Sourdough Banana Bread with Walnuts
How about a loaf of real banana bread? One that’s made with sourdough, wholemeal flour and no added sugar? This sourdough banana bread does all of this and more. And it’s not only healthy, it’s really delicious.
I’ve been contemplating the creation of a sourdough banana bread for a long time now. A loaf that’s just like real bread rather than cake. Finally I’ve made one and I’m really pleased with it. I’ve added the classic ingredients of walnuts and cinnamon, but the only sweetness comes from the bananas.
Banana Sourdough Bread with Walnuts
This recipe for banana sourdough bread is perfect for using up squishy bananas. It’s an easy loaf to make if you have a stand mixer. But the dough is quite wet, so whilst it’s not impossible, it’s a bit harder to knead by hand. This recipe makes one large loaf or two smaller ones.
As you can see from the photo below, I didn’t make this bread in a tin. Because it’s a soft dough, however, the loaf goes a bit flat. I don’t mind this, especially as it cooks faster. But if you’d prefer a more standard shape, use a tin or tins.
For a particularly quick and easy to prepare yeast-free loaf, my healthy breakfast banana bread is pretty good.
What’s in the Loaf?
I based this banana bread on my standard rye sourdough bread recipe. Because of the addition of bananas, however, the dough is wetter than it normally is. So I’ve used more flour, which creates a particularly large loaf. The flour is a mix of strong wholemeal and wholemeal spelt. The bread thus rises well because of the strong flour and has a soft texture because of the spelt.
Feel free to use a different sourdough starter. I’m wedded to rye. It’s robust, needs little attention and can be used to make any kind of sourdough bread you like. Recently I lost my ten year old sourdough starter and I was completely bereft. When I’d more or less come to terms with its loss, Monica Shaw from Smarter Fitter came to my rescue and sent me some of hers. Thank you so much Monica.
As well as walnuts and cinnamon, I’ve also added linseeds to the mix. The reason is twofold. They help to absorb liquid and they’re good for you. In fact I always add them to my sourdough breads. They’re high in omega 3 fatty acids and great for the digestion. I should add that the bread is entirely vegan, but I sort of take that as read when it comes to sourdough.
So What’s it Like?
Well, apart from the weird purple tinge that the bananas give, this sourdough banana bread is just fabulous. It has a good texture, a lovely flavour and is slightly sweet from the banana and cinnamon. Plus you get a bit of crunch and additional flavour from the walnuts. If you don’t like walnuts, just leave them out.
Spread it with butter or a nut butter and that’s really all you need. However, its also delicious toasted and spread with honey. It even goes well with plain mild cheeses like cheddar, Lancashire, Cheshire, Gloucester or Caerphilly.
Other Banana Recipes You Might Like
- Baileys Choconana Pie
- Banana pancakes with ricotta & chocolate sauce
- Chocolate banana cashew cake (vegan)
- Healthy chocolate mousse
- Quick banana and rum soaked raisin bundt
- Peanut butter banana muffins (vegan)
- Sticky banana ginger cake
- Upside-down white chocolate banoffee shortcake
Keep in Touch
Thanks for visiting Tin and Thyme. If you make a loaf of this sourdough banana bread, I’d love to hear about it in the comments below. And do please rate the recipe. Have you any top tips? Do share photos on social media too and use the hashtag #tinandthyme, so I can spot them.
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If you’re after more bread inspiration, why not take a look at these recipes in my Bread and Buns category?
Choclette x
Sourdough Banana Bread. PIN IT.
Sourdough Banana Bread – The Recipe
Sourdough Banana Bread
Ingredients
- 75 g rye sourdough starter
- 225 g wholemeal rye flour
- 300 g wholemeal spelt flour
- 300 g strong wholemeal flour
- 4 overripe bananas
- 50 g walnuts chopped
- 1 tsp ground cinnamon
- 25 g linseeds (flaxseeds)
- 1 ½ tsp sea salt
Instructions
- The night before baking the bread, mix the rye flour with 450ml of warm water in a large bowl. Add the sourdough starter and stir well. Cover loosely with a plastic bag and leave to ferment overnight.
- In the morning remove 75g of the ferment into a covered glass jar and place in the fridge until the next time a sourdough starter is needed.
- To the remaining ferment, add the wholemeal flours, peeled bananas, linseeds, cinnamon, salt & walnuts. Knead in a stand mixer for ten minutes. The mixture is quite wet, so it’s a bit more difficult to do by hand, but not impossible.
- Dust a proving basket with flour, then press the dough into it. Alternatively, form the dough into a freestyle loaf and place on a greased or lined baking tray. As the dough is quite a soft one, a free style loaf will flatten out. For a more uniform loaf, place the dough into a 1 kg/2lb loaf tin or two smaller tins.
- Cover loosely with a plastic bag, ensuring it doesn’t touch the dough and leave to prove until the loaf has risen by about ⅓. This could be anything from 2 to 6 hours depending on the temperature of the room and the liveliness of the starter.
- Turn the loaf out of the proving basket, if using, onto a greased baking tray. Otherwise, dust with a little spelt flour and slash the top 2-4 times with a sharp knife if liked.
- When, or just before, you think the loaf is ready for baking, turn the oven on to 220℃ (425℉, Gas 7).
