Heavenly Seeded Banana Sourdough Bread | A Recipe Worth Trying
There's something about a warm slice of freshly baked bread that brings comfort and joy to even the most hectic of days. And when that bread is infused with the sweet and slightly tangy flavor of ripe bananas, it takes things to a whole new level. That's why I'm excited to share this Seeded Banana Sourdough Bread Recipe, a versatile and delicious bread perfect for everything from sweet breakfast toast to savory sandwiches. The ripe bananas add a subtle freshness to the final dough, delighting each bite, and the seeds are so easy to incorporate into the dough.
Bananas aren't just a delicious addition to sourdough bread; they're also a beneficial ingredient for the fermentation process. One of the key reasons bananas work so well in sourdough bread is their high potassium content. Potassium is an essential mineral that helps to activate the yeast in your sourdough starter, encouraging it to rise and create a robust and healthy dough. At the same time, the natural sugars in the bananas provide food for the yeast, helping it to multiply and create those delicious air pockets that make sourdough bread so irresistible. So, it's not just the flavor of bananas that makes them such a great addition to your bread; it's their ability to support the fermentation process and create a perfect loaf every time.
Here’s Why You’ll Love This Recipe
You can swap out the seeds for nuts, dried fruit, or even chocolate!
The banana adds a nice fresh flavor and subtle sweetness to the bread.
The banana makes this dough so lovely and pillowy. It is so therapeutic to work with!
Heavenly Seeded Banana Sourdough Bread | A Recipe Worth Trying
Ingredients
Instructions
- The evening before you make your bread is when you will prep your levain. This thicker, more play dough-like levain creates an incredible bread.
- Add 30 grams of your Lievito Madre or other sourdough starter, like a 100% hydration starter. The difference in hydration will not make any significant difference to the recipe.
- Mix 50 grams of warmed filtered water to the sourdough starter until dissolved.
- Add 100 grams of bread flour and mix initially with a fork before kneading by hand. If sticky, dust it with more flour and knead until a smooth ball forms. You can watch my Instagram video here to see the consistency. It is the same consistency as my sourdough starter.
- Place it into a cleaned mason jar with a tight lid and let it rise somewhere cozy overnight. The lid needs to be tight with this type of levain!
- Mix your levain with all the remaining ingredients sans the seeds in the bowl of your stand mixer. I always use a stand mixer now instead of initially mixing by hand, but both methods will work!
- Once mixed, place your dough into a straight-sided container. I like to use the Rubbermaid 9.5 cup food container with a lid and let your dough rest for 30 minutes, ideally in a warm spot or a dough proofing box set to 85°F.
- Do your first coil fold, then let your dough rest for 30 minutes. Repeat the coil or stretch and fold two more times.
- After your 3rd coil fold, laminate the dough out as thinly as possible into a rectangle without tearing it, and spread it over the seeds. You can watch my reel of this by clicking here.
- Fold the dough like a letter and then roll it up from one end into a nice ball.
- Place the dough back into the container and let it sit for 30 minutes.
- Perform one or two more coil folds until the seeds are evenly spread out and the dough is no longer tearing from the inclusions. It should look smooth without too many seeds poking through.
- Leave the dough in the same container to bulk ferment until doubled. The timing will vary greatly depending on your home environment. Visual cues are the best way to judge the rise, so take a before photo!
- Once doubled, lightly flour the dough before dumping it onto a countertop.
- Fold the dough your preferred way and then place it on your banneton.
- Let it rest in the Benetton for 10 minutes before doing a few stitches to tighten up the surface of the dough. You can watch my video here.
- Let the dough rest again in a warm spot or back in the dough warmer if using for one hour before baking or cold ferment overnight. I prefer to bake on the same day. My crumb is usually better when I do!
- Preheat your oven to 480°F with a sheet pan on the lower rack, and as the oven comes to temperature, flip your shaped dough out onto a room-temperature sheet pan lined with parchment paper.
- Score your dough and place it into the oven on the middle rack.
- Immediately throw a few handfuls of ice onto the lower sheet pan and close the oven door.
- Bake the bread for 20 minutes before lowering the temperature to 395°F and bake for 30 minutes.
- Let cool overnight (if you can wait!) before slicing and enjoying.
Notes
Bread Flour: Different bread flour types have varying water absorption capacities, meaning some flours may require more or less water than the recipe states. Knowing your flour's characteristics and adjusting the water content accordingly is essential to achieve the desired dough consistency.
Size and Shape: You can shape this sourdough into a boule or battard. You can even make smaller mini loaves for a fun twist!
Nutrition Facts
Calories
298.15Fat
6.42 gSat. Fat
0.94 gCarbs
51.63 gFiber
4.53 gNet carbs
47.11 gSugar
3.64 gProtein
10.22 gSodium
307.31 mgCholesterol
0 mgPlease note that the nutritional information on this website is calculated using online tools and may need to be more accurate. Use it as a rough guide only. We cannot be held responsible for any loss or damage caused by relying solely on this data. You are responsible for ensuring that any nutritional information you use is accurate and useful. For more information, click here.
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