Last week one of my super excellent friends gave me a jar of sourdough starter. As I was ensconced in bed convalescing, I haven't really gotten the deets on the starter's origins, but I think I heard one of my house denizens talking about that it came from a really, really old starter. Or something.
Not that it matters, because I have a starter! Squee! Anyone who digs fermented anything loves to get ahold of a new strain of fermenty goodness, and I am no exception.
That said, I haven't felt good enough to concoct a loaf of sourdough from the starter, because it is a bit of a process, even if you do the overnight lazy way. I mean it, I am basically operating on low function mode right now.
However, starters need tending. They need fed. I didn't want to throw my new little friend in the fridge to put it on standby, so my extra awesome children fed it for me. Fun factoid time though, you have to discard some of the starter every time you feed it, or else....Growth slime! Expansion goo! Escape from the jar terror!
So, I practiced my Google-fu and looked up a bunch of easy to prepare with sourdough discard recipes. And big shocker, I found a ton of ideas, but nothing that really struck me in my post-ill, energy-deprived core.
I did however, have three of these sitting on the counter:
They happened to be lounging near the mason jar that my starter bubbles and troubles in, so I thought, why not try it?
And by try it I mean whipping up a loaf of sourdough banana bread. It seemed like a good idea, and in a slight burst of creativity caused energy I scribbled down some ingredient ratios and went to work.
First, I whisked the dry ingredients together. Into a mixing bowl I placed some flour, baking soda, salt, and a bit of cinnamon.
Next, I smashed the nanas. Having raised a few kids I am pretty well-versed at that task. Not that smashing bananas is hard or anything. I have a retro potato smasher that I sometimes use, just because I like it and Grandma gave it to me, but most of the time I just mash the nanas with a fork.
After that task was smashed, I moved on to dough composition. Quick breads appeal to the lazy and frugal aspects of my nature. You can put pretty much anything in a quick bread, and well, they have the word quick in the name. The longest part of making them is waiting for them to bake.
I creamed butter and brown sugar in my trusty Kitchenaid stand mixer's bowl, beat in a couple eggs (one at a time), and then giggled maniacally like the mad kitchen scientist that I am as I mixed is a healthy amount of sourdough starter.
The dough very much looked like dough, and it smelled soury divine like all things that contain a fermented aspect do. I carefully folded in the bananas, a bit of olive oil, and vanilla.
The dough looked good. Super good.
So I put it in a greased loaf pan, smoothed out the top with a spatula, and plopped it in to my oven for about an hour.
In the name of experimentation, I didn't even check it while it was baking, I had faith in my composition and method.
And for once, it wasn't a fail worthy of an influencer's Pinterest board. Nay! My sourdough banana bread turned out beautifully!
It also tasted excellent. I know this because my fruit adoring Hawaiian herd whom I live with devoured half of the loaf before it even fully cooled. I love them.
And I love how the loaf turned out too. Now that I have the basic method of making sourdough quick bread down, I am going to try all sorts of manifestations, and I hope you all have some sourdough starter around to try this recipe out too, it's a keeper for sure!
Sourdough Banana Bread
2 cups all purpose flour
1/2 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 tsp cinnamon
1/2 cup (1 stick) room temperature butter
3/4 cup brown sugar
2 eggs
3/4 cup sourdough starter
3 very ripe bananas
2 TBSP olive oil
1 tsp vanilla extractPreheat oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit. Grease a 9"X5" loaf pan.
Whisk flour, salt, baking soda, and cinnamon in a mixing bowl, set aside.
Place butter in a mixing bowl and cream butter with brown sugar. Add eggs one at a time and mix until well-combined.
Add starter and mix in until combined, then fold in mashed bananas, vanilla and oil.
Next, mix in dry ingredients until just blended. Do not over mix!
Spread the dough into the prepared loaf pan, smooth the top with a spatula, and bake for 55-60 minutes.
Let the bread cool at least 15-20 minutes, remove, slice, and devour!
