What could be tastier than a stack of sourdough pancakes on a beautiful sunny morning? These pancakes are light and fluffy with a delicious sourdough tanginess that gives them a uniquely vintage flavor.
Sourdough Discard Pancakes
This traditional sourdough pancake recipe uses a small amount of sourdough starter with an overnight ferment. It is an easy way to balance the sourdough flavor while ensuring a well-fermented batter.
However, I usually make pancakes when I have too much sourdough starter. It’s perfect for using up sourdough starter discard!
Here’s how to change this recipe so it uses up 1 cup of sourdough starter.
- Don’t set up an overnight ferment. Otherwise, it will be way too sour. Instead mix the pancake batter together in the morning.
- Use 1 cup of sourdough starter and reduce the flour to 1 cup and reduce the water to 3/4 cup.
- Include all the other ingredients as listed.
Adding Flavors To Sourdough Pancakes
Sourdough pancakes are perfect for all sorts of added flavors. The tanginess of sourdough naturally complements savory flavors. However, it also offers a nice balance to sweet flavors.
Here are a few savory and sweet recommendations.
Savory
If you want to make savory pancakes (perfect with eggs) don’t add any sugar to the batter. Instead, stir in 2-3 Tbsp of a savory addition.
- Chopped fresh herbs, including, parsley, chives, oregano, basil
- Diced green onion
- Grated Parmesan cheese
Sweet
Pancakes are traditionally served with sweet flavors. While I don’t usually cook with sugar, I have added 1 Tbsp of sugar to this recipe to balance the sourdough flavor. However, sugar is optional and if you want to avoid it, then try adding in 2-4 Tbsp of a sweet flavor addition instead.
- Tiny chocolate chips
- Grated apple with 1/4 tsp of ground cinnamon.
- Fresh or frozen blueberries, tossed in 1 Tbsp of flour before being added to the batter.
- Sliced strawberries can be added by placing a few on top of the pancake after it has been ladled out on the grill.
Sourdough Pancakes
These sourdough pancakes are light and fluffy with a full flavor. Perfect for savory or sweet toppings. See the section above for some delicious flavor additions.
- Prep Time: 10 minutes
- Cook Time: 20 minutes
- Total Time: 30 minutes
- Yield: Serves 3-4 1x
- Category: Breakfast
- Method: Sourdough
- Cuisine: Traditional
- Diet: Vegetarian
Ingredients
Overnight Ferment
- 2 oz active sourdough starter (1/4 cup)
- 7 oz flour (about 1 1/2 cups)
- 1 1/4 cups of water (filtered and at room temperature)
Next Morning
- 2 eggs (optional – see notes)
- 2 Tbsp vegetable oil
- 1 Tbsp sugar (optional)
- 1/2 tsp salt
- 1/2 tsp baking soda
Instructions
- Mix the starter, flour, and water in a glass bowl or measuring cup. Cover it with a tea towel and leave it somewhere warm for 8-12 hours. Alternatively, see the section above for using 1 cup of sourdough starter and skipping the overnight ferment.
- The next morning preheat your pan before mixing the batter. The pancakes will start to rise as soon as you mix everything in.
- When your pan is warm, mix all of the remaining ingredients into the sourdough starter. Feel free to add some additional flavors. See the section above for ideas.
- Cook the pancakes on medium heat until nicely browned on both sides.
Notes
- This recipe doesn’t require eggs. Feel free to use flax eggs instead. To make a flax egg, mix 2 Tbsp flax with 1/4 cup of water and let it sit for 10 minutes to hydrate before stirring it into the batter. I’ve done this a number of times, and it works out great!
- Feel free to use your favorite flour. We’re usually whole wheat flour sorts of people. However, white bread flour and all-purpose flour work just as well!
- The sourdough gives these pancakes a savory flavor. For a more traditional sweet pancake, add 1 Tbsp of sugar. If you want a sweet pancake without sugar, use an alternative sweetener. We like date sugar
.
- We have an amazing cast iron skillet
that covers two burners. Perfect for making a load of pancakes all at once.
.
that covers two burners. Perfect for making a load of pancakes all at once.Keywords: dinner, dessert, savoury, sweet, fermented, blueberry, strawberry, onion, chocolate chip, cheese, herb
Delicious! I doubled the recipe because my family eats a lot of pancakes. I used 2 eggs and also used the flax mixture, because 4 eggs seemed excessive. They puffed up quickly, but after I let them cook through, they settled down and were a fairly flat pancake – perfect for piling on the local strawberries that just appeared in the market. One question: do you really find that 1 oz of starter = 1/4 cup? I find that if I go by weight, 1 oz of starter is much less than 1/4 cup by volume. This time I went by volume, so I used 1/4 x 2.
★★★★★
Actually you are right. I will fix the recipe right now, as I think the volume measure is better. Thanks!
Hey, Emillie! I really like this recipe and it’s going to be a favorite of mine for years to come.
Since I really like this blog in this recipe, I would like to nominate you for the Sunshine Blogger Awards. If you’re interested, click on this link and learn more: https://theflavorfulroad.wordpress.com/2018/10/12/the-2018-sunshine-blogger-awards/
These tasted amazing and the recipe is so simple! Love these. Will be making these again!
★★★★★
Thanks!
Can I just omit the eggs all together?
I have made this with flax eggs a number of times, but I haven’t tried no eggs. You could try it, just replace the eggs with 1/4 cup of oil or water to replace the liquid. Let me know how it goes!
Hello.I am making sourdough pancakes for the he first time and want to do a 48 hr ferment.Can I ferment in the refrigerator?
Sure! It will slow down the yeast but still allow for flavour development. Enjoy!
So guess what? I made these with bob red mills gluten free flour (1 to 1), doubled the recipe and only used chia eggs. They were really good. I whipped up some whipped cream and added a spoon of that with a sprinkle of cinnamon and some maple syrup….mmmmm these are a real gem. So simple. Oh, and mine too, where flat pancakes vs puffing up ( probably because of the gluten free flour) that’s the norm with pancakes in this house because of the flour …no complaints here! Oh and I just measured out my gluten free starter with a measuring cup…vs weighing it…super simple and forgiving. Thanks for this recipe!
Great! Glad to know it worked with GF flour.
I was taught to separate the eggs, and whip the whites until stiff, then add to the batter right before baking. Also, if you want your pancakes more sour, skip the baking soda.
Thanks for your tips! My husband is a separate your eggs person too… but I’m usually not up for it first thing in the morning. 🙂 Cheers!