This sourdough pancake recipe produces amazingly fluffy and flavorful pancakes.
If you maintain a sourdough starter, making these pancakes is a great way to use up any leftover sourdough discard you might have. The resulting pancakes, while not actually sour, have a wonderful flavor and tenderness. Plus, they are nice and light.
I think I've found another "keeper" pancake recipe and I can't way to play with it, including trying the batter for waffles. These pancakes are slightly different than my previous version of sourdough pancakes in that these include oil as opposed to butter, slightly more sugar, only baking soda (and no baking powder), and slightly more flour and starter.
What is Sourdough Discard?
When you maintain a sourdough starter, you have to periodically feed it with more flour and water to keep it fresh and bubbly. Part of the process is to remove some of the existing starter so that your starter doesn't grow so large that it overtakes your house.
How often you will have sourdough discard depends on how often you feed your starter. I keep mine in the refrigerator and feed it a few days before I make a new loaf of sourdough bread. Other bakers, especially those who bake bread more often, keep theirs at room temperature and feed their starter on a daily basis.
Rest assured, there are ways to maintain a small amount of starter so that you don't have too much discard, but eventually, you will probably have some extra. It will be perfect for flavoring these pancakes, muffins, crackers, blini, or Belgian-style waffles.
Ingredients in These Sourdough Pancakes:
From Your Pantry: All purpose flour, sugar, baking soda, salt, vegetable oil, and pure vanilla extract.
From the Refrigerator: Eggs and milk. You don't need buttermilk because the acidity of the sourdough starter is enough to tenderize the pancakes.
Sourdough Starter: You will need 100 percent hydration starter (50/50 by weight), either active or discard.
To Make The Pancakes:
First, whisk together the flour, sugar, baking soda, and salt together in a medium bowl.
Next, in a large bowl, whisk together the eggs, vegetable oil, sourdough discard, milk, and vanilla.
Add the dry ingredients to the wet ingredients and fold everything together until combined but still a bit lumpy. Let the bowl sit for about 15 minutes.
Finally, cook the pancakes on a lightly oiled griddle or large skillet. Pour 1/4 cup of batter onto the hot surface and cook until bubbles appear and the edges begin to brown. Flip the pancake over and cook until browned.
P.S. While I don't make them very often, I don't know what it is about pancakes. Invariably, my first set of pancakes always turns out kind of awry and crooked. After that, the rest of the pancakes turn out perfectly! Does that happen to you?
Recipe Variations:
To make the batter the night before, mix everything together with the exception of the eggs, salt, oil, and baking soda and let the mixture sit, covered, at room temperature to develop flavor. The next morning, add the beaten eggs, salt, oil, and soda, and continue with the recipe.
If you'd like even fluffier pancakes, more like Japanese-style pancakes, you can beat the egg whites and fold them into the rest of the batter.
If you don't have a sourdough starter, you can mix together 143 grams of flour and 143 grams of water along with a tiny pinch of instant yeast. Cover the mixture and let it sit overnight at room temperature. Use this mixture in lieu of the starter.
Make-Ahead & Storage:
Amazingly, pancakes are a great make-ahead breakfast. You can make a bunch of pancakes in advance, wrap and freeze them, and then reheat them in the microwave as you need them.
You can package them between layers of parchment or wax paper and then wrap servings in plastic wrap. Keep them in a freezer bag. When you are ready to have pancakes, remove a serving from the freezer and heat the pancakes, unwrapped, in the microwave or the toaster oven. There's no need to thaw them before reheating. One pancake needs about 20 to 30 seconds in the microwave. Go up from there.
Serve these pancakes topped with maple syrup, butter, fruit, jam, or even fruit sauce or caramel sauce. A little whipped cream would be nice too!
Sunday Funday:
This week, the members of the Sunday Funday group are sharing recipes for Candlemas, a Catholic celebration that takes place 40 days after Christmas. Traditionally, on this day, candles were blessed to be used in homes throughout the year. People who celebrate traditionally have pancakes on Candlemas because the round shape and golden color of the pancake symbolize the sun, representing the return of light and the coming of spring after the winter months.
Be sure to check out everyone's pancakes!
- Food Lust People Love: Brown Butter Sourdough Waffles
- Amy's Cooking Adventures: Lefse
- Our Good Life: Pancake Puffs
- A Day in the Life on the Farm: Roasted Vegetable Crepes
- Karen's Kitchen Stories: Sourdough Pancakes
- Culinary Cam: Strawberry Japanese Soufflé Pancakes
Sourdough Pancakes
Ingredients
- 212 grams (1 1/2 heaping cups) unbleached all purpose flour
- 36 grams (3 tablespoons) granulated sugar
- 2 teaspoons baking soda
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 2 large eggs
- 1/4 cup vegetable oil, plus more for the pan
- 285 grams (1 heaping cup) sourdough starter, either discard or recently fed
- 1 cup whole milk
- 1/2 teaspoon pure vanilla extract or vanilla bean paste
Instructions
- In a medium bowl, whisk together the flour, sugar, baking soda, and salt.
- In a large bowl, whisk the eggs until foamy. Add the vegetable oil and whisk.
- Stir in the sourdough discard, milk, and vanilla, until combined.
- Add the flour mixture to the egg mixture and fold everything together until mixed but still slightly lumpy.
- Let the mixture rest for about 15 to 30 minutes.
- Heat a large nonstick skillet over medium heat and brush the pan with about a tablespoon of vegetable oil. If you have an electric skillet or griddle, set the temperature to 350 degrees F.
- Test the heat of the pan with one tablespoon of the batter to see if the pan is ready. Adjust the heat as necessary.
- Using a 1/4 cup scoop, ladle, or measuring cup, pour the batter onto the heated pan. If you are using a 12 inch skillet, cook the pancakes, three at a time.
- Cook one side of the pancakes until the batter bubbles and then the bubbles pop and the underside in nicely browned. Gently flip the pancakes and cook the other side (about 2 to 3 minutes per side).
- Place the finished pancakes onto a parchment lined baking sheet in a 200 degree F oven while you are griddling the rest of the batter.
- Serve with butter and syrup or toppings of your choice.
Nutrition Facts
Calories
122Fat (grams)
5 gSat. Fat (grams)
1 gCarbs (grams)
17 gFiber (grams)
0 gNet carbs
16 gSugar (grams)
3 gProtein (grams)
3 gCholesterol (grams)
25 mgRecipe adapted from America's Test Kitchen
