These sourdough discard pancakes can be thrown together in less than 10 minutes on a Saturday morning. All you need is a few staple pantry ingredients and about a cup of sourdough starter or discard. The result is a classic American pancake flavor with the added health benefits of fermented flour from the starter. Enjoy!
Ingredient Amounts
Wet Ingredients
- Butter – 28 grams (2 Tbsp)
- Sugar – 12 grams (1 Tbsp)
- Egg – 50 grams (1 Egg)
- Vanilla Extract – 4 grams (1 tsp)
- Whole Milk – 235 grams (1 cup)
- Sourdough Starter, discard – 100 grams (3/4 cup + 1 Tbsp)
Dry Ingredients
- All-Purpose Flour – 145 grams (3/4 cup + 2 Tbsp)
- Baking Powder – 14 grams (1 Tbsp)
- Salt – 3 grams (1/2 tsp)
How to Make Last Minute Sourdough Discard Pancakes
Step-by-Step Instructions
Prepare the Wet Ingredients
- Add the melted butter to a mixing bowl. You can even melt the butter in the mixing bowl by heating it in the microwave for about 20 seconds.
- To the mixing, add the sugar and whisk the sugar and butter together until combined.
- Crack the egg into the mixing bowl along with the vanilla extract. Whisk to combine.
- Next, add the milk and the sourdough starter discard. Whisk until the wet ingredients are smooth and well incorporated.
Add the Dry Ingredients
- To the mixing bowl, add half of the flour, all of the salt, and all of the baking powder. Whisk these into the wet ingredients until just combined.
- Next, add the rest of the flour little by little, whisking to combine. If the mixture seems too thin at this point, whisk in a few more tablespoons of flour until the batter is thicker but still loose and pourable. See the video below for the correct consistency.
- When the batter just comes together, let it rest for 5-10 minutes while you heat up the pan.
Cooking the Pancakes
- Preheat a non-stick pan on medium-low heat for about 5 minutes. (For your reference, the electric coil stovetop I used was set to 4/10 heat.)
- When the pan is hot, grease the pan with a pat of butter.
- When the butter sizzles, pour the pancake batter onto the pan in dollops using a 1/4 cup measuring scoop. This will produce medium-sized pancakes that fit well in most pans and skillets.
- Cook pancakes for about 2 minutes on the first side. At first bubbles will pop up on top of the pancakes. Around the 2-minute mark the bubbles that come to the surface will start to set. This is how you know the pancakes are ready to flip.
- Flip the pancakes over and cook for another 1-2 minutes on the other side.
- Serve the pancakes immediately topped with butter and real maple syrup.
Expert Tips: Last Minute Sourdough Discard Pancakes
- Make sure to preheat the pan well for at least 5-10 minutes before cooking your first pancake. This will help avoid the first pancake turning out pale and sad-looking, which very often happens.
Substitutions & Additions
- Adding Blueberries, Nuts, or Chocolate Chips: To add blueberries, nuts, or chocolate chips, pour the pancake batter onto the hot pan first and then sprinkle a handful of your desired additions directly onto the pancakes as they start to set. This will ensure that each pancake has a good amount of additions and that they don’t all end up at the bottom of the mixing bowl.
- Using a Different Milk: You can easily substitute a non-dairy milk of your choice for the whole milk used in this recipe. You could also use skim milk, 2% milk, or even buttermilk for a tangier flavor.
- Using Oil instead of Butter: To substitute oil for the butter used in this recipe, simply use an equal amount of neutral oil, like vegetable or canola oil.
Keep in mind that making multiple substitutions to the recipe can result in a drastically different flavor. While you’ll still get great sourdough discard pancakes, using skim-milk instead of whole milk and oil instead of butter (for example) will give a less rich final product.
Yield: 9 medium pancakes
Last Minute Sourdough Discard Pancakes
These sourdough discard pancakes can be thrown together in less than 10 minutes on a weekend morning. All you need is a few staple pantry ingredients and about a cup of sourdough starter or discard. The result is a classic American pancake flavor with the added health benefits of fermented flour from the starter.
Ingredients
Wet Ingredients
- Butter - 28 grams (2 Tbsp)
- Sugar - 12 grams (1 Tbsp)
- Egg - 50 grams (1 Egg)
- Vanilla Extract - 4 grams (1 tsp)
- Whole Milk - 235 grams (1 cup)
- Sourdough Starter, discard - 100 grams (3/4 cup + 1 Tbsp)
Dry Ingredients
- All-Purpose Flour - 145 grams (3/4 cup + 2 Tbsp)
- Baking Powder - 14 grams (1 Tbsp)
- Salt - 3 grams (1/2 tsp)
Instructions
Prepare the Wet Ingredients
- Add the melted butter to a mixing bowl. You can even melt the butter in the mixing bowl by heating it in the microwave for about 20 seconds.
- To the mixing, add the sugar and whisk the sugar and butter together until combined.
- Crack the egg into the mixing bowl along with the vanilla extract. Whisk to combine.
- Next, add the milk and the sourdough starter discard. Whisk until the wet ingredients are smooth and well incorporated.
Add the Dry Ingredients
- To the mixing bowl, add half of the flour, the salt, and the baking powder. Whisk these into the wet ingredients until just combined.
- Next, add the rest of the flour and whisk to combine. If the mixture seems too thin at this point, whisk in a few more tablespoons of flour until the batter is thicker but still loose and pourable. See my video for the correct consistency.
- When the batter just comes together, let it rest for 5-10 minutes while you heat up the pan.
Cooking the Pancakes
- Preheat a non-stick pan on medium-low heat for about 5 minutes. (For your reference, the electric coil stovetop I used was set to 4/10 heat.)
- When the pan is hot, grease the pan with a pat of butter.
- When the butter sizzles, pour the pancake batter onto the pan in dollops using a 1/4 cup measuring scoop. This will produce medium-sized pancakes that fit well in most pans and skillets.
- Cook pancakes for about 2 minutes on the first side. At first bubbles will pop up on top of the pancakes. Around the 2-minute mark the bubbles that come to the surface will start to set. This is how you know the pancakes are ready to flip.
- Flip the pancakes over and cook for another 1-2 minutes on the other side.
- Serve the pancakes immediately topped with butter and real maple syrup.
Notes
- Make sure to preheat the pan well for at least 5-10 minutes before cooking your first pancake. This will help avoid the first pancake turning out pale and sad-looking, which very often happens.
- Adding Blueberries, Nuts, or Chocolate Chips: To add blueberries, nuts, or chocolate chips, pour the pancake batter onto the hot pan first and then sprinkle a handful of your desired additions directly onto the pancakes as they start to set. This will ensure that each pancake has a good amount of additions and that they don’t all end up at the bottom of the mixing bowl.
- Using a Different Milk: You can easily substitute a non-dairy milk of your choice for the whole milk used in this recipe. You could also use skim milk, 2% milk, or even buttermilk for a tangier flavor.
- Using Oil instead of Butter: To substitute oil for the butter used in this recipe, simply use an equal amount of neutral oil, like vegetable or canola oil.