Published: · Modified: by Elizabeth Marek · This post may contain affiliate links · 22 Comments
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I absolutely love making these sourdough discard pancakes. They taste WAY better than regular pancakes, they don't leave you with that heavy feeling in your stomach and only take 5 minutes to make! They are light, fluffy and a great way to use up that sourdough starter discard! If you love sourdough pikelets, you'll definitely want to try this recipe!
When I was growing up, we never had pancakes. We had pikelets. They are very similar to pancakes but not as sweet. More like fried dough.
I have never liked pancakes. They make me feel bloated and I'm STARVING a few hours later.
Recently I decided to dive into making sourdough starter so I could make my own fresh bread at home. When making a sourdough starter, I discovered that you end up with a lot of sourdough discard (the part you throw away).
Not wanting to waste precious flour, I looked up a lot of sourdough discard recipes.
This one is AMAZING. I couldn't believe how delicious these sourdough pancakes were! Surprisingly, they don't taste like sourdough at all, just fluffy, delicious pancakes. But these do not make you feel bloated.
Sourdough discard is the part of the sourdough starter that has been broken down by yeast after it has been fed and discarded. Not sure what sourdough starter is? Check out my sourdough starter recipe.
Protip - You can save sourdough discard and use it later! Just wrap it up and put it in the fridge for up to two days. Any l longer and it starts to develop too much flavor and can taste bitter.
Discard recipes are a great way to use up that discard instead of throwing it away! Discard can have a varying degree of flavor to it depending on the sourness of your sourdough starter.
What Ingredients Do You Need For Sourdough Pancakes?
All you need are some basic ingredients to make sourdough discard pancakes. Most importantly, you need discard! I usually have about 1 cup of discard but the amount you add is not really important. Think of the discard as "flavoring" for your pancakes.
Step-By-Step Instructions
Step 1 - Place your skillet (I like to use a cast-iron skillet for even browning) on the stove and heat it on medium-low heat for 15 minutes. We're shooting for a temp of 300ºF for cooking pancakes.
Protip - Low and slow is better for pancakes to ensure a nice golden brown crust and a soft and fluffy interior.
Step 2 - Combine all your ingredients in one bowl and mix until combined. No worries if it's lumpy.
Step 3 - Melt a teaspoon of butter in the skillet. Butter adds some delicious crispiness to your pancakes.
Step 4 - Pour about ½ cup of batter into the skillet and cook for 5 minutes or until the edges of the pancake start to look dried out and you can see some holes forming on top.
Step 5 - Flip your pancake over and cook for another 3 minutes.
Enjoy! I slather mine in more butter but my daughter Avalon prefers hers with cinnamon and sugar. So good!
How to make light, fluffy, and delicious sourdough pancakes from your discard. These pancakes come together in less than 5 minutes and fly off the griddle in my home! A great way to use your discard and start the day with a delicious breakfast.
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Prep Time: 5 minutesminutes
Total Time: 5 minutesminutes
Course: Breakfast
Cuisine: American
Servings: 8pancakes
Calories: 226kcal
Author: Elizabeth Marek
Ingredients
10ouncesall-purpose flourabout 2 cups spooned and leveled
1cupsourdough discardmore or less is ok
1teaspoonbaking soda
2teaspoonsbaking powder
3TablespoonsSugar
14ouncesmilkabout 1 ¾ cups
2largeeggs
2Tablespoonscanola oil
1teaspoonsalt
Instructions
Preheat your skillet over medium-low heat for 15 minutes
Combine all your ingredients together in a bowl and mix until it's combined. It will be lumpy and thats ok.
Melt 1 teaspoon of butter in your hot skillet
Add about ½ cup of your batter into the pan and cook for 5 minutes or until the edges of your pancakes start to look dry and you start seeing holes on top of the pancake
Flip your pancake and cook for another 3 minutes
Serve immediately with more melted butter and syrup!
Video
Notes
Low and slow is perfect for pancakes. I use a thermometer to check the temp of my skillet. You're shooting for 300ºF or just set your temp to medium-low
Do not over-mix your batter or it will become tough. Just mix it until it's cohesive
Use your batter right away for the best results
You can save sourdough discard and use it later! Just wrap it up and put it in the fridge for up to two days. Any l longer and it starts to develop too much flavor and can taste bitter.
