Vegan Cardamom Banana Bread (Sourdough)

POV: You have some brown bananas, some sourdough discard waiting to be used and are craving something warm and comfy with a hot tea or latte. This banana bread is for you. It’s easy and failsafe.

Why you’ll love this recipe

You’ll use up your sourdough discard without having to knead the dough.

It’s quick enough to whip up in your 30-min home office lunch break.

Adjust the flavour and toppings according to what you have on hand. It’ll always be tasty.

Tips and Lessons

Use well-fed sourdough discard. The bread has the best consistency and taste, if your starter is well-fed and active. The older the discard, the more sour the taste. I would err on the side of caution and use well-fed discard that hasn’t spent too many days in the fridge or on the counter.

Don’t skip the nuts – they really give this recipe a little extra texture and flavour. I use any I have on hand. My favorite are cashews, they really elevate this recipe and make for a great mouthfeel. Walnuts also work well.

Check your banana bread before taking it out of the oven. Sometimes it just takes a little longer, be sure to poke the middle with a chopstick or a knife and see if it comes out clean before you turn off the oven.

Mix the baking soda and baking powder well. The baking soda and baking powder make the bread rise, be sure they are mixed well into the batter. Because the dough is quite wet, you should be able to see the baking soda and baking powder already interact with the wet ingredients, once you add them in. An active starter also helps to make this vegan cardamom sourdough banana bread extra fluffy.

Swaps and Alternatives

Swap out the banana for some apple sauce or full-fat Greek yoghurt. Both are tasty alternatives. What is important, is that you substitute the bananas for something with a similar amount of moisture, otherwise the bread may end up being too dry.

Alternate the nuts and fruits according to what you have on hand or what’s seasonal. I love using the warm spices of this recipe in fall and winter. In spring and summer, add some vanilla or elderberry syrup for a lighter tasting banana bread.

If you don’t have sourdough starter on hand, add more bananas to compensate for the moisture of the sourdough starter, make sure to add flour until the consistency is roughly the same.

Ingredients

Wet Ingredients

• 1,5 cups mashed banana
• 1 cup fed sourdough starter
• 1/2 cup oil a neutral flavor is best

Dry Ingredients

• 1 cup brown sugar (I tend to use less, 1/2 cup works just as well and allows you to taste the actual flavors more)
• 1,5 cups all-purpose flour
• 1 teaspoon baking soda
• 2 teaspoons baking powder
• 1 teaspoon fine salt
• 1/2 cup nuts or dried fruit of your choice

Spice Mix

• 1 teaspoon cardamom powder
• 1 teaspoon ginger powder
• 1 teaspoon cinnamon

How to make Vegan Cardamom Sourdough Banana Bread

1. Preheat your oven to 350 °F or 200 °C and grease a standard size loaf pan or a small cake pan. Set it aside.
2. In a large mixing bowl, whisk together the mashed banana, brown sugar, fed sourdough starter and oil until fairly smooth. Don’t overmix, it just needs to be incorporated.
3. Mix the cinnamon, cardamom and ginger powder in a separate large bowl and set aside.
4. Add the Dry Ingredients to the Spice Mix
5. Add in the remaining dry ingredients:brown sugar, flour, baking soda, baking powder, salt and optional nuts or dried fruit. Make sure there are no lumps in the batter. Stir until just combined.
6. Pour the batter into your greased loaf pan and spread it out until its even.
7. Bake the banana bread for roughly 50 to 60 minutes or until a knife inserted into the centre comes out clean.

How to store Vegan Cardmom Sourdough Banana Bread

Once you take the bread out of the oven, let it cool for half an hour before serving. The bread will “sweat” a bit once you take it out of the oven.

Once it has cooled, take it off the baking tray and store wrapped in a tea towel. Baked goods that contain sourdough usually keep a little longer and don’t go off as quickly. The bread will go a little stale after three days, but is usually still edible.

Have you tried making this recipe? Let me know below!