Ann's Sourdough Pancakes

Real-deal sourdough pancakes that take advantage of a long overnight ferment, giving you a flavor profile no quick batter can match. The starter, flour, and milk combine in a bowl the night before, where wild yeasts and bacteria do their slow work, breaking down gluten and developing that signature tang.

The morning addition of egg, sugar, oil, baking powder, and salt finishes the batter in about three minutes. The baking powder is the move that gives these pancakes lift on the griddle. Sourdough alone produces dense, crepe-like cakes, but combined with the chemical leavener you get fluffy interiors and crisp lacy edges.

This recipe is also the best sourdough discard outlet around. Two cups of starter uses up exactly what you’d normally toss during a weekly feed, turning waste into a worthwhile breakfast.

Don’t skip the overnight rest. Mix the batter just before cooking and you’ve got plain pancakes with sourdough added, missing the depth the long ferment provides.

Pro Tips

• Use a mature starter that’s been fed within 12 to 24 hours. Sluggish starter gives flat, bitter pancakes.

• Let the morning batter rest 5 minutes after stirring in the baking powder. It hydrates the flour and gives the leavening time to start working.

• Cook on medium-low heat, not high. Sourdough pancakes brown faster than regular ones because of the available sugars from fermentation.

• Flip when the bubbles on the surface stay open instead of closing back up, usually around 2 to 3 minutes.

Variations

• Add a half cup of fresh blueberries or sliced banana to the wet side of each pancake just after pouring.

• Stir a quarter cup of cocoa powder into the morning addition for a chocolate sourdough variation.

• Substitute buttermilk for the regular milk for an even deeper tang and more tender crumb.