Sourdough Pancakes
We have a tendency to eat a fair amount of bread in our home. It is used for many things (toast, garlic bread, sandwiches, croutons, the list could go on), so we tend to go through it relatively fast. We buy the occasional loaf from the store, but typically we bake a loaf on the weekends to use throughout the week. Lately, it seems like we have been going through more loaves, and yeast has been difficult to find when we do head to the store. Given these factors we decided to begin experimenting with making our own sourdough bread. Thus far it has been a very good learning experience. While it is not a complex process to develop a starter, it would seem that there are many variables that can affect the outcome. We had our starter going for about a week, and it was looking. There were bubbles, and a pleasant sour smell reminiscent of yogurt. All signs pointed to a successful loaf of bread. When the first loaf was formed and placed in the oven, hopes were high. The timer sounded and we opened the oven, only to see a less than perfect loaf of bread. There had been almost no rise, so the loaf was pretty flat. After some reading, I determined our starter didn’t have enough food, and was therefore underdeveloped. So the process began again, as I added more flour and water than we had previously done. So far the new starter is looking much better, with far more activity, and a great deal of bubbling and rising. With larger amounts of flour going into the starter, this left us with more starter to discard each day. Not wanting to waste perfectly good starter, we had to find a way to use the discard. Pancakes seemed like a great first choice. So I added the discarded starter to the pancake batter, and the results were amazing. The subtle tanginess combined with the sweet syrup and rich butter make for a fantastic breakfast experience. Needless to say, I think regular pancakes are a thing of the past here.
The Ingredients
About 1 Cup Sourdough Starter
1 Cup All-Purpose Flour
1/4 Teaspoons Kosher Salt
1/2 Teaspoon Baking powder
2 Teaspoons Sugar
2 Tablespoons Butter, Melted
1 Egg, Lightly Beaten
1 Cup Whole Milk
1 Teaspoon Vanilla (Optional)
Butter (For Cooking)
Preparing The Meal
Begin by heating a skillet over medium-low heat. While the pan is heating combine the butter, egg, milk, vanilla and starter in a small bowl. In a separate bowl combine the flour, salt, baking powder, and sugar. Add the wet ingredients to the dry, and stir only until everything is combined.
When the batter and pan are ready, add a small amount of butter to the pan. When the butter has melted and stopped bubbling, ladle 1/4 cup to 1/3 cup of the batter into the pan. When the edges start to look dry and bubbles begin to pop on the surface of the pancake, you can flip it. Cook for another minute, and remove from pan. Repeat this process with the remaining batter. This is a small batch of pancakes, but you can keep the cooked pancakes in a warm oven until finished cooking if you would like to.
To serve, stack the pancakes on a plate and top with butter, maple syrup. I also like to add whatever fresh berries we have around. Enjoy immediately.