- Place the bread in the oven and turn the temperature down to 200℃ (400℉, Gas 6). Bake for 40 minutes or until the bread sounds hollow when the base is tapped. Allow a further 10 minutes or so if baking in a tin. Place on a wire rack to cool.
Notes
Nutrition Estimate
Sharing
I’m sharing this recipe for sourdough banana bread with Apply to Face Blog and Jo’s Kitchen Larder for #BakingCrumbs. And also with A Strong Coffee for #CookBlogShare.
Hi there,
this recipe looks fabulous, and just what I’ve been searching for.
Q. Am I missing something? I cannot see what volume of rye flour to use to make the ferment with.
Cheers,
Marty.
Hi Marty. Thanks for pointing this out and so sorry for missing it. I make the ferment with 225g rye flour and the 450ml water as stated in the recipe. Just off to amend the recipe now.
ooooooh, this looks good. I think it might be the time of year, but we’ve been making a lot of bread lately, but sticking to really simple ones. When we’re feeling more adventurous, we’ll have to try a sourdough like yours.
Simple bread is often the best bread. But it is nice to ring the changes occasionally. And having the oven on for baking is just lovely at this time of year.
What a combination! I’d never have thought of a banana sourdough, but why not? Love the addition of the walnuts and see why it’d be good with cheese!
I’ve always found the name banana bread a little odd as it’s not bread but cake. So I just had to try making some “real” banana bread and it’s really good – hooray!
I love your bread recipes Choclette! This sourdough with bananas and cinnamon looks and sounds amazing, yet again a winner bake. I so need to get on with making my sourdough starter. I’ve been saying that for a while now but it’s going to happen soon! Thank you for bringing your lovely bread to #BakingCrumbs 🙂
Loving the idea of a banana bread that’s bread rather than cake, I’ve always thought the name a misnomer for what you usually get, even though I love it!
This is utterly delicious and I can’t explain how much I love it.
Thanks Sisley.
Oh this would be wonderful for breakfast, as I have a sweet tooth but love that the banana does its natural sweet job. How lovely, Choclette – love the walnuts for the crunch too. Beautiful!
Thanks Jill. It does indeed make an excellent breakfast bread. It’s also really good toasted with lots of butter when one is in need of a snack – just saying!
oooooo. I have some bananas and walnuts that need using up. Might just have to give this a go! Thanks for linking up to #cookblogshare
If you don’t make sourdough, you could just do the same with ordinary yeasted bread. Highly recommended.
What a fabulous bread, I love the flavours. Nice to see banana bread that is actually a bread too, rather than cake haha
Well exactly. I’ve been wanting to try a “proper” banana bread for a long time. I got there eventually.
This looks delicious and healthy with the sweetness coming from the bananas. I often make traditional banana bread (which is really a cake) but have never thought about making bread with bananas!
It’s been on my mind for literally years, but sometimes it takes me a while to get around to things.
You’re so clever! What a brilliant recipe and a beautiful loaf of bread. I could eat the whole lot in one sitting. Good bread and butter has to be one of my most favourite things! Thank you so much for bringing this triumph to #BakingCrumbs
Aw thanks Jenny. I would be lost without decent bread and yes butter plays a very important part.
What unique take on sourdough bread! This sounds and looks wonderful..I’d love to try it!
Thanks Catherine. It’s become my new favourite sourdough.
It looks very tasty and looks to have a delicious texture too! I would love to try some kind of sourdough at some point.
If you do go for a sourdough starter, I’d really recommend rye. It’s a lot more forgiving than other starters. And as long as you keep the starter bit purely rye, you can use it to make bread with any flour you wish.
This sounds wonderful! I’ve always wanted to make sourdough bread but it really intimidates me. You make it look super easy to make! I really like that you added bananas and walnuts!
Oh don’t be intimidated by sourdough bread, it’s a really simple bread. You just need to be a bit organised. Rye in particular is really easy to make and keep going.
I love the sound of this bread – a slightly sweet bread is always nice and as there is no sugar I assume it is not too sweet. That sounds harsh to lose a starter of 10 years – I am quite attached to mine but give away some of it when I can which I hope is insurance.
The bread is only slightly sweet. I don’t add any sweetener to my normal sourdough, so I do find this one noticeable. But no, I expect a lot of people wouldn’t call it sweet at all.
I was devastated at losing my starter. I’ve given a lot of it away over the years, but people have subsequently lost it or moved on. And, if truth be told, I can’t remember everyone I’ve given it too anyway.
That is one amazing looking sourdough bread. Making banana bread with sourdough starter sounds absolutely delicious. Perfectly baked and with beautiful crumb – I would love a slice with butter, please 🙂
Thanks Pavani. This is now my new favourite bread and I can highly recommend a slice with butter.
What a healthy and tasty bread and sourdough too! I would love to try this, so nutritious as well.
Thanks Alida. I eat far too much sweet stuff, so it’s really important that my bread and other staples are healthy ones.
What a beautiful loaf for bread. I love that it is not a typical banana quick bread, and I love inclusion of the nuts as well. I can’t wait to try this!
Thank you Ashley. I’ve only had the idea of making this type of banana bread for about five years now!
Perfect! Rye and spelt…so good!
So good indeed. I don’t usually add spelt to my rye sourdough, but felt this one needed it.