Banana bread is quintessential American. As American as Apple Pie, except that its a bread. Or is it a cake? Who knows, but it is moist, crunchy, and delicious. I love it!
Preheat the oven to 180ºC/350ºF/Gask Mark 4 (no fan assist).
Combine flour(s), baking soda, and salt in a bowl. Give everything a good mix with your hand.
Chop the walnuts add a small handful to a small bowl, and add a few sugar- pinches. Add the rest of the chopped nuts to another bowl.
In the bowl of your stand mixer, cream 125g butter and 100g brown sugar.
Once the mixture is nice a fluffy, add the eggs, one at a time. Scrape down as needed.
While the mixture is beating, peel the three bananas and mash them up in a bowl.
Once everything is thoroughly combined, add sourdough starter, honey, mashed bananas, olive oil, and vanilla, and mix on medium-high speed.
Slow down the mixer and add flour little by little. Once combined, stop the mixer.
Add reserved chopped walnuts (without sugar) and lemon zest (if using) and fold in using a spatula.
Pour the batter into a well-buttered 12cm x 22cm pan (9" x 5") and smooth the top. Sprinkle with walnut and sugar mixture.
Bake for 55 to 65 minutes. Err on under-cooking as you want this bread to be moist. Stick in a toothpick; it should come out without batter. It took about 60 minutes in my oven.
Once done, put on a wire rack to cool for about 10 minutes. When the 10 minutes are up, remove from the pan and let cool completely before slicing into it.
Video
Notes
Bake in a 9″ x 5″ loaf pan.This banana bread will stay moist for days after baking, but be sure to wrap it in aluminum foil or something else to prevent too much moisture loss.