Perfect Sourdough Pancakes Recipe (2024)

by Nicole 23 Comments

Jump to Recipe
Perfect Sourdough Pancakes Recipe (1)

These perfect buttermilk sourdough pancakes are mixed up the night before and ready to be cooked in the morning for a lazy weekend breakfast. They are very easyto make once you have your sourdough starter going andI believe they arethe most delicious pancakes you’ll ever taste.

Perfect Sourdough Pancakes Recipe (2)

Even if you aren’t interested in baking sourdough bread from scratch, these pancakes and the sourdough biscuits that I shared last week are more than enough reason to keep a sourdough starter in the refrigerator.

This post may include Amazon affiliate links. Making purchases through these links won’t affect the amount you pay and I may earn a small commission.

Whether you get some from a friend, buy it online, or make your own (it’s really not that hard!), maintaining a sourdough starter is easy. And once you have a jar of starter bubbling away on the counter or tucked away in the refrigerator, you can use it to start making these delicious pancakes that everyone will love.

In my experience, even people who don’t normally care much about pancakes will rave about these!

Perfect Sourdough Pancakes Recipe (3)

Making the batter is simple. The night before, stir together flour, buttermilk, and sourdough starter. Cover the bowl and let it sit out at cool room temperature overnight. By the way, if you don’t have buttermilk, regular milk works just fine in this recipe.

Perfect Sourdough Pancakes Recipe (4)

The next morning, the batter will be nice and bubbly and ready for the rest of the ingredients.

Perfect Sourdough Pancakes Recipe (5)

Stir in an eggthathas been beaten with salt and baking soda. I mix the soda and salt into the egg just to help everything get distributed into the thick batter a little easier.

Perfect Sourdough Pancakes Recipe (6)

Stir it all together until the egg is completely mixed in.

Perfect Sourdough Pancakes Recipe (7)

Next, stir in the melted butter. I add the butter separately so that the melted butter doesn’t doesn’t harden from being mixed with the cold egg.

Perfect Sourdough Pancakes Recipe (8)

That’s it! Your pancake batter is ready to go.

Perfect Sourdough Pancakes Recipe (9)

I cook my pancakes on a cast iron griddle that came with my stove. Because it’s cast iron and takes a while to heat, I turn it on before the final mixing of the batter. Then when I’m ready to cook, I brush it lightly with either butter or oil using a silicone pastry brush. This time I used coconut oil.

Perfect Sourdough Pancakes Recipe (10)

Sometimes I make big pancakes, sometimes I make small ones. It just depends on my mood and who I’m feeding. These were for my husband, so they are on the large side.

This is a pretty thick batter so the pancakes will cook upthick and fluffy. Because of that, you want to make sure your griddle isn’t too hot or the pancakes will burn before they are cooked through. You’ll know it’s time to flip them when edges of the pancakes are starting to look dry.

Perfect Sourdough Pancakes Recipe (11)
Perfect Sourdough Pancakes Recipe (12)

It may take a little trial and error to get the griddle to the perfect temperature, but once you get the hang of it, you’ll be rewarded with perfect, golden, fluffy sourdough pancakes.

Perfect Sourdough Pancakes Recipe (13)

Don’t forget the butter and maple syrup!

Perfect Sourdough Pancakes Recipe (14)

This pancake recipe is adapted from the recipe that came with the original sourdough starter I purchased from King Arthur Flour about 10 years ago.

Kitchen equipment used for this recipe:
(the following are Amazon Affiliate links)

Related Recipes:

  • How to Make Sourdough Starter
  • Easy Pumpkin Maple Sourdough Cake
  • Buttery Sourdough Biscuits
  • Sourdough Chocolate Cake with Chocolate Cream Cheese Frosting

Around the Web:

Perfect Sourdough Pancakes Recipe (15)

Yield: 10–12 4-inch pancakes

Prep Time: 15 minutes

Cook Time: 20 minutes

Additional Time: 8 hours

Total Time: 8 hours 35 minutes

Ingredients

  • 1/2 cup whole wheat flour
  • 1/2 cup all purpose flour
  • 1/2 cup sourdough starter
  • 1 cup buttermilk
  • 1 tablespoon sugar
  • 1 egg
  • 1/2 teaspoon salt
  • 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
  • 2 tablespoons butter, melted and cooled

Instructions

  1. The night before you want to make pancakes, combine the flours and sugar in a mixing bowl. Add buttermilk and sourdough starter and stir to combine. Cover the bowl with plastic wrap. Let sit out at cool room temperature overnight (up to 12 hours is fine).
  2. The following morning, melt butter and set aside to cool a bit. In a separate bowl, whisk together egg, baking soda, and salt. Stir egg mixture into the pancake batter until well combined then stir in melted butter.
  3. Drop by spoonful (as large or small as you want) onto a moderately hot, lightly greased skillet or griddle. Cook pancakes until bubbly and starting to dry out on the edges then flip and and continue cooking until browned to your liking on the other side.

Notes

This recipe feeds about 3-4 people. Recipe can easily be doubled or tripled for a larger family.

You can use all purpose flour in place of whole wheat if desired, but the whole flour tastes great in this recipe.

Regular milk can be used in place of buttermilk if that's all you have. I do this quite often and the pancakes still have a great flavor because of the sourdough starter.

If the batter seems way too thick, you can thin it with a bit more buttermilk or milk. Just be careful not to add too much or your pancakes will turn out very thin.

