Sourdough Pancakes
Light and airy pancakes with the depth of sourdough flavor.
This post is sponsored by Red Star Yeast.
One of my favorite memories from culinary school was the week we learned about sourdough bread and each made our own starter. I was fascinated by the processes. I proudly brought mine to class and baked the prettiest and tastiest loaf of sourdough bread, and vowed I’d be making sourdough bread from that starter for years to come.
But I didn’t. I neglected it and eventually had to throw my starter away. When I saw this Red Star Yeast recipe for sourdough pancakes, it reignited that initial excitement. Me and sourdough, we were going to start afresh.
Don’t be intimidated by the sourdough process. Fermenting a “starter” of yeast, flour, water, and sugar is as easy as stirring a batter in a bowl every day, because that is all you have to do. Really! As the batter sits it develops a sour flavor over time, so it’s best to let it sit for five days before making these pancakes or baking a loaf of bread.
You all know I’m a pancake lover and I really love this variation. These sourdough pancakes are light and tender, with a distint tang that lends itself really well to a topping of fresh fruit in addition to the traditional butter and maple syrup.
We’ve already flipped up a few batches of pancakes from the starter I made last week and I’m looking forward to many more. I think I see a pretty loaf of bread in my future too.
Sourdough Pancakes
Ingredients
Sourdough Starter
- 2 cups water (474 ml, 16 fl oz)
- 3 ½ cups bread flour (420 grams)
- 2 ¼ teaspoons active dry yeast (1 envelope, 7 grams)
- 1 tablespoon granulated sugar
Sourdough Pancakes
- 1 cup whole milk (237 ml, 8 fl oz)
- 1 ¼ cup all-purpose flour (155 grams)
- ½ cup sourdough starter (118 ml, 4 fl oz)
- 1 tablespoon vegetable oil
- 1 large egg
- ½ teaspoon salt
- 2 tablespoons granulated sugar
- 1 teaspoon baking soda
Instructions
Sourdough Starter
- Dissolve yeast in warm water and let sit for 5 minutes. In a bowl, combine the yeast mixture, flour and sugar and mix with a spoon by hand. Cover loosely with plastic wrap and place in a warm place. Stir a few times every day. Starter will rise and fall during the course of fermentation.
- Let stand for at least 5 days before using. To use starter, measure out amount required for recipe.
- Replenish starter with 3 parts flour to 2 parts water with 1 teaspoon sugar. Stir until blended. Let sit for at least 12 hours before using starter again.
Sourdough Pancakes
- In a large bowl, combine the milk, all-purpose flour, and sourdough starter. Let sit for 30 minutes. Add the rest of the ingredients to and stir until just combined. It's okay if a few lumps remain.
- Preheat a greased cast iron pan over medium heat. Add ¼ cup of the batter to the pan and cook until edges appear dry and bubbles appear on the surface, about 3-4 minutes. Flip and cook for an additional 1-2 minutes until golden brown.
- Place cooked pancakes on a plate covered with a clean towel to keep warm. Serve pancakes with butter, maple syrup, and fresh fruit or as desired.
- Store leftover pancakes in an airtight container with parchment paper between each pancake. Pancakes will keep in the fridge for up to 5 days, and in the freezer for up to 4 weeks.
Notes
Disclosure: This post is sponsored by Red Star Yeast. All opinions are my own, as always. Thank you for supporting these sponsors that help me create new content.
These were pretty good, very light and fluffy. I did cheat tho. I used my own starter that I have had going for 20 years. So no yeast and no sugar in the starter. I just gave it a longer rest time.
Thanks so much for the feedback, Diane! Glad you enjoyed the pancakes.
The recipe is nice and the pancakes taste delicious! But sourdough starter is not made with yeast. Sourdough is just made with flour, water and plenty of time :). This recipe should have another title.
That is not a sourdough starter. What did they teach you in culinary school?
Using your recipe I just made the best pancakes I’ve ever had. EVER. They were even tasty reheated the next day! Thanks! It’s so great to have a use for my excess starter.
Sourdough starter is made from fermented flour and water, once it becomes “yeast”. you can add the salt.
anything that has lab created super market yeast such as fleishmans and red star is NOT yeast.
People in biblical times, as well as pioneer times used sourdough starter to make their bread. Not commercial yeast.
Also, beware – the joy of sourdough is that it helps to take the sting out of gluten for a lot of people. But that only works if whatever you are making is left to do its thing for a minimum of 7 hours before you cook it (hence an overnight rise for sourdough bread for eg). Making something using sourdough starter and flour and then cooking it straight away doesn’t make it sourdough. Not a criticism, just a heads up.
I used a recipe from an old book about sourdough that only calls for 2 c. starter, an egg, 1/4 c. oil and 1 t. b. soda, added to 1 T. water and folded in just before cooking. They are supposed to be very light and crispy, but mine weren’t either light or crispy, so I’m not sure what I’m doing wrong. I DID use a metal measuring cup, but I saw somewhere that isn’t supposed to make much difference in USING the starter. As mentioned, if you add flour, you are losing the benefit of the flour starch being turned into protein, which I want for my diabetic husband.
I just made these using 1.5 cups homeground oat flour in place of the all purpose and my own sourdough starter and I have to tell you they were absolutely delicious! Definitely my new favorite pancakes, thank you!
Annalise, on 5-25-14 , I made your recipe for my husband. He fell in Love all over again. THANK YOU!!! We are leaving to Idaho and the starter is going to be a gift for Aunt Beryl…Yummy… I found you last year and the weekends have been filled with many a wonderful breakfasts… Again, THANK YOU ANNALISE… Kevin and Sandra, from Clackamas, Oregon
Just made these…. Ahhhhhmazing! A new breakfast staple in my house, for sure!
So glad to hear you enjoyed the recipe. Thanks for the comment, Julia!