Sourdough + vegan banana bread

I have to admit that I didn't know that banana bread was a thing until I was 21 and I was living in the Norwegian fjords. You see, in Spain, we really didn't use bananas to bake back then. Actually, at that time my paladar was still developing. Anyhow, I was living in a rented house with a bunch of Scandinavian people working there for the summer season, and while I was in the kitchen, I noticed a recipe for Banana bread on the board.

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My Norwegian roommates, Kristina and Elena, introduced me to banana bread and banana pancakes with brunøst (Norwegian brown cheese 😋) on top. Thank goodness they did! Since then, I've become a banana junkie. I love to use bananas to sweeten many of my baked sweets, and recently, while I was making baked bars, I used oven-caramelised bananas, and the results were S P E C T A C U L A R. Like bananas, plantains are also amazing and super versatile, but I think plantains deserve an individual entry because O M G how those have blown my mind over the recent years!

So, it's only normal that this banana bread has my heart filled with excitement. Just look at the texture...

Full credit must be given to the author of this recipe, Izy Hossack from Top with Cinnamon 😊 The only changes I have introduced into this recipe are: reducing the amount of sugar to 80g instead of the 150g Izy calls for. I also added dry coconut on top, which browned in the oven. Also, I used a combination of two oils and different flours to those suggested by the author. Also, it took me only 50 minutes to bake this baby 🤍

Here's Top with cinnamon recipe with the changes I introduced 😋

Sourdough vegan banana bread

Yields: one normal loaf tin

Author: Izy Hossack (Topwithcinnamon.com) modified: Montse (Kanela Fina)

Ingredients

220-240g (2 medium or 3 small) overripe bananas

80g (3/4 cup) pure brown cane sugar

90g (1/3 cup + 2 tsp) half sunflower oil and half olive oil

1 tsp ground cinnamon

1/4 tsp fine table salt

150g (3/4 cup) sourdough starter/discard (100% hydration)

120g (1 cup) flour, half rye, and half buckwheat

1 tsp bicarbonate of soda (baking soda)

Topping (optional):

1 small banana, peeled & halved down its length

2 tbsp coconut

Method

1. Preheat the oven to 180°C with no fun. Grease a 2lb loaf tin with some oil and line with a sling of baking paper.

2. Peel the bananas and place onto a large plate or cutting board. Use the back of a fork to mash them until you get a glossy paste which only has a few small lumps remaining. Scrape all of the mashed banana into a medium bowl.

3. Add the sugar, oil, cinnamon and salt. Stir together until smooth.

4. Add the sourdough starter, flour and bicarbonate of soda (baking soda) to the bowl. Stir together until combined but try not to overmix.

5. Pour the batter into the prepared loaf tin. If using the toppings, decorate the top of the loaf with the sliced bananas (placing them cut side-up) and sprinkle the top of the batter all over with the coconut. Put the loaf tin on a baking tray in case any batter overflows.

6. Bake for 50 minutes until a toothpick inserted into the centre of the loaf comes out clean - try to avoid the sliced banana on top when inserting the toothpick so you're only testing the batter. If the loaf looks like it's browning too much but is not cooked through yet, tent the top with foil for the last 20 minutes of baking.

7. Allow cooling before removing from the tin, slicing and serving.

Bon appétit!