Have you ever considered making a tasty breakfast from sourdough discard? If you picture your mornings filled with the sweet smell of fluffy and soft sourdough pancakes, then this recipe is for you.
It’s so simple yet customizable to accommodate what you have on hand. Use whole wheat or gluten free sourdough discard, buttermilk or regular milk, butter or oil, etc. These pancakes are perfect for both new and experienced bakers.
Why I Love Sourdough Pancakes
The magic of making these pancakes comes from the fermentation action of the natural yeast and lactobacilli. These work together to make the pancakes light and fluffy. This process also makes the pancakes healthier. As the microbes work, they make nutrients easier for your body to use. Think of it like pre-digesting your food. (Source)
Learning how to make a sourdough starter from scratch might sound intimidating, but it’s much easier than you might think. In fact, once you know these sourdough tips and eliminate common sourdough mistakes you might be making, you’ll probably have such a healthy starter that you will find yourself looking for ways to use up your discard.
Recipes for homemade sourdough brownies, sweet breads, pizza crusts, tortillas, flatbreads, and, of course, sourdough pancakes will quickly become part of your rotation.
Another way to keep up with a healthy starter is to freeze-dry your sourdough starter or store it in the freezer. Just remember to get your starter out of the freezer to defrost on the counter or reconstitute your freeze-dried sourdough and get it good and active again for your pancakes.
What Is Sourdough Discard
During the feeding process, a portion of your sourdough starter is removed. Some people just throw it in the trash (hence discard) but there are actually many good uses for sourdough discard.
You can feed it to your chickens, add it to your compost pile, make a new sourdough starter as a backup or a gift for a fellow baker, or use it in recipes calling for sourdough discard.
Because the sourdough is in need of feeding, the discard is not ready for bread baking. However, it can be added to any recipe that uses an additional form of leavening, such as baking powder.
The sourdough discard will add a new depth of flavor, enhanced texture and height to your baked goods.
Tips for the Best Sourdough Pancakes
Making delicious sourdough pancakes is quick and easy. You just need the right ingredients to make your batter. Here are some tips to make your pancakes golden brown and delicious on a hot griddle or cast iron skillet:
- Choosing the Right Ingredients – For the best sourdough pancakes, start with top-quality ingredients. Use fresh eggs, freshly ground flour, and an active sourdough starter.
- Perfect Batter Consistency – Getting the batter right is key to great sourdough pancakes. It should be thick enough to hold its shape but runny enough to spread on the griddle. Think of it like any other pancake batter consistency. Thinner than cake batter but thicker than heavy cream.
- Mixing: Mix the ingredients until they’re just combined. Don’t overmix, or you’ll end up with tough and dense pancakes.
- Resting: Let the batter rest for 10 minutes before cooking. This makes your pancakes fluffier.
- Preheat Your Skillet – To prevent your pancakes from sticking, pre-heat the skillet to medium-high and grease it with butter or oil. To test if it’s ready, sprinkle a couple drops of water in the pan to see if they dance.
- Cooking to Golden Brown Perfection – Cook your pancakes until they bubble on top and the edges are cooked. Flip and cook the other side until it’s golden brown as well.
- Don’t Crowd Your Pan – It can be tempting to rush through the process and crowd too many pancakes onto your pan. For best results, cook each pancake one at a time in a skillet so that it receives an even temperature. To cook multiple pancakes at a time, use a griddle or several skillets on the stovetop at once.
- Don’t Overcook – Overcooking results in tough pancakes. After you have flipped your pancakes, it should take about half as long to cook the second side as it did the first.
The Best Flour for Sourdough
There are many flour options for perfect sourdough pancakes. You can pick from classic types like all-purpose or whole wheat or specialty flours such as quinoa or kamut. The key is choosing the same flour for your recipe that matches the flour used in your sourdough starter.
Homesteading Hack: Do you need a gluten-free sourdough starter? Learn about the best gluten-free flour for sourdough here.
Sourdough Pancake Serving Suggestions
Before you make your sourdough discard pancakes, you should think about how to serve them.
Do you like a sweet start to your day or a savory twist on breakfast? Many don’t think of pancakes as a savory dish, but a savory option can be a nice change for brunch or even dinner.
Whether you prefer sweet or savory, use this chart to enjoy the versatility of pancakes any time of day.
Sweet Options
- Maple syrup
- Fresh berries
- Bananas
- Chocolate chips
- Whipped cream
- Powdered sugar
- Caramel sauce
- Honey
Savory Options
- Smoked salmon with cream cheese and capers
- Fried eggs with avocado and salsa
- Crumbled bacon and cheddar cheese
- Sauteed mushrooms and spinach with feta
- Grilled ham and melted Swiss cheese
- Tomato slices with fresh basil and mozzarella
- Smashed avocado with a sprinkle of red pepper flakes
- Greek yogurt with cucumber and dill
Supplies Needed
- Mixing Bowls – You will need two mixing bowls so that you can mix your wet and dry ingredients separately.
- Whisk – A wire whisk, wooden spoon, or even a fork works well to mix the ingredients together.
- Measuring Cups and Spoons – Use precise measurements for best results.
- Cast Iron Pan – We love our cast iron cookware, but you can also use a griddle to cook multiple pancakes at once. Our Stargazer cast iron has become our favorite American-made product.
- Spatula – Make sure your spatula is large enough to flip your preferred size of pancake.
Ingredients Needed
This recipe makes about six 4″ pancakes, but you can scale it up or down to make as many as you need.
- Sourdough Discard – Your sourdough starter can be made from white, whole wheat, kamut, or quinoa flour. The discard is the portion that you would normally “discard” when feeding your starter.
- Egg – Always use best practices when handling farm fresh eggs.
