Finished dish photo of Rye Sourdough Banana Cinnamon Cake (Quick Banana Bread)

Rye Sourdough Banana Cinnamon Cake (Quick Banana Bread)

Rye, dark brown sugar, banana, and cinnamon are flavors I love to the bone, so although this recipe is meant as a quick way to use up sourdough starter, this banana bread is anything but cheap in terms of taste. The crust is slightly crisp, the inside soft and moist, with a rich, layered flavor. The aroma of cinnamon and banana instantly takes over your taste buds, and if you chew slowly you’ll catch the fragrance of rye along with a hint of the sourness unique to sourdough. Ever since I started baking, I’ve gotten used to cutting sugar in desserts down to half, but I almost never reduce dark brown sugar, or only reduce it a little, because I’m too in love with that simple, rustic sweetness. Banana bread looks and feels like a pound cake, yet insists on calling itself bread. Compared to pound cake, I like it much more, probably because it uses far less fat and sugar. It’s dense and substantial but not cloying, and its special springy texture makes it more interesting to me. Keeping a pair of natural sourdough starters as “pets” means there’s often some left over after feeding, and sometimes I don’t have time to immediately bake something else with it. For me, a quick cake like this, which doesn’t demand a highly active starter (yes, you can use leftover starter that has been in the fridge for a few days), couldn’t be more perfect. —————— This recipe makes one 1‑pound loaf pan (internal top 17×10 cm, bottom 15×7.5 cm, height 6.5 cm). Please read the Tips carefully! Tips! Tips!

Ingredients

Rye sourdough starter (100% hydration)140g (can use leftover starter that has been refrigerated for a few days)
All-purpose flour125g
Banana135g (peeled; mashed)
Dark brown sugar45g (adjust up if you like; you can use light brown sugar instead)
Ground cinnamon2 tsp
Baking soda1/4 tsp
Baking powder1/2 tsp
Finely ground sea salt1/2 tsp
Unsalted butter35g
Egg (beaten, whole egg)25g
Banana (for decoration)Cut 4–5 slices, as you like

Steps

1

Prep ingredients: Let the butter soften at room temperature until your finger can easily leave an indentation; beat the egg; peel the banana and put it in a zip bag, then mash it by hand (I like having some small banana chunks in the finished cake, so I don’t mash it completely. If you don’t want to see any banana pieces visually, use a blender to puree it).

Rye Sourdough Banana Cinnamon Cake (Quick Banana Bread) - Step 1
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2

Grease the inside of the pan, or line it with a sheet of baking parchment (as shown on the right).

Rye Sourdough Banana Cinnamon Cake (Quick Banana Bread) - Step 2
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3

Combine the butter and dark brown sugar and beat briefly until slightly fluffy and feathery. It’s fine if there are still some granules of sugar; they will gradually dissolve during subsequent mixing.

Rye Sourdough Banana Cinnamon Cake (Quick Banana Bread) - Step 3
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4

Add the beaten egg and beat until smooth and homogeneous. Now you can start preheating the oven to 175°C with top and bottom heat.

Rye Sourdough Banana Cinnamon Cake (Quick Banana Bread) - Step 4
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5

Mix the all-purpose flour, cinnamon, baking soda, baking powder, and salt, sift them together, then add to the mixture from Step 5 and fold until just combined.

Rye Sourdough Banana Cinnamon Cake (Quick Banana Bread) - Step 5
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6

Run a knife lightly down the center of the batter lengthwise, then decorate with a few banana slices as you like.

Rye Sourdough Banana Cinnamon Cake (Quick Banana Bread) - Step 6
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7

Take it out of the oven and insert a skewer; if it comes out clean without wet batter, it’s done. Remove from the pan, cool on a rack, slice, and enjoy.

Rye Sourdough Banana Cinnamon Cake (Quick Banana Bread) - Step 7
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Cooking Tips

1. In this recipe the aromas of cinnamon, banana, and the two types of “dark” (rye and dark brown sugar) are strong and pure, so I don’t recommend adding other nuts (like walnuts, etc.). Of course, if you really love them, feel free to add some. If you still want more variety, you can spread hazelnut spread, chocolate spread, or salted caramel sauce on the slices when serving. If you’d like a stronger wheat flavor, you can replace 1/3 of the all-purpose flour with whole wheat flour (but note that whole wheat has weaker gluten, so the finished cake may be more crumbly). 2. The amount in this recipe usually doesn’t use up a whole egg; baking two loaves should use it up nicely. That said, for friends who already keep sourdough, handling half an egg is probably not a big challenge. 3. Scoring the surface of the batter before baking is to help control how it cracks as it rises (in reality it still develops some natural cracks, which I quite like myself). If you prefer a wilder, more rustic crack pattern, you can skip the scoring. 4. Please adjust baking time according to your own oven. After the loaf has been in the oven for 30 minutes, try not to walk away; if the top browns too quickly, cover with foil. Similarly, if the skewer test shows it’s still underbaked when you take it out, cover with foil and continue baking until fully done. 5. If you don’t have finely ground sea salt, regular table salt is fine—just reduce the amount a little. 6. If you don’t have rye starter, you can use bread-flour starter instead. The combination of banana, dark brown sugar, and cinnamon is already quite luxurious. In that case, I suggest replacing it directly in the same proportion given in Tip 1 so you won’t miss out on the wheaty aroma. 7. If you don’t have a pound cake/loaf pan, you can use muffin tins or small toast pans. According to my friend Asa’s experience, even paper cups work—just remember to adjust the baking time (for paper cups, reduce the time by about 5 minutes). 8. The sugar level in this recipe is not high (I’m a long-time “half-sugar” person), so unless absolutely necessary I don’t recommend cutting it further. Dark brown sugar is different from white granulated sugar; its deep, rich flavor is what makes it so satisfying. I always get long-winded with these tips; once I start writing, I can’t seem to stop...