Sourdough Starter Pancakes

My daughter recently visited from Colorado and brought some of her sourdough starter that she has been feeding for years. I was amazed at the care she put into the sourdough bread she made for us. It was amazing! Since I didn’t have a pan for making the bread, Jenn used a pizza stone and the lid to my roasting pan with foil on one end to cover the exposed loaf. Sometimes you just need to improvise to make great bread. The sourdough bread made with starter is much easier to digest because the mix of flour and starter ferments the dough. I told my daughter she could leave the sourdough starter, and I was sure I would make sourdough pancakes. I was not sure if I would be diligent enough to make bread. It is easier to think about swimming on a sizzling July day on the west coast than it is to think about baking bread.

A week after Jenn left, I took out half of the sourdough starter (the discard) and fed the rest. If you are not familiar with sourdough, this may sound foreign to you as it did to me as a novice. But bear with me, I will share a favorite pancake recipe below that doesn’t require sourdough. Now, on with my story. I didn’t want to throw away the discard, so I looked up a recipe for pancakes and made Sourdough Discard Pancakes. 

The pancakes were delicious. As the recipe says, you don’t need a full cup of sourdough for amazing pancakes. Since I had only ¼ cup of sourdough discard, I decided to add a very ripe banana that needed to be eaten. I used 1:1 gluten free flour, added a little more vanilla, a dash of milk, and a couple of sprinkles of cinnamon.

These pancakes work very well when mixed the night before. So, the next day, I added some leftover pumpkin and more cinnamon. The result was amazing Gluten Free Banana Pumpkin Sourdough Pancakes. I like to experiment with recipes and add tasty nutritious ingredients. I need time for my writing and coaching business, so I often simplify recipes. Here is the recipe simplified with additions.

Gluten Free Banana Pumpkin Sourdough Pancakes

• 2 C flour or 1:1 gluten free flour (I like King Arthur)
• Up to 1 cup sourdough discard 
• 1 tsp baking soda
• 2 tsp baking powder
• 3 TBS sugar
• 1 ¾ – 2 C milk (or milk substitute)
• 2 large eggs
• 2 TBS light oil
• 1 tsp salt
• 1 tsp cinnamon (pumpkin pie spice if desired)
• Optional additions: banana, pumpkin, blended or grated carrots

Instructions

Mix all ingredients in a large bowl (may be a little lumpy)

Cooking options: 

For crispier edges, cook pancakes in a buttered preheated cast iron pan.

For a softer pancake using less fat, I cooked pancakes in a dry green pan slightly preheated.

Gluten Free Blender Pancakes are a favorite quick gluten free pancake recipe. This is an excellent oil free recipe, but I enjoyed adding 1 TBS coconut oil and a carrot. If you love pancakes like we do, let us know how you enjoy your pancakes with added toppings or ingredients.