As a result of my recent experimentation with sourdough bread baking, I have found myself with excessive amounts of sourdough starter. When you’re building and maintaining your starter, you end up with more (much more) starter than you can use for baking. I’m defining ‘more than’ by the standard of ‘can’t fit more frozen bread into the freezer’, but you could also reasonably use the ‘I have no more friends left that haven’t been invited over for bread eating feasts’. Most starter recipes just casually suggest that you throw away the excess starter, but of course to an apprentice food waste reducer, this is a horrifying thought. And also completely unnecessary, because as it turns out, you can simply turn the starter into pancakes.
I had never heard of sourdough pancakes before, but perhaps it was the distinct batter-like consistency of the starter that prodded something in my mind. In any case, once I went looking for it, I found that there are many, many sourdough pancake recipes out there. I looked at this one, just to get an idea, and then I proceeded to use my own judgment and ignored the recipe completely. Mostly this is because I like my pancakes thin and crepe-like rather than thick and fluffy.
The result was that these pancakes are a keeper. This recipe gives you my take on the sourdough pancake.
Sourdough Pancakes
Ingredients
- 2 dl sourdough starter
- 2-5 tbsp milk
- 2-5 tbsp flour
- 2-3 tsp oil
Instructions
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Add the sourdough starter to a mixing bowl. Whisk in the egg, followed by 2 tbsp of flour and milk. Check the consistency of the batter, and adjust with more flour or milk as needed.
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Heat a tsp of oil in a skillet on medium-high heat. Fill a ladle with batter and pour it into the skillet, immediately tilting the skillet from side to side to ensure that the batter spreads evenly and covers the entire skillet surface.
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Cook for about 2 minutes, or until the pancake loosens easily from the skillet. Flip quickly with a spatula (or in the air). Be confident in your flipping skill - if you fidget, you risk the pancake folding in on itself.
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Cook the other side of the pancake for about 1 minute or until golden-brown.
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Transfer the pancake to a plate and cover with another plate upside down, or with tinfoil, to keep warm.
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Follow the same procedure with the rest of the batter.
Notes
The quantity of flour and milk you need will depend on how liquid your starter is. Begin with 2 tbsp of each and then adjust until your batter reaches the desired consistency. It should be liquid enough to flow easily in the skillet when you tilt it, so that you can coat the entire surface with an even layer of batter.
You can add salt to your batter, but I find that the sourdough flavor makes salt unnecessary.
The pancakes are nowhere near as sour as I imagined. In fact, they are just lightly tangy. I think they will work well both with sweet fillings or toppings, and with savory (I only tried the savory, of course). Here, my fillings are cheese, steamed broccolini, sun dried tomatoes and sour cream.
