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This Healthy Sourdough Banana Bread is naturally sweetened with maple syrup, full of whole grains, and gets an extra boost of flavor from sourdough discard.
Although I have been making banana bread and muffins for a long time, I only recently started using sourdough discard in my banana bread. I love the extra flavor it gives, and I also think it makes this healthy banana bread a little more light and fluffy.
What is sourdough discard?
Sourdough discard is the excess removed from a sourdough starter before “feeding” it. When I feed my sourdough starter, I normally keep 50 grams of starter, then mix in 50 grams of water and 50 grams of flour. Whatever extra sourdough starter I have above the 50 grams is the “discard”. You can either throw that away, or use it to add extra flavor to other recipes such as muffins, crackers, waffles or banana bread! You can also keep discard in the fridge for a week or two if you don’t want to throw it away but don’t have time to use it right when you are feeding your starter.
What makes this Sourdough Banana Bread healthy?
Whole Grain Flour – I use White Whole Wheat Flour also called Golden Wheat Flour – this is whole wheat flour made from hard white wheat instead of hard red wheat. Whole Wheat Pastry Flour also works well here. You can also use regular Whole Wheat Flour or All Purpose White Flour.
Naturally Sweetened – This sourdough banana bread is sweetened with Maple syrup and bananas – although you can also add chocolate chips for a little extra sweetness if you want!
Tips for making the best Sourdough Banana Bread
- Be sure to use very ripe bananas – the browner and spottier, the better. This will add the most sweetness and moisture to the bread.
- When mixing together the wet and dry ingredients, don’t overmix! Stir just a few times, until the wet and dry ingredients come together. Overmixing can result in tough and gluey banana bread.
Ingredients for Healthy Sourdough Banana Muffins
DRY INGREDIENTS
White Whole Wheat Flour – I use King Arthur Brand, and they now label this flour as “golden wheat“. You can substitute whole wheat pastry flour, all-purpose flour or regular whole wheat flour, however the bread may be a bit more dense with regular whole wheat flour.
Baking Powder AND Baking Soda – yes you need both and no they are not the same thing. These are what makes the muffins rise and get light and fluffy.
Fine sea salt – necessary for flavor
Ground cinnamon – this is optional but I prefer it for flavor.
WET INGREDIENTS
Mashed Bananas – I used 3 for lots of banana flavor, plus sweetness and moisture. Use very ripe, brown and spotty bananas.
Melted Butter – this makes a big difference in flavor and texture, you can sub with oil of choice but the flavor is better with butter.
Pure Maple Syrup – adds natural sweetness
Eggs – for leavening and structure
Plain Greek Yogurt – adds moisture and flavor, as well as tenderness.
Sourdough discard – can be fed or unfed
Vanilla extract – for flavor
Mini Chocolate Chips – optional if you don’t want to add the extra sugar, but very delicious and my kids love them.
How to store banana bread
Be sure to allow the banana bread to cool completely before slicing. After slicing, you can freeze the slices with a sheet of parchment paper between each slice so they don’t stick together. Or, store at room temperature tightly wrapped for 2-4 days.
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Healthy Sourdough discard Banana Bread
Ingredients
Dry Ingredients
- 2 cups white whole wheat flour (280 g) Substitute regular whole wheat flour, whole wheat pastry flour or All-Purpose Flour if you wish.
- 1 teaspoon baking powder 4 g
- 1 teaspoon baking soda 5g
- ½ teaspoon fine sea salt 3g
- 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon 3g (optional)
Wet Ingredients
- 3 bananas, mashed 379 g – (small to medium sized)
- ¼ cup unsalted butter, melted 57g
- 1/2 cup pure maple syrup 165 g
- 2 eggs 105g
- 1/2 cup plain yogurt 113g
- ½ cup sourdough starter 113g
- 2 teaspoons vanilla extract 4g
Optional Mix In
- 1 cup mini chocolate chips, divided
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Spray a 9 by 5 loaf pan with cooking spray and set aside.
- In a medium bowl, whisk together the flour, cinnamon, baking soda, baking powder, salt, set aside.
- In a second, larger bowl, mix the mashed bananas, sourdough starter, maple syrup, yogurt, egg, melted butter, and vanilla together until smooth.
- Pour the dry ingredients into the wet ingredients and stir until just combined. Do not overmix the batter or you will have tough banana bread.
- Set aside about 1/4 cup of chocolate chips if you are going to sprinkle them on the top. Mix the remaining 3/4 cups of chocolate chips into the batter, only stirring once or twice to mix them in, don’t over mix.
- Pour the batter into the prepared bread pan. Sprinkle the remaining chocolate chips on top of the batter.
- Bake at 350°F and 55-65 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean. When done, remove from the oven and allow to sit in pan for 5 minutes, then remove from pan and transfer the to a cooling rack to cool completely.
Notes
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
