 210g (1 ¾ cups).
- Baking Soda (Natron): 1 teaspoon.
- Baking Powder (Backpulver): ½ teaspoon.
- Ground Cinnamon: 1 teaspoon.
- Salt: ½ teaspoon.
- Optional Add-Ins: 1 cup of semi-sweet chocolate chips or toasted, chopped walnuts.
Helpful Equipment:
- A 9×5 inch (or similar 23×13 cm) loaf pan (
Kastenform). - A large mixing bowl.
Time Estimates
- Prep Time: 15 minutes
- Bake Time: 55-65 minutes
- Total Time: Approximately 1 hour 15 minutes
Step-by-Step Instructions
This is a classic “muffin method” quick bread—wonderfully simple and forgiving.
Step 1: Prepare Oven and Pan Preheat your oven to 175°C (350°F). Grease and flour your loaf pan, or line it with parchment paper, leaving an overhang on the two long sides for easy removal later.
Step 2: Mix the Wet Ingredients In a large bowl, mash the very ripe bananas until they are mostly smooth. To the mashed bananas, add the sourdough discard, melted butter, brown sugar, egg, and vanilla extract. Whisk everything together until it is well combined and the sugar has started to dissolve.
Step 3: Mix the Dry Ingredients In a separate medium bowl, whisk together the all-purpose flour, baking soda, baking powder, cinnamon, and salt.
Step 4: Combine (Gently!) Pour the dry ingredients into the bowl with the wet ingredients. Use a rubber spatula to gently fold the batter together just until the last streaks of flour disappear. The batter will be thick, and a few lumps are perfectly fine. Do not overmix!
Step 5: Add Optional Mix-Ins and Bake If you’re using chocolate chips or nuts, gently fold them in now until they are just distributed. Pour the batter into your prepared loaf pan and smooth the top. Bake for 55 to 65 minutes. The bread is done when it’s a deep golden brown and a wooden skewer inserted into the center comes out with moist crumbs attached, but no wet batter.
Step 6: Cool Completely Let the banana bread cool in the loaf pan on a wire rack for about 20 minutes. Then, use the parchment paper handles to carefully lift the loaf out of the pan. Place it directly on the wire rack to cool completely before slicing.
Notes, Tips & Variations
- Discard 101: This recipe is designed for a “100% hydration” discard, which means your starter is fed with equal weights of flour and water. The discard can be used straight from the fridge.
- The Age of Your Discard Matters: The flavor of your loaf will change depending on how long it has been since you last fed your starter. A “young” discard (fed 1-2 days ago) will have a very mild tang. An “old” discard that’s been in the fridge for a week will be more acidic and will produce a noticeably tangier loaf. Both are delicious, so use what you have!
- Optional Overnight Ferment (The Pro Move): For an even more pronounced sourdough flavor and an incredibly tender crumb, you can cover the mixed batter and let it rest in the refrigerator overnight (8-12 hours). The next day, just pour the cold batter into your loaf pan and bake as directed, adding about 5-10 extra minutes to the baking time.
- Classic Add-Ins: This bread is a perfect canvas for your favorite additions. One cup of semi-sweet chocolate chips makes it a decadent treat, while 1 cup of toasted, chopped walnuts or pecans adds a wonderful, hearty crunch.
The Best Sourdough Discard Banana Bread Recipe
Ingredients
- 3 large very ripe bananas mashed
- 240 g 1 cup unfed, 100% hydration sourdough discard
- 115 g ½ cup unsalted butter, melted
- 150 g ¾ cup light brown sugar, packed
- 1 large egg
- 1 tsp vanilla extract
- 210 g 1 ¾ cups all-purpose flour
- 1 tsp baking soda
- ½ tsp baking powder
- 1 tsp ground cinnamon
- ½ tsp salt
- Optional: 1 cup chocolate chips or chopped walnuts
Instructions
- Prep: Preheat oven to 175°C (350°F). Prepare a 9x5 inch loaf pan.
- Mix Wet: In a large bowl, mash the bananas. Whisk in the sourdough discard, melted butter, brown sugar, egg, and vanilla until well combined.
- Mix Dry: In a separate bowl, whisk together the flour, baking soda, baking powder, cinnamon, and salt.
- Combine: Gently fold the dry ingredients into the wet ingredients with a spatula until just combined. Do not overmix. Fold in any optional add-ins.
- Bake: Pour the batter into the prepared pan. Bake for 55-65 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted into the center comes out with moist crumbs attached.
- Cool: Let the bread cool in the pan for 20 minutes before transferring it to a wire rack to cool completely before slicing.
Notes
- The tanginess of the bread will depend on the age and acidity of your discard.
- For an even more tender crumb and deeper sourdough flavor, you can let the batter rest in the fridge overnight before baking.
- This recipe is a fantastic base for add-ins like chocolate chips, nuts, or raisins.
Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ)
1. Does my sourdough discard need to be at room temperature? No, it does not! That’s the beauty of using discard. You can use it straight from its jar in the refrigerator. Just give it a stir and measure it out.
2. Does this banana bread taste very sour? It doesn’t taste “sour” like a slice of rye bread. Instead, it has a pleasant, mild “tang” that beautifully balances the sweetness of the bananas and sugar. Many people find they prefer it to standard banana bread because it tastes less one-dimensionally sweet and has a more complex, interesting flavor.
3. Can I use an active, fed sourdough starter instead of discard? Yes, you can. If you use a recently fed, active starter, the results will be very similar. The flavor might be slightly less tangy than if you used an older discard, but the bread will be just as moist and delicious.
4. Why do I still need to use baking soda and baking powder? This is a great baker’s question! Because we are using an unfed discard and baking the loaf immediately (not letting it proof for hours like bread), the wild yeast in the starter is not active enough to provide all the leavening power on its own. The baking soda and baking powder are the chemical leaveners that do the heavy lifting to ensure this “quick bread” has a beautiful, light, and tender crumb.
Happy Discard Baking!
This is truly one of the most rewarding recipes for a sourdough baker—it feels so good to turn something you might have thrown away into a truly spectacular loaf of banana bread. I hope this becomes your new go-to discard recipe! If you bake a loaf, I would love it if you left a comment and a star rating below.
For more creative ways to bake with your starter, be sure to follow me on Pinterest and Instagram. Happy baking, fellow sourdough enthusiasts! And try my Banana Nut Bread.