This sourdough einkorn banana bread is made with a blend of einkorn all-purpose and whole-grain flours and fermented with sourdough.
In a previous post, I blogged about how to make basic Sourdough Banana Bread.
In this post, I’ll reveal the method I used to transition from a sourdough banana quick bread made completely with white flour to a sourdough quick bread made completely with Einkorn flour.
I started this experiment because I wanted to create a banana bread I could call my own using only Einkorn flour. Fortunately, I had a bunch of overripe bananas, so I was able to experiment to get this bread the way I wanted it.
I used my Emile Henry ceramic loaf baker to bake this Sourdough Einkorn Banana Bread. I enjoy baking in this ceramic loaf baker. It’s my favorite color.
1st Attempt: White Starter/White Flour/Coconut Oil with Nuts
Sometimes, I start substituting and hope for the best. This time, I decided to take a more thoughtful approach. I began with this Sourdough Banana Bread recipe from Cultures for Health.
The first time I tried this bread, I followed the recipe. I used a white flour sourdough starter, white all-purpose flour, and coconut oil, and added 1/2 cup of walnuts. I didn’t ferment the dough. I added 1/2 teaspoon of baking soda and baked it right away.
This is the version featured in From Sourdough to Banana Bread and Beyond. It’s a good bread, but I didn’t want to stop there.
2nd Attempt: White Starter/White & Whole Grain Einkorn Flour/Coconut Oil without Nuts
The second time I made this banana bread, I continued with the white flour sourdough starter and coconut oil, but this time, I only used 1 cup of white all-purpose flour, and to that, I added 1 cup of home-milled whole grain Einkorn flour. I omitted the nuts. I let the batter ferment for 8 hours, and when it was time to bake, I didn’t add any baking soda.
This bread tasted good, but the coconut oil and fermented sourdough overpowered the banana flavor, and it didn’t taste like banana bread to me.
3rd Attempt: White Starter/80% Extraction Einkorn Flour/Whole Grain Einkorn Flour/Coconut Oil without Nuts
When I made this version, I was a little overzealous. I used the white starter again, but I didn’t use any white flour. I used 1 cup of 80% extraction Einkorn flour and 1 cup of home-milled wholegrain Einkorn flour. I also used coconut oil and omitted the nuts.
To bring out the banana flavor, I incorporated a trick I learned when making Ultimate Banana Bread. In this method, you microwave the bananas on high until the liquid is released and the bananas are soft, about 3-5 minutes.
In that recipe, they recommend using bananas that are just ripe. My bananas were very ripe, so I only microwaved them for a minute to bring out the flavor. I didn’t liquefy them because I didn’t want to change the texture of the bread too much.
I let the batter ferment for 8 hours again and used 1/2 teaspoon of baking soda to neutralize the sourdough flavor. However, in my eagerness, I didn’t bake the loaf long enough, so it wasn’t completely baked through.
The flavor was good. It reminded me of Amish Friendship Bread. However, after I cut a couple of slices, I realized it wasn’t baked through, so I had to toss the rest of it.
Subsequent Bakes: Einkorn Sourdough Starter/80% Extraction Einkorn Flour/Whole Grain Einkorn Flour/Butter with Nuts
Even though the third bread wasn’t a complete success, I felt pretty confident that if I had baked it long enough, it would’ve been fine. So, I continued to the final phase of my experiment. Fortunately, I still had some bananas left to experiment with.
For this version, I used my Einkorn Sourdough Starter, Einkorn flour, butter, and nuts.
They say the third time is the charm, but in this case, the fourth and fifth times were the charm. The fourth time to get the recipe down and the fifth time to get the photos right.
I love it when I have overripe bananas because it provides the perfect excuse to make banana bread. It took me several weeks, but I finally created a Sourdough Einkorn Banana Bread to call my own. I hope you enjoy it.
From Sourdough to Einkorn Banana Bread –- Part 2
- Yield: 1 Loaf 1x
Description
This sourdough einkorn banana bread is made with a blend of einkorn all-purpose and whole grain flours and fermented with sourdough.
Ingredients
- 2 medium bananas (about 1 cup), mashed
- 1 cup einkorn sourdough starter (discard or recently fed, from the refrigerator)
- 1 1/2 cups 80% extraction (all-purpose) einkorn flour (such as Jovial Foods)
- 1 cup whole grain einkorn flour (home-milled or store-bought)
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 1 cup raw sugar
- 1 large egg
- 1 1/4 teaspoons vanilla extract
- 1/2 cup butter, softened
- 1/2 cup pecans or walnuts
- 1/2 teaspoon baking soda (to neutralize acidity from the sourdough starter)
Instructions
In the bowl of a stand mixer, cream the butter, sugar, egg, and vanilla.
Microwave the bananas for 1 minute, then mash them.
Mix the sourdough starter and mashed bananas into the creamed mixture.
In a separate bowl, whisk together the flours and salt. Add the flour mixture to the banana mixture and mix just until combined. Be careful not to overmix.
The batter should be thick but spoonable, similar to classic banana bread batter; Einkorn absorbs moisture differently, so slight variations based on banana size or starter hydration are normal.
Cover the bowl and let the batter ferment for at least 7 hours.
After fermentation, gently mix in the baking soda.
Preheat the oven to 350°F.
Grease or line a 9×5-inch loaf pan with parchment paper. Pour the batter into the prepared pan.
Bake at 350°F for 1 hour, or until a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean.
Remove the loaf from the oven and let it cool in the pan for 10 minutes.
Turn the loaf out onto a wire rack and let it cool completely before slicing. For the best flavor, wait until the next day if possible.
- Category: Banana Bread
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Happy Baking!
Cathy
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