Sourdough Chocolate Banana Bread
This sourdough chocolate banana bread is so decadent and comforting. Make this bread for a dessert or as a healthy breakfast topped with butter!
One of my favorite quick breads is banana bread. However, I am always trying to long ferment my grains. This led to me developing a sourdough version https://therosehomestead.com/sourdough-banana-bread/
I love that recipe because it is long fermented and so delicious! So, the addition of chocolate to that recipe is only reasonable, right!
Actually, my husband came to me with this idea and I had to get to work on it.
Sourdough is so versatile and actually makes great desserts and sweet breads.
The flavor it lends adds a depth that can only come from long fermentation.
Why Sourdough?
Sourdough is a method for making bread products that involves using a sourdough starter. When flour, water, and starter are mixed, they ferment. Meaning, the starter eats off of the sugar in the flour and creates gases that causes it to rise.
This process breaks down the sometimes hard to digest parts of the flour making it much easier to tolerate for a lot of people.
Sourdough also has a different flavor than conventionally yeasted breads. It’s delightfully sour and tangy! This complements a sweet bread especially well!
Also, a sourdough starter is something that can be handed down for generations!
If you are new to sourdough, start here: https://therosehomestead.com/how-to-make-a-sourdough-starter/
After you have an established and active starter, you can convert all of your bread recipes to sourdough making them more easily digestible and so much more delicious!
For this recipe you will need:
- Sourdough starter
- Olive oil
- Honey or maple syrup
- Flour
- Cocoa powder
- Salt
- Baking powder
- Baking soda
- Eggs
- Bananas
- Vanilla Extract
Step by step instructions for making sourdough chocolate banana bread:
- The night before you want to make the bread, add the starter, honey or maple syrup, and olive oil to a mixing bowl and combine well.
- Add the flour and cocoa powder. Mix until well combined.
- Cover and allow to ferment overnight or up to 24 hours.
- The next morning, preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.
- In a separate bowl, mash the bananas until smooth.
- Add the eggs, salt, baking soda, and baking powder.
- Mix well and add into the bowl with flour mixture from the night before.
- Using a potato masher or pastry cutter, cut the 2 mixtures together.
- This may take a couple of minutes but it will come together into a smooth batter.
- Prepare a loaf pan by placing parchment paper in the bottom and spraying with olive oil.
- Pour the batter into the loaf pan.
- Bake for 1 hour or until a toothpick comes out clean.
- Cool on a cooling rack.
This bread can be stored at room temperature for 3-5 days in a plastic bread bag. Alternatively, you can let it cool completely and add to a freezer bag and freeze for up to 6 months.
No, the sourdough starter lends a depth of flavor but it is not at all off putting or too sour.
No worries! Just put the prepared batter in the fridge covered until you are ready to bake it.
No, you can add all the ingredients in one bowl, mix well and proceed to bake right away!
Sourdough Choclate Banana Bread
Sweet and decadent, this sourdough chocolate banana bread will be on regular rotation!
Ingredients
- 1/2 cup sourdough starter
- 1/3 cup olive oil
- 1/3 cup honey or maple syrup
- 1 1/2 cups flour
- 1/2 cup cocoa powder
- 1 tsp salt
- 1 tsp baking powder
- 1 tsp baking soda
- 2 eggs
- 3 ripe bananas
- 1 tsp Vanilla extract
Instructions
- The night before you want to make the recipe, add the starter, oil, honey to a large mixing bowl and combine well.
- Add in the flour and cocoa powder and mix until combined. This will be a somewhat stiff batter.
- Cover and allow to ferment overnight or up to 24 hours.
- The next day, in a separate bowl, mash the bananas.
- Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.
- Add the eggs, vanilla extract, salt, baking soda, and baking powder. Mix well.
- Using a potato masher or pastry cutter, combine the banana mixture into the flour mixture from the night before by pouring the banana mixture into the flour mixture bowl and mashing the 2 together until combined. It may take a couple of minutes, but, it will come together.
- Prepare a loaf pan by adding a piece of parchment paper in the bottom and spraying with olive oil.
- Pour the batter into the pan.
- Bake for one hour or until a toothpick comes out clean.
- Cool on a cooling rack.
- Store at room temperature for 3-5 days.
- Alternatively, you can cool the loaf completely and freeze for up to 6 months.
I have the banana bread in my oven right now. Hoping it comes out as nice and tasty as yours.
Thank you
I just took my bread out of the oven – it smells wonderful! I can’t wait for it to cool so I can taste it! Thank you for this recipe!
I just took my bread out of the oven – it smells wonderful! I can’t wait for it to cool so I can taste it! Thank you for this recipe!
This chocolate bread came out beautifully and tastes really nice. We all loved it with butter and honey on top as it is not too sweet. Thank you for this recipe!
P.S. There is a spelling mistake in the printable recipe 😉 on the heading …. choclate