This sourdough discard banana bread post came to be after a surplus of apricots forced me to play jar Jenga in my freezer, trying to make space for my bounty. I found mashed overly ripe bananas that I had squirreled away months earlier upon the realization that they would have become compost had I not dealt with them. But I didn’t have time to bake at that moment. Into the freezer they went. (Go here for freezing food in jars.)
Mashed bananas, like so many foods, freeze very well, which prevents food from going to landfill where it emits methane gas, a greenhouse gas much more potent than carbon dioxide. Simply peel the bananas and mash them with a fork until, well, mashed. (I like to use a flat surface to mash them on, such as a plate.) In addition to preserving the food, the freezer also buys you time—you can bake from a few days to several months later. To thaw, move the frozen bananas to the refrigerator the night before you need them.
Like baking with still-edible bananas on their way out, baking with sourdough discard also prevents food from going to waste. Every time you feed your starter, you remove most of it from the jar—this is the discard. Instead of actually discarding the discard in the trash, you can bake all kinds of recipes with it:
- Pancakes
- Vegan pancakes
- Waffles
- Crackers
- Soft pretzels
- Vegetable fritters
- Vegan chocolate cake
- Vegan carrot cake
- Vegan pumpkin cake
- Pumpkin and spice quick bread
- Pizza
- Pita bread
And now, sourdough discard banana quick bread can take its rightful place on this list! Keep food out of landfill by baking—and eating—yummy quick bread!
You can do one more thing to help prevent food from going to waste—sign this petition asking CVS to stop dumping edible food and other items.
Sourdough Discard Banana Nut Bread
Ingredients
- ½ cup chopped walnuts or pecans
- 1 cup all-purpose flour
- ½ cup whole wheat flour
- ½ teaspoon salt
- 1½ teaspoons ground cinnamon
- ½ teaspoon baking soda
- ¼ teaspoon baking powder
- 1 large pastured egg
- ¾ cup lightly packed brown sugar see Note
- 1¼ cup mashed overly ripe bananas about 3 medium-small bananas
- ½ cup unfed sourdough discard stir down to remove bubbles before measuring
- ⅓ cup olive oil, plus more to grease the pan
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350°F. Generously grease a 9- by 5-inch loaf pan with a bit of olive oil.
- As the oven heats, toast the nuts until they are fragrant but not dark, 5 to 10 minutes. Check them after 5 minutes. If they aren't ready, stir them and recheck every minute or two.
- In a small bowl, whisk together the flours, salt, cinnamon, baking soda and baking powder.
- In a large bowl, beat the egg until light. Add the sugar, mixing well. Stir in the mashed banana, sourdough discard, olive oil and vanilla.
- Add the dry ingredients to the banana mixture and stir just until combined. Fold in the nuts.
- Scrape the batter into the prepared pan and bake for 50 to 60 minutes, until a thin clean sharp knife inserted into the center comes out clean. Cool the loaf in the pan for 10 minutes before inverting onto a rack to cool completely. If necessary, run a knife along the edges of the pan to release the banana bread.
