Description
These are the fluffiest and most flavorful pancakes, thanks to the addition of ripe sourdough starter discard. I’ve provided two cooking options below. The first is for same-day pancakes requiring little planning. The second option is for overnight, long-fermented pancakes that require a little planning the night before but result in even more flavor and tenderness.
Ingredients
- 2 medium eggs
- 250g (1 1/2 cups, stirred down) ripe sourdough starter
- 245g (1 cup) whole milk
- 60g (1/4 cup) plain whole-milk yogurt, Greek or regular (optional)
- 4g (1 teaspoon) vanilla extract (optional)
- 180g all-purpose, einkorn, whole wheat flour, or a mix (see notes above or in Variations below)
- 50g (1/4 cup) sugar
- 6g (1 teaspoon) baking soda
- 4g (1 teaspoon) baking powder
- 5g (1 teaspoon) fine sea salt
- 56g (1/2 stick) melted unsalted butter, plus more for cooking and serving
- Chopped fresh fruit, for serving (optional)
- Maple syrup, for serving
Instructions
Same-Day Method
- Separate the eggs into two medium bowls, one with the yolks and one with the whites. Lightly beat the egg yolks and add the sourdough starter, milk, yogurt (if using), and vanilla (if using). Stir well.
- In a separate medium bowl, whisk together the flour, sugar, baking soda, baking powder, and salt. Add the sourdough starter mixture and stir until no dry streaks remain. Stir in the melted butter until just combined. Let the batter rest for 15 to 30 minutes.
- For the lightest pancakes, whisk the egg whites to stiff peaks. Alternatively, if you don’t feel like whisking (I get it), skip it. Using a rubber spatula, fold the egg whites into the batter until just combined (be careful not to over-mix).
- Heat a griddle or skillet over medium heat. Add a small pat of butter and let it melt. For each pancake, drop about ¼ cup of the batter onto the griddle and cook until bubbles start to form and remain open and the edges of the pancakes start to darken, 3 to 4 minutes. Flip the pancakes and cook until well-colored on the bottoms, 4 more minutes.
- Serve the pancakes warm and top with chopped fresh fruit (optional), a thin pat of butter, and a drizzle of maple syrup.
Overnight Method
- The night before, in a medium bowl, combine the sourdough starter, milk, yogurt (if using), flour, and sugar and stir well. Leave out on the counter to ferment overnight.
- In the morning, add the vanilla (if using), baking soda, baking powder, salt, and melted butter.
- Separate the eggs into two medium bowls, one with the yolks and one with the whites. Lightly beat the yolks. Whisk the whites to stiff peaks. Using a rubber spatula, fold the egg yolks and beaten egg whites into the batter until just combined (be careful not to over-mix). Cook and serve the pancakes as directed above.
Sourdough Starter Pancake Variations
- Wheat and blue corn pancakes: Substitute 20 grams of the flour for blue or yellow corn flour.
- Spelt and all-purpose flour pancakes: Use 90 grams whole grain spelt flour and 90 grams all-purpose flour.
- Whole wheat pancakes: Substitute all of the flour for 100% whole grain wheat flour.
- All-purpose and buckwheat pancakes: Substitute 10 grams of the flour for buckwheat flour.
Notes
Save sourdough starter discard for up to 2 weeks in the refrigerator, then use it straight from the fridge to mix this sourdough pancake batter.
Adjust the amount of milk depending on the stiffness of your sourdough starter and your preferred batter consistency. The above ingredients work well for my 100% hydration starter; if you’re using a stiff starter, you might want to add around 1/2 cup more milk.
In my cookbook, I don’t talk about letting the pancake batter rest before making pancakes. I find that extra 30-minute rest for the Same-Day Method helps you get fluffier pancakes if you have the time.
To make these sourdough pancakes vega, swap out the butter for Earth Balance vegan butter, the eggs for “flax eggs”, and the dairy yogurt for coconut or nut-based yogurt (or instead of yogurt, simply use a full-fat nut milk).