Ingredients
1/3 cup extra-virgin olive oil, plus more for brushing (or vegetable cooking spray)
1 3/4 cups unbleached organic all-purpose flour
3/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon freshly grated nutmeg
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
3/4 teaspoon fine sea salt
3 to 4 small bananas
3/4 cup discard from Sourdough Starter
1/2 cup pure maple syrup
2 large eggs, room temperature, beaten
Sugar, for sprinkling (optional)
Preparation
Preheat oven to 350°F. Coat a 9-by-5-inch loaf pan with olive oil or cooking spray. Whisk together flour, cinnamon, nutmeg, baking powder, baking soda, and salt.
Slice 2 thin lengthwise slices from one banana and set aside (optional); mash unsliced portion of that banana with 2 more bananas. Measure 1 1/4 cups mashed banana into a bowl (if you don’t have enough, mash in remaining one); whisk in sourdough discard to combine. Whisk in oil, maple syrup, and eggs. Stir in dry ingredients. Transfer to prepared pan. Top with reserved banana slices, gently pressing into batter slightly to adhere. Sprinkle with sugar, for a crackly crust.
Bake until a tester inserted into center of loaf comes out clean, 1 hour to 1 hour, 10 minutes. Let cool in pan on a wire rack 15 minutes, then transfer directly to rack and let cool completely. Banana bread is best served the day it’s baked, but can be tightly wrapped in parchment-lined foil and stored at room temperature up to 2 days.
