Sourdough Pancakes

Mix up your normal weekend morning pancake routine with these sourdough pancakes. They're pleasantly chewy with a fluffy texture and sweet and tangy flavour. If you already have sourdough starter in your refrigerator, this recipe comes together easily. You do need to plan ahead, though, since the pancake batter has to sit on the countertop overnight. In the morning, simply mix in the other ingredients and begin cooking for a quick breakfast. Serve these sourdough pancakes with some fresh berries and pure maple syrup, or top them with powdered sugar, butter, or fruit syrup.

½ cup sourdough starter
1 cup whole milk
1¼ cups all-purpose flour, unbleached
2 eggs, beaten
2 Tbsp. granulated sugar
1 tsp. baking powder
½ tsp. kosher salt
2 Tbsp. butter, melted and cooled
½ tsp. pure vanilla extract
neutral oil, such as; vegetable, canola, or butter for greasing the pan or griddle

Garnish:
berries, maple syrup, powdered sugar, and/or melted butter

Combine the sourdough starter with the milk and flour in a large bowl that is big enough to allow the mixture to rise.

Cover the bowl with plastic wrap and leave it on the counter overnight; the batter needs to rise and continue to develop its sourdough flavor. This will be your overnight sponge and the base for the pancakes.

In the morning, add the beaten eggs, sugar, baking powder, and salt to the sourdough starter mixture. Whisk until combined and smooth.

Whisk in the cooled melted butter and the vanilla extract. The batter will be very thick and almost like a slack bread dough after you are done mixing.

Heat up a cast-iron skillet or griddle over medium-high heat and add a little bit of neutral oil or butter. Turn the heat down to medium-low and add the batter to the skillet; you can make the pancakes as large or as small as you want. Cook for a few minutes until bubbles start forming on top and the pancakes are browned on the underside.

Flip the pancakes over and cook for another minute on the other side. It doesn't take as long on the second side, so watch carefully. Repeat with the remaining batter.

Serve the pancakes with fresh berries, maple syrup, powdered sugar, and/or melted butter.

Cook's Notes:

• Make sure the melted butter is completely cooled (but still liquid) before adding it to the batter. If warm butter combines with cold ingredients, it will solidify into clumps.
• If you use a griddle, you can cook several pancakes at a time. Nonstick surfaces are best for cooking pancakes.
• It's important to keep the heat low while cooking these pancakes. Because the batter is thicker, these pancakes take more time to cook through than typical recipes. If the heat is too high, the pancakes can burn on the outside while remaining uncooked on the inside.