Sourdough Starter Pancakes

Sourdough starter pancakes may sound like more work than popping store-bought in the toaster, but this recipe is so easy and forgiving!

This is a great make-ahead breakfast recipe (although let’s get real we love pancakes any time of day!). It’s also a great way to use up your sourdough discard rather than tossing it in the organics bin.

The pancake batter needs a minimum of eight hours of resting time in the fridge to fully develop that quintessential sour flavour we want in a sourdough recipe, so, be sure to plan accordingly.

For more recipes using extra sourdough starter, check out this post called Our Favourite Sourdough Discard Recipes.

Jump to:

• Ingredients
• Method
• Tips & Notes
• Substitutions
• Recipe

Use the JUMP TO RECIPE button at the top, or scroll to the bottom of the post to see the printable recipe card with full ingredient measurements and complete instructions.

Ingredients

Method

In a large bowl, whisk together the buttermilk, sourdough discard, oil, egg, and vanilla.

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Add the flour, sugar, and salt, and whisk until just combined. Don’t worry if it looks a little lumpy after whisking.

Cover the bowl with a damp tea towel or plastic wrap and set it in the refrigerator overnight, or for about 8 hours.

The following morning, the batter will likely have separated a little bit, and have a watery-looking layer on the surface. This is normal.

Add the baking powder and baking soda, and whisk until fully combined.

Set the batter aside for 10 minutes.

While the batter is resting, heat a large frying pan over medium heat. Make sure the pan is hot before starting to cook the pancakes.

Give the batter a final stir.

Grease the bottom of the pan with butter or oil. Add scant ¼ cups of batter to the hot pan for each pancake. Cook for about 30 seconds, or until bubbles start to appear on the top surface.

When the top of the pancake is bubbly and steaming, flip it over, and cook the other side about another 30 seconds, or until cooked through.

Repeat until all of the batter has been used. You can keep the sourdough starter pancakes covered in a warm oven before serving if you want. Serve hot with any desired toppings.

Tips & Notes

Unfed or active sourdough starter can be used in this recipe. To learn the difference between the two, visit this post called How To Make Sourdough Starter in which we have a whole section on sourdough terminology,

It’s not essential to allow the batter to rest for 8 hours — you can make pancakes right away if you want. That being said, the resting time allows the classic sour flavour of the sourdough starter to really shine.

Any light oil will work in this recipe — canola, vegetable, avocado, coconut, or even olive oil if that’s what you’ve got. Melted butter is also great.

You can omit the sugar completely if you want.

Substitutions

Buttermilk is super cheap, freezes well, and adds a depth of flavour you won’t get with regular milk. If you don’t have it on hand, or don’t want to use or buy it, you can replace it with regular or non-dairy milk.

We used ” target=”_blank” rel=”noreferrer noopener nofollow”>vanilla powder in this post. Substitute it with an equal amount of liquid vanilla extract, or vanilla bean paste.

You can substitute light spelt flour at a 1:1 ratio for all-purpose. If you want to use whole wheat or even another whole grain flour like rye, you may need to increase the amount of liquid if your pancake batter seems dry.

Tasty Toppings For Sourdough Starter Pancakes

Honey Lemon Curd

Coconut Whipped Cream

Strawberry Bay Leaf Jam

Espresso Maple Syrup

Rhubarb Curd

Recipe