Sourdough Pancakes

I was a little late on the sourdough bread bandwagon during this pandemic but better late than never, right?  I still haven't made sourdough bread but we have made sourdough pancakes a lot.  A friend gave me some sourdough starter right before Nick and Sachiyo returned from Japan and now I haven't had any time to make sourdough bread because we've been so busy with the grandkids.  I did make two loaves of Japanese milk bread before they came and they really appreciated that.  They said it tasted just like the bread they're use to in Japan and one loaf lasted them a week.   Sachiyo has a bread maker and she makes similar bread but it only lasts a few days because it's a very small loaf...unlike my gigantic loaves. (My recipe is Americanized!)

We made sourdough waffles with this pancake recipe for the first time when the grandkids came for a sleepover and we had them for breakfast.  They were as delicious as the sourdough pancakes.  They are really puffy, light, and crispy.  We love them.  My starter is not real sour so they don't have a real sourdough taste but it's mild enough that I think I like them even better.

The kids like them plain but we like them with fruit, applesauce or syrup.  If the grandkids like them, they pass the taste test for sure.

When Nick and family arrived from Japan, we took sourdough pancake batter over twice during their 14-day quarantine.  They got lots of quality food during their quarantine plus Nick was craving all his American favorites so we happily obliged providing for them.  Now, that they are out of quarantine, they've come over to Grandma and Grandpa's for more American favorites and the grandkids are adapting very well to the American lifestyle.  Nick requested T-bone steaks a couple of weekends ago  and the kids LOVED them!

 It's amazing seeing such little creatures putting away such quantities of meat.

Being the Grandma that I am, you know I love to feed my people.  Gotta love T-bone steak and baked potatoes for dinner.

We also made blackberry pie for dessert from the blackberries we picked in the backyard.

That was yet again, a memorable family dinner.

We had the hottest day of the year one Sunday so Bruce and I got a little wading pool for the kids.

They came over that day for a family favorite of teriyaki flank steak with some grilled bell peppers

 and a new favorite asian cabbage salad.

Since it was so hot that day, the kids enjoyed snow cones with the machine we got our grandson for his birthday and it was a huge hit.  They enjoyed playing with the ice and making them as much as eating them.

The pool has since moved over to  Nick and Sachiyo's place and still getting lots of use.  We're just loving these summer days.

Anyway, back to the sourdough pancakes.  As I said at the beginning, I got the starter from a friend.  I could have put it into the fridge for a week but instead I started feeding it right away because I was eager to see it "grow".  Now, I keep it in the fridge and feed it once a week.    When I take it out of the fridge, it looks like this.

You can use it immediately to make pancake batter and feed the remaining starter.  To feed it, you add equal parts starter, flour and filtered water and let it sit out in a warm environment for 24 hours.  Now that's it's summer, it's warm enough on the kitchen counter.  The warmer the better.  Some people put it on top of the refrigerator, since heat rises and it's warmer there.  The ideal temperature is 75-82 degree F, as that is the temperature that yeast works well at.  I use bottled water because you want filtered water with no chlorine or anything.  You can use any flour but I've experimented a little and found different flours cause more active growth.  I'm currently feeding it with bread flour and occasionally use rye flour which the starter loves.  It really grows a lot with rye flour.

1.  Start with 4 oz. of starter and put it into a clean jar.  I would use at least a quart size jar since it grows a lot.  I use these  wide mouth 34 oz. jars but I removed the lids just for convenience and then set the lids back on while the starter grows on the counter.   These are also popular for sourdough starter because of their wide mouth top.  You don't need an air tight lid, just something to cover the top.  You also need a kitchen scale to measure the amounts.  I like this scale because you can zero it out.  I put the jar on the scale and zero it out, then add the starter to 4 oz.

The remaining starter in the jar is leftover to use in pancake batter or just throw it out.  It seems like a waste to throw it out which is why we've been eating a lot of sourdough pancakes lately.  There may or may not be exactly 1 cup of starter leftover after measuring out 4 oz. to feed the new starter but in my recipe I stated to use 1 cup.  If you have less than that, just use what you have leftover and it will work. 

2.  Zero out the scale again and add 4 oz. of bread flour.

3.  Then add the water.  I zero out the scale after setting a small dish on the scale to pour the water in.

Measure out 4 oz. of filtered water.  I warm it up in the microwave so it's slightly warm, not hot, before I add it to the mixture.  

4.  Then mix it all together very thoroughly so there are no lumps and the batter is very smooth.  I draw a line at the level of the starter after it's mixed so you can see how much it grows.

Soon, it will look like this:

Sometimes I'll feed the starter and wait until it has grown and then make the pancake batter.  If you use it or not, just be sure to leave it out for 24 hours on the kitchen counter.  It will grow, then return to the original volume back down to the line.  After 24 hours, put it back into the fridge until you decide to feed it again. 

After you measure out 4 oz. of starter, there is generally around 1 cup of starter left in the jar but it doesn't have to be exact if you are using it for pancakes.  You can also make the pancake batter the night before and the next morning, the pancake batter has grown. 

There is no right or wrong way to do it, I've done it all ways and the recipe always comes out great, the most light and fluffy pancakes you've ever tasted.   You can see the above pancake batter, I used a rye flour starter which is more thick and dense.  The pancakes still taste the same, however, using regular all-purpose flour and you don't really taste the rye starter.

My starter is a combination of bread flour and rye flour because I love to see how it flourishes with the rye flour.  But it doesn't effect the taste at all.  These will soon be everyone's most favorite pancakes. 

Makes approx. 15 6-inch pancakes

2 cups all-purpose flour
2 tsp. baking powder
1 tsp. baking soda
2 Tbsp. granulated sugar
1 tsp. salt
1 cup sourdough starter or whatever is left after removing 4 oz. to feed the starter, it doesn't have to be exact
2 cups milk or more, if too thick, depending on the starter
1 large egg, beaten
1/4 cup oil

1.  In a large bowl, whisk together the flour, baking powder and soda, sugar, and salt,

2.  Add the sourdough starter, milk, egg and oil.  Mix well until combined.

3.  Spray a pancake griddle with cooking spray or grease well with butter.  Heat to about 300-350 degrees F.

4.  Pour 1/3 cup pancake batter on the hot griddle.  Cook until the pancakes start to bubble on top, then flip the pancakes.

5.  Cook for an additional 1-2 minutes or until the pancakes are cooked through.

If you want to serve all the pancakes at once, preheat the oven to 250 degrees F and place the pancakes onto a sheet pan when finished cooking.  Keep warm in the oven while you cook the rest.  Spray the griddle each time before cooking each batch of pancakes.