These one-bowl sourdough pancakes are a fantastic twist on regular pancakes. If you’re looking for a creative way to use leftover sourdough starter, they’re a must-try! Fluffy, tall, and light, these pancakes are delicious served with your favorite toppings like a pat of butter and a good glug of maple syrup.
Sourdough starter (also known as levain) might seem like an odd choice for pancakes, especially if you’re only familiar with sourdough bread. But you’d be amazed at how these delicious pancakes turn out! The batter doesn’t need to rise– it’s as easy as making regular pancakes, but the flavor is more complex and slightly tangy. The sourdough starter imparts a truly craveable fluffy, tender texture and delicious flavor. For more pancake recipes, try my classic pancake recipe, blueberry pancakes, and chocolate chip pancakes.
Ingredients
Flour — all-purpose flour will give you the best sourdough pancakes, versus cake flour (too soft) or bread flour (too tough).
Sugar — just 2 teaspoons of granulated sugar go into the batter. Since pancakes are usually served with something sweet like maple syrup, the pancakes themselves don’t need to be very sweet. If you prefer them to be sweeter, you can increase the sugar up to ¼ cup.
Leavening — baking powder and baking soda together yield golden brown, fluffy pancakes. Make sure they have not expired.
Sourdough starter — you can use active sourdough starter or sourdough discard. Use sourdough discard that is up to 1 week old or active sourdough starter that has been fed at least 8 hours prior. If your starter or discard has been in the fridge, let it sit at room temperature for 30 minutes before mixing up your pancake batter.
Milk — I used whole milk, but you could also use 2% milk. I don’t recommend buttermilk here because the sourdough discard is already sour.
Eggs — set the eggs out for 30 minutes beforehand so they can come to room temperature.
Butter — use unsalted butter so the pancakes don’t turn out salty. Melt the butter and allow it to cool slightly before mixing the pancake batter together.
How To Make Sourdough Pancakes
1. In a large bowl, whisk together the flour, white sugar, baking powder, baking soda, and salt.
2. To a medium bowl, add the sourdough starter, milk, eggs, and cooled melted butter.
3. Whisk to combine
4. Add the wet ingredients to the dry ingredients. Stir gently. Lumps are fine; do not try to mix until you have a perfectly smooth batter.
5. Heat a griddle or large nonstick skillet over medium heat. Grease with a thin layer of more melted butter or cooking oil of choice. Use a ⅓ cup measure to drop the pancake batter onto the hot griddle or skillet. Leave about 1 inch between each pancake so they can spread without running into each other.
6. Cook until bubbles appear all over the top and the underside is golden brown. Flip the pancakes one by one and cook for 1 to 2 more minutes, until golden brown on the bottom and the centers are cooked through. Transfer the sourdough pancakes to a wire rack. Repeat with the remaining batter.
What Is Sourdough Discard?
Put simply, sourdough discard is the portion of your starter that you remove to make room when feeding it more flour and water. However, if you don’t want to throw away the sourdough discard, you can store it in a separate container in the fridge for use within 1 week for tasty recipes like sourdough discard pancakes!
If your starter or discard smells very pungent and has a dark grey liquid on top, I don’t recommend using it in recipes. Toss that discard, feed your starter again, and once it has matured, measure out the amount you need to use in the recipe.
Pancake Toppings and Serving Suggestions
Sourdough pancakes are glorious with a generous drizzle of maple syrup and a pat of butter. But here are a few more ideas for serving them:
- Fruit like fresh berries, sliced bananas, or sliced peaches
- Fried apples
- Powdered sugar
- Honey
- A smear of honey butter or peanut butter
- Homemade whipped cream
- Strawberry jam
- Chopped nuts like toasted pecans or candied pecans
Recipe Variations
- Add vanilla extract. If you love vanilla like I do, add up to 2 teaspoons of vanilla extract to the wet ingredients in step 2.
- For a thinner pancake: This batter makes thick, fluffy pancakes. If you prefer thinner pancakes, add up to an additional ¼ cup of milk.
- Add chocolate chips: Add up to 1 cup of semisweet chocolate chips to the batter when it is almost combined, and stir a few times.
- Add blueberries: Add up to 1 cup of fresh or frozen blueberries to the pancakes. Don’t add them to the batter. Instead, while the first side cooks, sprinkle a few blueberries on the uncooked side before flipping. If using frozen blueberries, don’t thaw them out, as their juice will turn the pancakes an odd color.
Can I Use This Pancake Batter to Make Waffles?
