A recipe for the best brunch with fluffy sourdough pancakes

I don’t know about you, but I really enjoy making sourdough bread. That being said, it’s a bit of a process and sometimes I just sort of… forget about it. Or at least, it takes a back seat in my day to day priorities. Then I see my sad little sourdough starter on top of the fridge, looking hungry and I think to myself “I gotta do something about this.”

If you have worked with sourdough starter before, you know that it has to stay fed, lest it start dying off and producing alcohol. Part of that feeding process is discarding a portion of what is in the jar, and then feeding the remainder with fresh flour and water.

However, when you’re investing in your health and avoiding pesticides in your foods by purchasing high quality, organic flour (bonus points for locally grown + milled wheat), then you don’t want to just throw it away.

That’s when I started searching for the perfect sourdough pancake recipes. Finally, I found one and after some adjustments and little tweaks, I have found this recipe to produce the perfect, most fluffy, delicious and slightly nutty pancakes around. When I get it just right, the outside is a little crispy and the inside is soft and fluffy as a cloud.

I’ve made these with protein before as well, by adding ~40g of whey in order to make them a bit “healthier.” They are less fluffy this way, and personally I prefer a side of protein with my pancakes anyway like some fresh cut bacon or leftover turkey or pork chops.

I’ve also experimented with adding beet root powder to make cute pink pancakes and tried a number of different toppings like fresh edible flowers + honey, jam, greek yogurt with cinnamon, and the classic butter + authentic maple syrup (extra dark, yum yum).

I hope you enjoy these as much as I do! Tell me in the comments :)

- Shay

Best Fluffy Sourdough Pancakes

1 cups organic unbleached flour

1 teaspoons baking powder

½ teaspoon baking soda

1 tablespoons coconut sugar 

½  teaspoon salt

¾  cup sourdough discard (unfed starter)

¾  cups organic or raw milk 

1 large egg beaten

1 tablespoons olive oil

¼ tsp. vanilla extract (optional)

** optional – add whey protein powder (2 scoops/ 40g) to make protein pancakes, but they won’t be as fluffy. I personally like to have my protein on the side

1. In a large bowl, whisk together the flour, baking powder and soda, sugar and salt.

2. Add the sourdough starter, milk, egg and oil. Mix well just until combined.

3. Heat your pancake griddle, heavy-bottom or cast iron pan until it’s around 300-350°. Turn the heat down to medium/low after heating. Grease with a small amount of coconut oil or ghee. 

4. Pour ⅛  cup pancake batter on the hot griddle for smaller pancakes, ¼ cup for larger. Cook until the pancake starts bubbling on top, and then edges are dry, then gently flip the pancake.

5. Cook for an additional 1-2 minutes or until the pancake is cooked through.

6. Serve warm with butter and authentic maple syrup.

NOTES:

I usually turn the oven on to warm at 200° and keep some oven-proof plates warm inside, where I’ll stack the pancakes as the rest cook.