Easy Sourdough Banana Bread
This recipe is a must-make if you’re a banana bread lover. It’s super easy and unbelievably moist and delicious, with a perfect soft crumb. The best part? You don’t need to be a sourdough baker or have your own sourdough starter to make it. All you’ll need is one pouch of Jesha’s Bakery Sourdough Bread & Muffin Mix, ripe bananas, and a few simple ingredients. Our classic recipe is crafted with a nutrient-rich blend of ancient and heritage whole grains that have been naturally fermented with sourdough culture; a traditional process that unlocks vitamins and minerals, increases nutrient absorption, and improves the digestibility of grains.
We started out making this banana bread recipe with our mix in order to serve up samples at a local farmer's market in NYC. A healthy and delicious sourdough banana bread made with ancient and heritage whole grains. Our intention was to get the word out there about the baking mix by enticing people with tasty bite-sized samples – some inspiration for what you could make at home. But farmers market goers didn’t realize it was from a mix (terrible marketing by us, I know), and started lining up trying to buy fresh-baked loaves of banana bread. Sadly we didn’t have any, but we quickly realized that this was a seriously good recipe. Most importantly, it passed the test of the farmers market’s most discerning, ruthlessly honest, and picky critics: toddlers. That’s right, parents, this recipe is child-approved. Based on our real-life observations, we estimate that 98.987% of children absolutely love this banana bread.
Our classic banana bread is definitely a crowd-pleaser, and it also comes with some real health benefits since it's made with 100% activated grains.
Activated Grains: Enhanced nutrition, Optimal nourishment, and Gut Health.
In order to nourish us best, grains benefit from going through a natural activation process to unlock vitamins and minerals, increase the bioavailability of nutrients, and improve digestion.
Whole grains are an excellent source of proteins, complex carbohydrates, dietary fiber, vitamins and minerals, like B-Vitamins, iron, zinc, and magnesium, polyphenols, and antioxidants. But grains contain enzyme inhibitors that prevent nutrient absorption, and they’re also composed of highly complex starches and proteins (including gluten) that can be difficult for our bodies to break down and digest. This is why human cultures all over the world, and over the course of thousands of years, developed techniques to “activate grains.” Activation uses traditional methods to transform grains into a more nutritious and digestible state.
At JB, activating grains is at the heart of what we do. We employ a slow, 24-hour natural fermentation with sourdough culture. This ancient practice harnesses the power of microorganisms to neutralize phytic acid and other anti-nutrients present in grains, increase the bioavailability of vitamins and minerals, improve nutrient absorption, and break down complex starches and proteins (like gluten) to support healthy digestion.
What You'll Need To Make This Easy Sourdough Banana Bread
- 3 small or 2 medium overripe bananas. The more overripe the better.
- 1 pouch of Jesha’s Bakery Sourdough Bread & Muffin Mix
- Eggs (I like to use eggs from the farmers market or Vital Farms Pasture Raised Eggs)
- Melted oil (melted butter, melted coconut oil, olive oil, avocado oil). I used Thrive Market’s Organic Coconut Oil
- Water or milk
- Cinnamon. LOVE Red Ape’s Organic Cassia Cinnamon.
- Optional: chopped walnuts
How To Make Easy Sourdough Banana Bread
- Preheat the oven to 350 degrees and either grease a loaf pan or line it with parchment paper. We used an 8x4inch loaf pan, but whatever you got will do.
- In a medium-sized bowl, mash the bananas like there’s no tomorrow. I typically use a fork and stop when there are no big noticeable chunks left.
- Add eggs, water, and melted oil to the banana mash, and mix them all together.
- Optional: Add ⅛ - ¼ teaspoon of cinnamon directly to the pouch of Jesha’s Bakery Sourdough Bread & Muffin Mix. Close the ziplock seal and mix thoroughly by shaking the bag.
- Add 1 full pouch of Jesha’s Bakery Sourdough Bread & Muffin Mix to the bowl of wet ingredients. Stir until combined, do not over mix.
- Pour batter into the greased or parchment-lined loaf pan. Optional: generously sprinkle chopped walnuts on top of the batter.
- Bake for 40 minutes or until a toothpick comes out clean.
- Turn out the bread and let it cool fully before cutting into it (or as long as you can reasonably wait).
How to Store and Serve Banana Bread
Cover and store on the counter at room temperature for up to 4 days. If you want to save some for later, wrap it in plastic wrap and store in the freezer. Frozen banana bread will stay good for up to 3 months. When you’re ready to enjoy it again, simply thaw out the bread in a preheated oven at 350 degrees.
