Sourdough Pancakes Recipe: Easy Sourdough Starter Pancakes
Written by MasterClass
Last updated: Nov 24, 2024 • 3 min read
Use sourdough starter or sourdough discard to make sourdough pancakes or even sourdough waffles, all with the same batter.
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What Are Sourdough Pancakes?
Sourdough pancakes are pancakes that use a fresh or discarded sourdough starter, or levain—a culinary concoction of live yeast and bacteria. Sourdough starters are necessary to make sourdough recipes, such as sourdough bread.
To keep a sourdough starter alive, you have to feed it regularly, a process that involves discarding a portion of the starter—called the sourdough discard—each time. Sourdough pancakes utilize fresh or discarded sourdough starter for its inclusion of yeast, which is not necessary but gives the pancakes a slight lift and a faint sourdough flavor. This is in contrast to traditional pancakes, which use baking powder (for fluffier pancakes) or whipped eggs (for denser pancakes) for lift and texture.
4 Tips for Making Sourdough Pancakes
Sourdough pancakes are slightly tangy but similar in texture and consistency to traditional pancakes. Here are four tips for making sourdough pancakes:
- 1. Leave the pancake batter lumpy. For fluffy sourdough pancakes, leave some lumps in the pancake batter. The lumps keep the air pockets in the batter intact, leading to a taller, airier pancake.
- 2. Let the batter ferment. Since there is sourdough starter in the batter, allowing the batter to ferment in the refrigerator will intensify the tangy flavor. The fermentation also creates more air bubbles, which results in fluffy pancakes.
- 3. Omit the buttermilk. The sourdough starter adds tanginess to the pancakes, so consider using whole milk or nondairy milk instead of buttermilk, which is already sour—unless you prefer the taste of extra-tangy pancakes.
- 4. Use whole grain flour: A sourdough starter recipe usually uses rye flour, whole wheat flour, or whole-grain flour, which have an almost nutty flavor and a nice chew to them. Use a similar flour in the pancake batter to retain the flour’s nutty flavor.
Sourdough Pancake Recipe
makes
6 pancakesprep time
10 mintotal time
58 mincook time
48 minIngredients
Note: The total time does not include the overnight fermentation of the pancake batter.
- 1
In a small saucepan on the stovetop over medium-low heat, melt 8 tablespoons of unsalted butter. Set that aside to cool.
- 2
Preheat an oven to the lowest setting, usually a warm setting or 200 degrees Fahrenheit. Place a baking sheet in the oven—you will use this to keep the pancakes warm while the other batches cook.
- 3
In a large mixing bowl, add the dry ingredients—flour, sugar, baking powder, baking soda, and salt.
- 4
In a separate large bowl, whisk together the sourdough starter or discard, whole milk, large eggs, and vanilla extract.
- 5
Pour the wet ingredients into the dry ingredients and stir them together with a wooden spoon or rubber spatula.
- 6
Add the melted butter, stirring gently to combine, leaving the batter lumpy.
- 7
Cover the bowl tightly and ferment the batter in the refrigerator overnight.
- 8
In the morning, remove the batter from the refrigerator and let it come to room temperature. Add any mix-ins now. Alternatively, you can add ingredients to the tops of the pancakes as they cook.
- 9
Heat a griddle or cast-iron skillet over medium-low heat on the stovetop. Grease the skillet with butter, coconut oil, or a cooking spray.
- 10
Scoop ½ cup of batter onto the griddle and cook it until the edges of the pancake turn a matte color and bubbles form, about 3–4 minutes. Carefully flip the pancake to cook on the other side until it’s golden and the edges are crispy. Place the pancake on the baking sheet in the oven to keep it warm and repeat this step with the rest of the batter, adding more butter or oil to the hot griddle for each pancake.
- 11
Serve the pancakes with more butter and maple syrup.
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