Yes! You can easily turn this sourdough pancake recipe into waffles. Preheat your waffle iron to High or its darkest setting. Add ¼ to ½ cup of batter, depending on the size of your waffle maker. Cook the waffles until golden brown and crisp, which will take 3 to 5 minutes. Serve with your favorite sweet or savory toppings, and enjoy!
Tips For The Best Sourdough Pancakes
- Weigh the flour: Using too much flour will give you dry pancakes. The most accurate way to measure flour is using a kitchen scale. If you don’t have one, fluff the flour up in its container and spoon it into the measuring cup. Use a knife to level off the top.
- Use room temperature ingredients. Make sure the eggs, milk, and sourdough starter are brought to room temperature beforehand so they are easier to incorporate.
- Don’t overmix the batter: Lumps actually lead to fluffier pancakes, so don’t try to get your batter perfectly smooth. Overmixing results in tough pancakes.
- How to know when to flip sourdough pancakes: Wait for bubbles to form all over the uncooked top side before flipping the pancakes.
- Only flip pancakes once. Flipping them more than that can make them lose their fluffiness.
- To keep cooked pancakes warm: Hold the pancakes warm in a 200°F oven while you finish cooking the remaining batches.
- How to store leftovers: Once the sourdough pancakes have cooled completely, transfer them to an airtight container and refrigerate for up to 4 days.
Frequently Asked Questions
These sourdough pancakes freeze very well. Once they are completely cool, stack them with a piece of parchment paper between each pancake and place them in a freezer-safe airtight container. Freeze for up to 1 month. Reheat from frozen in the microwave or toaster oven.
Yes, you can make the batter a night in advance and store it in the refrigerator. I recommend leaving out the baking powder and baking soda until you’re ready to cook the pancakes the next morning to ensure that the pancakes still puff up and turn out light.
Overmixed batter is a likely cause of gummy sourdough pancakes. Instead of light and fluffy, they turn out dense and gummy because the gluten has over-developed. To avoid this, mix the batter until just combined. The batter should have lumps!
Undercooking them will also cause an unpleasant gummy texture. Make sure to use medium to medium-low heat so they cook thoroughly. Wait until the bottom is golden brown and the top is very bubbly before flipping. Then, cook the other side until golden brown. The pancake should feel springy when you press on it.
If you love this recipe try these out!
If you’ve tried this sourdough pancakes recipe, then don’t forget to rate it and let me know how you got on in the comments below. I love hearing from you!
Sourdough Pancakes Recipe
Video
Equipment
- Pancake griddle or large nonstick skillet
Ingredients
- 1½ cups all-purpose flour (240g)
- 2 tablespoons granulated sugar
- 2 teaspoons baking powder
- ½ teaspoon baking soda
- ¾ teaspoon salt
- 1 cup sourdough starter (240g)
- 1 cup milk (240mL)
- 2 large eggs
- ¼ cup unsalted butter melted and cooled (56g)
Instructions
- In a large bowl, whisk to combine the flour, sugar, baking powder, baking soda and salt.
- In a medium bowl, whisk to combine the starter, milk, eggs and butter. Add the wet ingredients to the dry ingredients and stir gently to combine. (The batter should be lumpy). Set aside.
- Heat a griddle or large nonstick skillet over medium heat. Grease with a thin layer of more melted butter or oil.
- Using a ⅓ cup measure, drop the pancake batter onto the griddle or skillet, leaving about 1” of space in between each pancake.
- Cook for 3 to 4 minutes or until bubbles appear all over the top and the underside is golden brown. Flip the pancakes and cook for 1 to 2 more minutes, until golden brown on the bottom and the centers are cooked through. Transfer to a wire rack. Repeat with the remaining batter.
- Serve warm with butter, maple syrup, and fresh berries.
Notes
- Weigh the flour: Using too much flour will give you dry pancakes. The most accurate way to measure flour is using a kitchen scale. If you don’t have one, fluff the flour up in its container and spoon it into the measuring cup. Use a knife to level off the top.
- Use room temperature ingredients. Make sure the eggs, milk, and sourdough starter are brought to room temperature beforehand so they are easier to incorporate.
- Don’t overmix the batter: Lumps actually lead to fluffier pancakes, so don’t try to get your batter perfectly smooth. Overmixing results in tough pancakes.
- How to know when to flip sourdough pancakes: Wait for bubbles to form all over the uncooked top side before flipping the pancakes.
- Only flip pancakes once. Flipping them more than that can make them lose their fluffiness.
- To keep cooked pancakes warm: Hold the pancakes warm in a 200°F oven while you finish cooking the remaining batches.
- How to store leftovers: Once the sourdough pancakes have cooled completely, transfer them to an airtight container and refrigerate for up to 4 days.
Leave a Reply