You can always use this discard by directly mixing it into a dough for baking. Your discard, as long as it's in good shape, will leaven any bread dough just as well. The discard is just like a levain you would make for a recipe. The only difference is it's the same makeup as your starter.
What Should Sourdough Starter Look Like? A healthy starter should look nice and bubbly after it's been fed. It will have the consistency of thick pancake batter. It should be able to be poured out of your container, but it won't just fall out readily.
Starter that's kept at room temperature is more active than refrigerated starter, and thus needs to be fed more often. Room-temperature starter should be fed every 12 hours (twice a day) using the standard maintenance feeding procedure: discard all but 113g, and feed that 113g starter with 113g each water and flour.
Why are my sourdough pancakes gummy? Gummy sourdough pancakes are usually due to cooking issues. Be sure to fully cook the pancakes all the way through.
You can store mature sourdough discard in the refrigerator indefinitely. As long as there is no mold, it is good to use. It may develop a grayish liquid on top called “hooch” which can be poured off before use or stirred in. If you stir it in, the flavor will become more sour.
Remember, you can't use the discard from your homemade sourdough starter for the first 7 days. You can use sourdough discard in all kinds of sourdough discard recipes, including these no wait sourdough recipes, overnight sourdough discard recipes and sourdough discard recipes that use up a lot of discard.
Ideally, sourdough should be the consistency of warm peanut butter. When it's just been fed, it should be quite thick. It's actually ok if it seems a little dry. As the starter ferments, it will absorb the flour and thin out just a little.
As long as your starter is doubling (or even tripling) in a timely manner after being fed, the size of the bubbles don't really matter too much. What you're looking for is activity and fermentation. Bubbles of any kind are an indication that this is happening inside your jar.
Generally, when a starter is ripe, it has risen, is bubbly on top, has a sour aroma, and has a looser consistency. Typical signs your starter is ripe and ready to be used: Some rise. Bubbles on top and at the sides.
Can I Use Old Sourdough Discard? You can use old sourdough discard if it's been stored in the fridge, however, you really want to use it up within a week - 2 weeks max. It's better to use "fresh" discard in a sweet sourdough discard recipe.
Keep feeding your starter, and you'll see normal activity (bubbles) return in a few days. If your starter has a bit of dark liquid on top, it's not dead! It simply means it's hungry and that it's time to feed it. Unless your starter has a pink or orange hue or is beginning to mold, you probably haven't killed it yet.
If you don't get rid of the excess, eventually you'll have more starter than your feedings can sustain. After a few days, your daily 1/4 cup flour and water won't be enough to sustain your entire jar of starter, and your starter will be slow and sluggish, not much better than discard itself.
They may also be cooled completely and then frozen in an airtight container or plastic bag. The pancake batter may be prepared up to 2 days in advance, just store in an airtight container in the refrigerator and note that the pancakes may not be quite as fluffy the next day.
TASTE: Just a word to the wise, these taste like pancakes from your favorite restaurant. Thick, fluffy, soft, and delicious! They do NOT have a sour flavor, and most likely no one would know you used your sourdough starter when making them!
Yes, there are actually several health benefits to using sourdough discard in your cooking and baking. Sourdough discard is rich in probiotics, which can help promote a healthy gut microbiome and improve digestion.
The discard is not active enough to make sourdough bread rise but it does have many other uses and baking powder can be added if required. Savoury options include English breakfast muffins, pretzels, caramelised onion biscuits, and sourdough pizza dough.
I left my sourdough discard out at room temperature for a few days. Is it okay? As long as your kitchen isn't too warm (I'd say 78°F or higher) your starter/discard will be fine stored at room temperature for at least a few days without feeding. The flavor will get more acidic the longer it sits.
Try to treat your sourdough discard as a liquid when adding it to recipes. For example when adding it to a muffin recipe, you would combine the starter with the other wet ingredients, before adding it to the dry ingredients and stirring.
Introduction: My name is Chrissy Homenick, I am a tender, funny, determined, tender, glorious, fancy, enthusiastic person who loves writing and wants to share my knowledge and understanding with you.
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