Sourdough Discard Banana Bread
This is the other place your extra discard goes – into the banana bread I make every time a bunch of bananas gets too spotty to eat plain. The discard doesn’t need to do any leavening work here; baking soda handles that. It just adds moisture and a faint depth you don’t get from banana bread without it.
Why You’ll Love It
- Uses up overripe bananas AND sourdough discard in one bowl
- No fermentation wait – mix and bake, same day
- Incredibly moist crumb thanks to the discard’s extra hydration
- One bowl, no mixer required
- Freezes beautifully, sliced or whole
Ingredients
Volume measurements are included for convenience, but they’re approximate – a kitchen scale will always get you a more consistent loaf, especially for the flour.
The riper and more spotted your bananas, the better – this is the recipe for the ones you’d otherwise toss.
- Very ripe bananas (3 medium, about 340 g mashed): the spottier and softer, the sweeter and more flavorful your loaf will be.
- Sourdough discard (180 g / ¾ cup), unfed: adds moisture and a subtle tang that plays well against the banana.
- All-purpose flour (250 g / 2 cups): standard structure for a quick bread.
- Brown sugar (150 g / ¾ cup, packed): adds moisture and a deeper flavor than white sugar alone.
- Unsalted butter (113 g / 8 Tbsp), melted and cooled: for richness.
- Eggs (2 large): bind the batter and add structure.
- Baking soda (1 tsp): the primary leavener for a quick bread like this one.
- Ground cinnamon (1 tsp): rounds out the banana flavor.
- Fine sea salt (½ tsp): balances the sweetness.
- Chopped walnuts or chocolate chips (100 g / ¾ cup, optional): stirred in at the end.
Equipment
- 9×5-inch loaf pan: the standard size this recipe is written for.
- Potato masher or fork: for mashing the bananas smooth.
Sample Schedule (1-Day)
Same Day
- Mix the batter (about 15 minutes)
- Bake 55-65 minutes
- Cool in the pan 15 minutes, then on a rack before slicing
Sourdough Discard Banana Bread
Method
- Preheat oven to 350°F and grease a 9×5-inch loaf pan.
- Mash the bananas until mostly smooth.
- Whisk in discard, melted butter, brown sugar, and eggs.
- Fold in flour, baking soda, cinnamon, and salt just until combined.
- Fold in walnuts or chocolate chips, if using.
- Pour into the pan and bake 55–65 minutes until a toothpick comes out clean.
- Cool in the pan 15 minutes, then turn out onto a rack to cool completely.
Notes
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How to Make It
1Prep the pan and oven. Preheat the oven to 350°F and grease a 9×5-inch loaf pan, or line it with parchment for easy removal.
2Mash the bananas. In a large bowl, mash 3 very ripe bananas with a fork or potato masher until mostly smooth, with a few small lumps left.
3Mix in the wet ingredients. Whisk in 180 g (¾ cup) sourdough discard, 113 g (8 Tbsp) melted butter, 150 g (¾ cup) brown sugar, and 2 eggs until well combined.
4Add the dry ingredients. Sprinkle 250 g (2 cups) flour, 1 tsp baking soda, 1 tsp cinnamon, and ½ tsp salt over the wet mixture. Fold gently with a spatula just until no dry streaks remain – don’t overmix.
5Fold in mix-ins. If using, fold in 100 g (¾ cup) chopped walnuts or chocolate chips.
6Bake. Pour the batter into the prepared pan and smooth the top. Bake for 55 to 65 minutes, until a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean or with just a few moist crumbs.
7Cool. Let the loaf cool in the pan for 15 minutes, then turn it out onto a wire rack to cool completely before slicing.
Tips & Troubleshooting
- The riper, the better: bananas that are heavily spotted or even mostly black are ideal – they’re sweeter and mash more easily than firmer, yellow ones.
- Don’t overmix: stir the flour in just until the streaks disappear. Overmixing develops gluten and makes the loaf tough and dense instead of tender.
- Test at the low end first: start checking for doneness at 55 minutes – ovens vary, and an overbaked banana bread dries out quickly.
- Tent if it’s browning too fast: if the top is deeply golden well before the center is set, loosely tent it with foil for the remaining bake time.
How to Store
To store: keep tightly wrapped at room temperature for up to 3 days, or in the fridge for up to a week – it actually gets more moist after a day.
To freeze: wrap the cooled loaf (whole or in slices) tightly in plastic, then foil, and freeze up to 3 months. Thaw at room temperature or warm individual slices in the toaster.
Nutrition
Per slice, based on 10 slices per loaf. Estimated from the ingredients used – provided for convenience and not a substitute for a precise calculation.
245
CALORIES
35
CARBS (G)
4
PROTEIN (G)
10
FAT (G)
5
SAT. FAT (G)
1
FIBER (G)
17
SUGAR (G)
170
SODIUM (MG)
Desi’s Notes
This is genuinely one of the easiest ways to use discard, because unlike a lot of discard recipes, the discard here isn’t doing any heavy lifting – it’s just adding moisture and a little tang, so there’s zero risk of ruining the rise. You really can’t mess this one up.
I keep a small container in the freezer just for spotty bananas until I have enough for a loaf – no need to bake the moment they get too ripe.
Before You Bake
Scaling this recipe up or down? Run your numbers through the Sourdough Calculator. And if you want a printable reference for troubleshooting or timing, browse all six Printable Quicksheets.
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