Published: · Modified: by Elizabeth Marek · This post may contain affiliate links · 22 Comments
Jump to Recipe Jump to Video Print Recipe
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.
Print Recipe Pin Recipe Rate Recipe
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.
What to do with sourdough discard? Don't throw it away! Instead, use it to make delicious and nutritious treats like pancakes, waffles, muffins, and bread. Sourdough discard is a great source of natural yeast and flavor, and can add a unique tangy taste to your baked goods.
A sourdough starter typically has a consistency similar to a thick pancake batter or a slightly looser dough. It should be thick enough to hold its shape somewhat when stirred but still pourable. The ideal consistency is often described as "sticky" or "tacky," with some stretchiness.
Experts recommend feeding a starter twice daily. And at each feeding, you hold onto 1/2 cup of your original starter, discard the rest, and then add its same weight in water and flour. With this schedule, you'd discard almost a cup of sourdough starter every day.
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.
Stored in the fridge, sourdough discard will go to sleep and last a lot longer. My advice is to use discard within one week. This is because after a week, it will start to taste very sour and become very acidic.
For best results, use a 100% hydration sourdough starter. Its thick, batter-like texture is perfect for fluffy sourdough pancakes. Try my Beginner Sourdough Starter Recipe or use what you have adjusting the liquid if it's too thick.
Unless you can see mold on your sourdough starter or it has visible signs of pink or orange, your sourdough starter is not dead! Even if it has thick, dark colored liquid on top - it can still be brought back to life!
Room temperature sourdough discard should be used, refrigerated, or thrown away after 36-48 hours. Sourdough discard can be kept in the fridge for weeks, BUT it continues to get sourer as time passes.
Discarding some first allows you to add this fresh food, whilst maintaining your starter at a manageable size. Not discarding your starter will also affect the flavor of your starter. Not discarding before you feed will cause too much acidity which may eventually be detrimental to your microbes.
I recommend keeping sourdough discard for about one week, but I do know others who keep it for much longer. After one week, there is a higher risk of mold or bad bacteria growing on the discard.
Overmixing develops the gluten in pancakes and can make them gummy or “tough”. Mix the wet ingredients into the dry ingredients just until they are combined. The consistency of your batter is key. It should be thick enough to hold its shape but thin enough to pour easily.
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.
Try less water with your flour. Uneven heat in your oven can be the culprit – if you loaf is nicely golden on the outside but gummy or moist in the inside, it's baking too quickly on the outside. Trying reducing the temperature you're baking at and bake for a bit longer.
Room temperature sourdough discard should be used, refrigerated, or thrown away after 36-48 hours. Sourdough discard can be kept in the fridge for weeks, BUT it continues to get sourer as time passes.
Absolutely!A jar of sourdough discard serves as an insurance policy against starter death. If you have some discard on hand, remove a spoonful of it and feed it fresh flour and water in a clean jar. You should have a bubbly starter ready to bake with after a couple of feedings, depending on the discard's condition.
Plant growth isn't the only benefit you'll reap from using sourdough starter in your garden, though. Starters also contain lactic acid bacteria, a good bacteria that can help your plants fight disease (and yes, this bacteria will also help your plants grow even faster as well).
Yes you can add sourdough discards from different days together in the same jar. You just need to make sure you stir it well and you don't leave it sitting in the fridge for too long. Sourdough discard should be used within two weeks. You can read more about how to store sourdough discard in the fridge here.
Introduction: My name is Lidia Grady, I am a thankful, fine, glamorous, lucky, lively, pleasant, shiny person who loves writing and wants to share my knowledge and understanding with you.
We notice you're using an ad blocker
Without advertising income, we can't keep making this site awesome for you.
