Sourdough Pancakes

Sourdough has so many advantages. First, it adds a great flavorful dimension to baked goods. Secondly, it is one of the most effective method of reducing phytates in your food. See my post on sourdough bread vs. yeasted bread for more information. Third, it is easy to use. Fourth, it is a very frugal choice.

I wanted to start using sourdough more often because of the above reasons, so I was thrilled when my starter from Fermented Treasures came with some recipes. One in particular intrigued me. It was a recipe for sourdough flapjacks. I changed the recipe around a bit, and also added a longer soaking period, and it is now the recipe we always use for pancakes. It’s definitely a keeper. I have also been playing around with variations to the recipe, so you may see this recipe in a different form soon!

I have always enjoyed the recipe for pancakes from Nourishing Traditions, though I did find it sometimes hard to cook in my stainless steel pan. They would be cooked on the outside and not in the inside. This was a common occurrence with others as well, probably caused by not having heavy duty griddle pans. This recipe has no problems like that, but cooks beautifully (and easily).

Oh, and for those dairy free people out there, this one is easily made dairy free, which is how I make it. If you made a wheat free sourdough starter, you could also easily make this wheat free as well.

Sourdough Pancakes

1 cup of sourdough starter (my starter is fed 3/4 cups of water and one cup of flour, so it’s the thinner type of starter)
2 cups of water
3 1/2 cups of whole grain flour *see note below
3 large eggs
4 tablespoons of maple syrup, honey, maple sugar, or rapadura (optional)
1/4 cup of coconut oil, or melted butter
1 teaspoon of baking soda
1 teaspoon of salt

*This recipe first called for 2 1/2 cups of flour. However, I think my starter became thinner (I was working with a new starter when I developed this recipe) and 3 1/2 cups of flour turned out to be perfect now. I think how much flour you need will depend on how thick your starter is, but if you have a thinner starter, the larger amount will probably work the best.

3 to 24 hours before you want to eat, combine in a large bowl the starter, water, and flour. Make sure that you have plenty of room for this mixture to rise. If it is a very hot day, beware of leaving it too long as it will ferment very quickly. I usually make this up the night before, for breakfast, or the morning of, for dinner. In colder weather, I have done this recipe for up to 24 hours.

After the soaking period, add the rest of the ingredients, and combine well. A whisk is helpful. If you want thinner pancakes you can thin with water (or milk). Drop about 1/4 of a cup of the batter on a lightly oiled hot griddle (over medium to medium-high heat) until the the top is set, and the bottom lightly browned. Flip the pancake and cook until the pancake is lightly browned on the other side. Repeat until all of the batter is used, re-oiling the pan as needed.

Serve with real maple syrup, butter, or a fruit topping and whipped cream.