How to Make Cinnamon Swirl Banana Bread Sourdough Focaccia
Yes, you read that right. BANANA BREAD SOURDOUGH FOCACCIA. It is as insanely delicious as it sounds! The softest sourdough focaccia you will ever have, swirled with a buttery cinnamon sugar mixture, topped with a sprinkle of chocolate chips.
When I tell you that I could have devoured this entire pan of Banana Bread Focaccia in minutes, I am not exaggerating! I mean, when you take two foods that everyone loves (banana bread and sourdough) and combine them, you know its going to be a home run.
One thing I love about making sweet sourdough focaccia variations is that they are still a treat without being so indulgent. The hint of sour in the dough, balances the sweet toppings so beautifully. This dough is quite different from my regular focaccia because it has the addition of mashed banana. The texture is even softer than you can imagine. Do not let that scare you as you are making the dough. It will seem extremely wet and loose. DO NOT PANICK ; it is a trust the process moment.
I topped this beautiful banana bread sourdough with a buttery brown sugar and cinnamon swirl that is true perfection. If you are a sucker for chocolate like I am, you can add the chocolate chips on top, but it is delicious without too! Bake this bread in a double batch if you want extra and store it in your freezer for quick and easy delicious sourdough snacks.
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Tips for better sourdough focaccia bread
- Wet your hands before you work with the dough. Focaccia dough is typically more wet and sticky than traditional sourdough bread dough and wetting your hand keeps the dough from getting stuck to you.
- Always lean towards over proofing your dough over under proofing it. Because you are not aiming for that same tall rise with sourdough focaccia, it is much more forgiving if it is over proofed. If it is under proofed, it can result in more dense, hard bread and no one wants that!
- Make sure you let it rest for a good couple over hours once you pull it out of the fridge. The dough will become even more light and airy as it sit at room temperature before baking. This is what you want for the softest focaccia of your dreams!
Banana Bread Sourdough Focaccia Ingredients
Flour– Use unbleached all purpose flour or bread flour. Whichever you typically use for your bread.
Active Sourdough Starter– You want to use your sourdough starter when it is at its peak! Check this post out for more info on when your starter is ready to use. https://cmbarndominium.com/how-to-make-perfect-sourdough-bread-from-start-to-finish/
Banana– I recommend using really ripe bananas but not completely black. There is not a bunch of butter and sugar to mask the banana taste like in typical banana bread so I prefer to stay away from completely black ones for this recipe.
Salt– As always, any good bread needs salt.
Butter– This is what is used as the base of the cinnamon sugar swirl.
Avocado Oil– Oil is used under the focaccia and on top to prevent sticking and add to that soft texture. You may also use melted butter if you prefer!
Brown Sugar– I just couldn’t make a banana bread recipe without brown sugar in it somehow!
Cinnamon– Nothing goes better than bananas and cinnamon.
Chocolate chips– These are completely optional but I love adding a bit of chocolate to banana bread. You could replace with pecans or walnuts or just omit all together.
The Steps
1.Start by mixing together the water and sourdough starter in a large bowl with a wooden spoon or dough whisk.
2. Once that is bubbly, add in the mashed banana, flour and salt. Stir together until it forms a wet and shaggy dough. Cover the bowl with a tea towel and let it rest for 30 minutes at room temperature.
3. After 30 minutes, do your first set of stretch and folds. This dough is EXTREMELY wet and loose and it will seem difficult to do the folds. I do not recommend coil folds with this dough. I do about 8 stretch and folds then cover the bowl again and let sit another 30 minutes.
4. Repeat step 4, 3 more times until you have done a total of 4 sets of stretch and folds. Cover the bowl and let it rest at room temperature for 6 hours or overnight if your house is under 20 degrees Celsius. You want the dough to have doubled in size and be nice and jiggly when you shake the bowl.
5. Remove the tea towel and cover the bowl with plastic wrap so that no air gets in. Place the bowl of dough in the fridge for minimum 8 hours or up to 48.
6. 1-2 hours before you are ready to bake, remove the dough from the fridge. Flip the dough into a 9×13 pan that has been lined with parchment and drizzled with oil or melted butter. Cover with a tea towel and let sit at room temperature.
7. While the dough is resting, preheat the oven to 425F. In a small bowl, stir together the 1/3 cup melted butter, brown sugar and cinnamon.
8. When the dough is ready, drizzle the top of it with a bit more oil or melted butter just so it is not so sticky. Gently dimple the bread with your fingers, then pour the cinnamon mixture all over the bread.
9. If using chocolate chips, sprinkle as many as you would like over top of the bread. Bake in the oven for 25 minutes or until slightly golden on the edges.
10. All the bread to cool for a few minutes before removing from the pan and slicing into squares and enjoying warm! This is my all time favorite affordable bread knife. https://amzn.to/4gZtmcw
IF you try this recipe, leave us a comment below! We love to hear from you 🙂
Soft and flavorful banana sourdough focaccia bread topped with a cinnamon swirl and chocolate chips * Walnut or pecans make a great substitute for the chocolate chips. *This dough is going to seem like it is not going to turn into bread because it is so wet and gooey. TRUST THE PROCESS! It is supposed to be like that. Just make sure to wet your hands before you do your folds. 
Cinnamon Swirl Banana Bread Sourdough Focaccia Bread
Ingredients
Instructions
Notes
So I left my bread in the fridge for about a full 24 hours I believe and it kind of smells a little vinegar…. Is that normal? I am about to bake my dish now, but it looks like very light and fluffy but like in a gooey way.
That sounds normal! The longer the dough is in the fridge the mor sour it will get!
Unfortunately it was so sour and tart like the banana had spoiled so I couldn’t eat it… any advice?
Do you store in fridge or on the counter?
I like to store in the fridge then heat it up before I eat it 🙂