Nutrition Information:

Yield: 4Serving Size: 1
Amount Per Serving:Calories: 267Total Fat: 8gSaturated Fat: 5gTrans Fat: 0gUnsaturated Fat: 3gCholesterol: 64mgSodium: 603mgCarbohydrates: 40gFiber: 3gSugar: 6gProtein: 9g

Perfect Sourdough Pancakes Recipe (2024)

FAQs

What is the secret to sourdough? ›

The secret to sourdough is simple: water. The more water you add to your dough will affect how open the crumb (bigger holes and softer texture) will be once it's baked.

Why are my sourdough pancakes gummy? ›

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.

How can I make my sourdough rise better? ›

Another tip is to add some sugar or honey to the dough, as this will also help the yeast become more active. Keep the dough and starter in a warm environment, between 70° and 90° is ideal. To ensure it rises at its quickest rate. With these tips, you'll be sure to get your sourdough starter rising quickly!

Why do restaurant pancakes taste better than homemade? ›

Restaurants use better quality ingredients

Restaurants tend to use real, farm-fresh eggs and real milk when making their pancakes, which as you might guess, adds to a richer, higher-quality eating experience.

Why are restaurant pancakes so fluffy? ›

The secret to fluffy restaurant style pancakes? Buttermilk! The acid in the buttermilk reacts to the leavening agents in the pancake batter, creating air bubbles that make the pancakes tall and fluffy. It's a simple switch that makes all the difference.

What not to do with sourdough? ›

Here are the big errors to avoid when working with sourdough.
  1. You Bake Too Soon. ...
  2. You Use Unfiltered Tap Water. ...
  3. You Use Water That Is Too Hot or Too Cold. ...
  4. You're Impatient. ...
  5. You Don't Autolyse Your Dough. ...
  6. You Don't Let Gluten Develop Properly. ...
  7. You Don't Let the Bread Proof Long Enough. ...
  8. You Don't Form the Bread Correctly.
Apr 1, 2022

What is the best flour for sourdough bread? ›

The best flour blend for creating a new sourdough starter is 50% whole-meal flour (whole wheat or whole rye) and 50% bread flour or all-purpose flour. I recommend a 50/50 mix of whole wheat flour and bread flour.

What makes sourdough taste better? ›

Keep the dough temperature higher: Lactobacillus perform well at the higher temperatures of 85-95ºF. Keeping the dough in that range will produce more acetic acid bacteria resulting in a more sour loaf.

Will sourdough pancake batter keep in the fridge? ›

The pancake batter can stay in the fridge for up to 2 days before using it to make the waffles and pancakes. NOTE: The batter doesn't have to ferment overnight if you'd like to cook these the same day. Mix ALL of the ingredients together, let the batter sit for 20 minutes and then proceed with cooking.

Is Overproofed sourdough gummy? ›

Over proving can produce a moist crumb, if your loaf is wide and flat and pale on the outside with small holes and a slightly damp interior, it may well be over. Under baking can produce a gummy interior.

Should you add more flour to sticky sourdough? ›

If your dough is too sticky and it's impossible to work with you can add some extra flour, just a little at a time. Make sure you weigh the extra flour you add and then you'll be able to adjust the recipe correctly the next time you bake.

Can you let sourdough rise too long? ›

If you over-ferment the dough you run the risk of the gluten structure degrading and the loaf turning into a puddle of goo before your eyes, never to be retrieved and destined for the bin. I would say that more often or not I underproof my dough, I live on what I consider to be, the “safe” side.

How to make sourdough bread lighter and fluffier? ›

Keeping the lid on for the first part of baking allows steam to expand between the gluten fibers to rise the bread and create a fluffy loaf. Step 4: Remove the lid and bake for an additional 12-14 minutes or until the crust is crispy and golden brown. Once you take the lid off, the bread likely won't rise anymore.

What does overproofed sourdough look like? ›

Note: As loaves begin to overproof they lose their height and shape. The crumb becomes more dense. The holes become more ragged and irregular in shape. The crust begins to thin and separate from the crumb.

What are 3 random facts about pancakes? ›

Here are Ten Fun Facts about Pancakes:

It was invented in 1889 in St. Joseph, Missouri. ​It is common in France to touch the handle of the frying pan and to make a wish while the pancake is turned, holding a coin in one hand. ​The first pancake recipe appeared in an English cookbook in the fifteenth century.

What makes pancakes rise the most? ›

Pancakes and waffles typically both contain baking soda, which causes them to rise. As soon as the baking soda is combined with the wet ingredients (which contain an acidic ingredient, like often buttermilk), it starts producing carbon dioxide gas bubbles that cause the batter to rise.

Which is better for pancakes, baking soda or baking powder? ›

Adding baking powder is the easiest way to make fluffy pancakes. There's more than one way to make the bubbles that make a pancake fluffy, but the easiest way is by adding a raising agent such as baking powder.

References

Top Articles
Latest Posts
Article information

Author: Van Hayes

Last Updated:

Views: 6273

Rating: 4.6 / 5 (66 voted)

Reviews: 89% of readers found this page helpful

Author information

Name: Van Hayes

Birthday: 1994-06-07

Address: 2004 Kling Rapid, New Destiny, MT 64658-2367

Phone: +512425013758

Job: National Farming Director

Hobby: Reading, Polo, Genealogy, amateur radio, Scouting, Stand-up comedy, Cryptography

Introduction: My name is Van Hayes, I am a thankful, friendly, smiling, calm, powerful, fine, enthusiastic person who loves writing and wants to share my knowledge and understanding with you.