Gluten-Free Sourdough Banana Bread

This gluten-free sourdough banana bread is stable, flavorful, low in sugar, and naturally dairy-free! For more discard recipes with bananas check out my sourdough banana pancakes and sourdough banana muffins!

Why You Will Love This Recipe

- Texture. I worked on this recipe until no soggy layer remained in the loaf! The bread is fluffy and stable.

- Flavor. You can taste bananas in every bite! For a nutty and earthy flavor try making my buckwheat flour banana bread.

- Easy to make. Just mix and bake! No need for overnight fermentation.

- Pairs perfectly with a cup of unsweetened or lightly sweetened tea.

What Is Sourdough Starter?

Sourdough starter is wild yeast that people use to make bread. I bake gluten-free, so I use a gluten-free brown rice sourdough starter (it is easy to make at home!) to make gluten-free (vegan) sourdough bread and sourdough with buckwheat.

As you maintain and build up the strength of the starter, you will need to discard some of it on a daily basis. To avoid waste, you can bake with your starter discard! For more similar recipes check out my gluten-free sourdough discard recipes collection.

You can make a starter with many different flour types like sorghum, millet, buckwheat, teff, etc. Here is a gluten-free starter recipe with millet flour.

Baking powder - check the package to make sure it is gluten-free.

Milk - use any type of milk you have. It adds moisture to the batter.

Eggs - use room temperature eggs. To bring them to room temp quickly, just leave them in a bowl with hot water for 50-10 minutes.

Sourdough discard - use any discard you have! Make sure it is not too watery but rather is like a thick paste. Don't use the discard of a starter that is less than 1 week old.

Gluten-free flour - I use my homemade rice flour gluten-free flour mix, but you are free to use any other type, just make sure to weigh the flour!

Sugars - I use both white and brown sugar in this recipe.

Substitutes And Variations

Add chocolate chips for more sweetness and flavor.

Use walnuts or other nuts in place of pecans if you need to.

For a vegan option, substitute eggs with applesauce. ¼ cup of applesauce replaces 1 egg!

For non-sourdough banana bread, check out my quick gluten-free banana nut bread!

Place butter in a small saucepan and melt over medium-low heat.

Once the butter is melted, stir it continuously to prevent burning. Once the butter has been browned, turn off the heat and continue stirring the browned butter for another minute. Brown butter adds a nutty flavor to the banana bread.

Add eggs, milk, sourdough discard, and sugars and mix well. Then, slowly pour the browned butter while continuously stirring the mixture.

Then, combine gluten-free flour, cinnamon, baking powder, and xanthan gum (if using) in a separate bowl and whisk to incorporate.

Finally, add dry ingredients to the bowl with wet ingredients and whisk to combine but avoid overmixing. Mix until you don't see white streaks of flour in the batter. Cover the bowl with a kitchen towel and let the batter sit for 5-10 minutes. During this time the flour will absorb liquids and the batter will be more stable.

Grease a bread baking pan (9x5 inch, 23x12cm) with lard, butter, coconut oil, or any other fat you have on hand. Then, transfer the banana bread batter into the bread pan using a rubber spatula. Spread the batter evenly in the pan with the spatula and add sliced banana to the top for decoration (optional).

Bake for about 1 hour or until the bread is firm to the touch and the toothpick comes out with 1-2 crumbs. Keep checking on the bread at the 30,40, and 50-minute mark to make sure it is not browning too much on the top. If it is, cover the banana bread with foil and continue baking (I did not have to do that but all ovens are different!).

Once the bread is baked, separate the sides of the bread from the bread pan using a metal spatula, then carefully transfer the banana bread onto a cooling rack. If you don't have a cooling rack, place the banana bread in a way that all sides are getting aired out until completely cooled down. If you don't air out the bread during the cooling stage, it will get soggy on the bottom!

Serve with some butter, maple syrup, or honey! Enjoy!

Tips for Success

- Use a digital scale to weigh your gluten-free flour. It is easy to overpack flour when using cups and every extra gram will alter the texture of the banana bread! After all, you only need to buy a digital scale (12$) once and it will serve you well for many years to come!

- Make sure your starter is not watery. You can use any starter (fed, unfed, new, old) as long as it is not more than 100% hydration, meaning that the amount of water is not more than the amount of flour (by weight). Generally, you want your starter to be like a thick paste. More on that in my gluten-free rice flour sourdough starter post.

- Cool the banana bread completely before slicing as the crumb is still setting during the cooling time. If you cut into it too soon the bread might end up denser and more crumbly!

- Use ripe bananas for the best flavor! You can even use black bananas (as long as they are not moldy!).

- If you find this banana bread is not sweet enough for you, serve it with sliced banana, maple syrup, or jam (I have a great elderberry jam recipe!). Or check out more elderberry dessert recipes for ideas!

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