Sourdough Carrot Cake Banana Bread

by Kaitlynn Fenley

Making carrot cake banana bread with sourdough starter adds a deep, delicious flavor and fluffy texture. This sourdough carrot cake turned banana bread incorporates shredded carrots and warm spices for a fun autumn flavor.

Sourdough Carrot Cake

Since this is a sourdough banana bread, it doesn’t go straight into the oven after mixing the ingredients. Instead, I let my sourdough carrot cake banana bread rise for two hours. This allows the flavor to develop and allows the sourdough microbes to digest the flours making the bread easier for us to digest. Since I added shredded carrots in this recipe, the two-hour rise time really adds a nice carroty flavor.

showing how easy it is to glaze a sourdough loaf with just a spoon.

Carrot Cake Banana Bread

I stick to this saying: If I’m making bread, I’m figuring out a way to make it sourdough bread. A lot of our blog readers know that I was gluten-free for about a year. I did an elimination diet to help heal my eczema. When I reintroduced gluten into my diet, I decided I wanted to stick to sourdough. First, sourdough has way more flavor and tastes better than regular bread. Also, sourdough is more nutritious and digestible. Since the dough ferments for a longer period of time, it’s kind of like the microbes in the sourdough starter pre-digest some of the bread for you.

Sourdough Carrot Cake Starter Options

For this recipe, I used our Sprouted Rye Sourdough Starter, but any sourdough starter will do. We also have an Easy Sourdough Starter Recipe with Sourdough Starter Feeding Instructions.

a slice  sourdough carrot cake banana bread with white icing on top on a white plate.

Making Carrot Cake Banana Bread

Most sourdough banana bread and zucchini bread recipes I’ve seen don’t allow for any rise time. Instead, the bread is treated more like a muffin mix with a bit of sourdough starter added, which goes straight into the oven after just combining the ingredients.

I decided to try out my own sourdough baking instincts, and create my own recipe with time for rising. Trust me, letting this bread rise will result in the BEST banana bread you’ve ever had. The flavor is so rich, it’s unbeatable.

a loaf of sourdough carrot cake banana bread with white icing on top, cut into slices.

How to Make Sourdough Carrot Cake Banana Bread

This recipe is so simple and quick! Basically, you’ll mix all the wet ingredients, then separately mix the dry ingredients. Then, fold the dry ingredients into the wet ingredients. Next, transfer to a loaf pan, let it rise for two hours, then bake. I personally like very moist banana bread, so I usually add an extra 1/2 cup of carrots to this recipe.

For icing the icing I just picked up some of this vegan Simple Mills vanilla icing.

Other Sourdough Recipes to Try

a loaf of sourdough carrot cake banana bread with white icing on top.
Print

Simple Sourdough Carrot Cake Banana Bread

Making carrot cake banana bread with sourdough starter adds a deep, delicious flavor and fluffy texture. This sourdough carrot cake turned banana bread incorporates shredded carrots and warm spices for a fun autumn flavor.

  • Author: Kaitlynn Fenley
  • Prep Time: 30 minutes
  • Cook Time: 1 hour
  • Total Time: 1 hour 30 minutes
  • Yield: 15 Servings 1x
  • Category: Bread
  • Method: Baking
  • Diet: Vegan

Ingredients

Scale

Dry Ingredients 

  • 1 Teaspoon Salt
  • 1 Teaspoon Baking Soda
  • 2 Cups All-Purpose Flour
  • 1 Cup Rye Flour
  • 1 Teaspoon Cinnamon
  • 1 Teaspoon Nutmeg
  • 1/4 Cup Rolled Oats

Wet Ingredients

  • 1 Cup Sourdough Starter
  • 1/2 Cup Plant-Based Milk
  • 1 Teaspoon Vanilla
  • 2 Ripe Bananas, mashed
  • 1/4 Cup Coconut Oil, Melted
  • 1/2 Cup Maple Syrup 
  • 1 Cup Carrots, Grated

Toppings

  • Vegan Icing

Instructions

  1. Line a loaf pan on all sides with parchment paper. 
  2. In a mixing bowl, combine the dry ingredients. Mix until evenly combined. 
  3. In a separate bowl, combine the wet ingredients. Whisk until the mixture is uniform. 
  4. Pour the wet ingredients into the dry ingredients and fold in gently until evenly combined. Don’t over mix. The mixture will be wet and stretchy.
  5. Transfer the mixture to the parchment paper-lined loaf pan. Using a spatula, spread the mixture into the pan evenly. 
  6. Allow rising at a warm temperature for 2-3 hours. 
  7. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.
  8. Bake for 1 hour, rotating the pan halfway through.
  9. Allow to cool for one hour, then add icing and slice  

Keywords: banana bread, carrot, cake, sourdough

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Recipe rating

6 comments

Kelly November 26, 2020 - 2:27 am

So delicious! Delicately sweet- the vegan cream cheese frosting will top it nicely. I used 1/2 Whole spelt And 1/2 organic white flour and added a few nuts to half of the batch. Also made some muffins on the side because this recipe made more than my loaf pan would fit.

Reply
Hadley July 11, 2022 - 9:58 am

Truly incredible. Best carrot bread/cake I’ve ever had. I didn’t even add the frosting. Dreaming about making it again.

Reply
Kaitlynn Fenley July 11, 2022 - 10:08 am

I’m so glad you enjoyed the recipe! Thank you for trying it and leaving a review!

Reply
Hadley July 11, 2022 - 2:05 pm

Update: made it again! (the last review was meant for June 3) you guys…nothing compares. I didn’t have rye this time so I replaced with whole wheat bread flour. And decided to try applesauce in place of oil. It still turned out perfect. I love that it is a true sourdough loaf. The texture is unreal it has some of the chewiness of a traditional sourdough loaf. I’m in love. The crust is incredible too! I love that it’s lightly sweet and more of a bread texture than a cake or banana bread. We slice it, toast it, and eat it was butter. Perfect treat that leaves you feeling good.
It’s also freezes really well.

Reply
Missy September 8, 2022 - 7:12 am

Love this recipe. Did u feed your starter first or did you use it straight from the refrig? I’m new to this starter stuff. Thx

Reply
Kaitlynn Fenley September 8, 2022 - 10:51 am

I use active bubbly starter in this recipe!

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