- Buttermilk – If you don’t have buttermilk on hand, you can add 1 tsp of vinegar or lemon juice to your measuring cup and then fill the remainder ¼ cup with milk.
- Butter, Melted – You can substitute a mild oil such as coconut or avocado oil. Homesteading Hack: Learn how to make homemade butter here.
- Sugar – You can use granulated sugar, evaporated cane juice, honey, or maple syrup.
- Baking Powder – Sourdough discard is not active enough to make fluffy pancakes, so you will need the baking powder for just enough lift.
- Salt – We use Redmond Real Salt. (Using that link for Redmond Salt will automatically give you 15% off your order!)
- Additional Flour – Use the same flour as was used in your sourdough starter. Depending on your starter, you’ll need ½ cup white flour, ¼ cup Kamut, ¼ cup whole wheat or ⅔ cup quinoa. Homesteading Hack: Depending on the hydration of your sourdough discard, this additional flour amount may need to be adjusted to reach the desired consistency.
How to Make Sourdough Pancakes
- Combine the cup of starter, egg, buttermilk, and melted butter in a small bowl.
- In a separate bowl, gently combine the dry ingredients: flour, sugar, baking powder, and salt.
- Stir the wet mixture into the dry mixture and mix together until you have a smooth batter.
- Allow the batter to rest for at least 10 minutes.
- Prepare a cast iron skillet or griddle by greasing it with butter and putting it on medium-low heat.
- Once the pan is nicely heated, put ⅓ cup batter per pancake onto the skillet. (If you’re using a griddle, you can cook more than one pancake at a time.)
- Cook for about 3 minutes, until the edges are done and the center is bubbling, before flipping the pancake. Cook the other side for around one and a half minutes until the pancake is golden brown.
- If you’re making several pancakes, slide the cooked pancakes into the oven on a low setting to keep warm until you’re ready to serve them up.
- Enjoy!
Homesteading Hack: These also freeze well after cooking… just place a little parchment paper between fully cooled pancakes and place into a freezer bag.
Did you make these sourdough pancakes? If so, please leave a star rating in the recipe card below. Then snap a photo and tag us on social media @homesteadingfamily so we can see!
The Art of Homemade Bread
This recipe was featured in our Art of Homemade Bread class, specifically designed to teach you EVERY SINGLE step and technique of making great homemade bread from scratch, including how to:
- Save $$$ buying wheat in bulk for much cheaper bread
- Correctly store your wheat for a cheap and easy emergency food supply
- Make light, fluffy and sliceable 100% Whole Wheat Bread
- Make bread with ancient wheat such as spelt, einkorn, emmer and more
- Sprout and grind your wheat for the healthiest, most digestible bread
- Start your own sourdough starter
- Make breads, pancakes and desserts with wild sourdough leavening
- Make all of the bread products you need for a week in just one easy baking
If you are ready to master your bread-baking skills, sign up and receive instant access today!
FAQ’s
Sourdough discard is the part of sourdough starter removed when you feed it. It’s great for making sourdough pancakes. It adds flavor and helps reduce waste.
Use top-quality ingredients and get the batter just right. Cook on a hot griddle or cast iron skillet until golden. Look for bubbles to know when to flip them.
We recommend using whatever flour was used to feed your sourdough starter. We’ve used all-purpose flour, whole wheat and gluten-free options. All are equally delicious. Each flour changes the texture and taste of your pancakes.
Serve sourdough pancakes with maple syrup, fresh fruit, or whipped cream for sweetness. For savory, add bacon, cheese, or avocado.
Other Posts You May Enjoy
- How to Make Sourdough Starter
- Best Flour for Gluten-Free Sourdough
- How to Store a Sourdough Starter
- True Sourdough Bread vs. Commercially Prepared Bread
- 7 Sourdough Mistakes You Might Be Making
- 33 Things I Wish I Knew BEFORE Baking With Sourdough
- Parker House Rolls Made With Sourdough
- The Best Fudgy Homemade Sourdough Brownies
Sourdough Pancakes
Equipment
- 2 Mixing Bowls
- Whisk
- Measuring Cups/Spoons
- Cast Iron Pan or griddle
- spatula
Ingredients
- 1 cup sourdough discard
- 1 egg
- 1/4 cup buttermilk
- 2 Tablespoons butter melted
- 1 Tablespoon sugar
- 1 teaspoon baking powder
- 1/4 teaspoon salt
- flour the same kind as you fed your sourdough starter, see notes below
Instructions
- Combine the cup of starter, egg, buttermilk, and melted butter in a small bowl.
- In a separate bowl, gently combine the dry ingredients: flour, sugar, baking powder, and salt.
- Stir the wet mixture into the dry mixture and mix together until you have a smooth batter.
- Allow the batter to rest for at least 10 minutes.
- Prepare a cast iron skillet or griddle by greasing it with butter and putting it on medium-low heat.
- Once the pan is nicely heated, put ⅓ cup batter per pancake onto the skillet. (If you’re using a griddle, you can cook more than one pancake at once.)
- Cook for about 3 minutes, until the edges are done and the center is bubbling, before flipping the pancake. Cook the other side for around one and a half minutes until the pancake is golden brown.
- If you’re making several pancakes, slide the cooked pancakes into the oven on a low setting to keep warm until you’re ready to serve up.
Notes
- Additional Flour – Use the same flour as was used in your sourdough starter. Depending on your starter, you’ll need ½ cup white flour, ¼ cup Kamut, ¼ cup whole wheat or ⅔ cup quinoa. Homesteading Hack: Depending on the hydration of your sourdough discard, this additional flour amount may need to be adjusted to reach the desired consistency.
- Homesteading Hack: These also freeze well after cooking… just place a little parchment paper between fully cooled pancakes and place into a freezer bag.
