Famously the Best Sourdough Pancakes

Sourdough pancakes are easily the best way to use up some discard and can be whipped up into a delicious, filling, and nourishing breakfast in no time. These are super fluffy, slightly sweet, and subtly tangy making them the perfect breakfast staple.

My 2 year old daughter isn’t allowed to watch much on TV, but one thing we do let her indulge in is the show Little Bear. She’s seen every episode, and at this point so have I. Since it’s such a beloved classic, I decided to start paying attention to the food mentioned in the show to recreate for my little girl. And I thought it would be fun to start making my own recipes to post here.

There are a few dishes that make regular appearances. Probably the most well-known being Mother Bear’s chocolate cake. If your little one is a fan of the show, you’re most likely familiar with the cake, and you may have seen at least one scene where everyone is raving about Father Bear’s famous flying flapjacks. This sourdough pancake recipe is an ode to his highly requested breakfast. They’re sweetened with honey because that’s obviously what a bear would use, and they’re packed full of funky flavor from sourdough discard because I just know Mother Bear has a thriving starter in her kitchen.

Why you’ll love these sourdough pancakes

First of all, what’s not to love about a delicious pancake with bacon, eggs, and a glass of freshly squeezed orange juice on a sunny Saturday morning? At this point, most have had this breakfast staple multiple times in their life. There are thousands of recipes out there for flapjacks, but these are special for a few reasons.

• Discard – Pancakes are my favorite way to use up my sourdough starter discard. This recipe uses up quite a bit, so I love to make these for Saturday morning brunch as a way to refresh my starter for the coming week.
• Quick – I have transitioned to using a food scale for all of my baking projects in the kitchen. Not only is it easier to not have to use separate measuring utensils, but it’s so much quicker to just throw everything into a bowl, mix it up, and pour the batter onto a hot, buttered skillet. Additionally, if I want to have these ready to go first thing in the morning, I can mix the batter the night before and let it sit covered in the fridge overnight. This also allows extra fermentation to take place giving these pancakes even more flavor.
• Flavorful – Speaking of flavor, the depth the sourdough element brings to these pancakes is unmatched. I love a little tang to balance out the slight sweetness that comes from the honey in the batter.

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Variations and substitutions

My mom is dairy free and gluten free, and I can still make these pancakes for her with only a few substitutions. Here’s how I do it.

Dairy free: I like to swap out the melted butter for melted coconut oil. This is a great substitution in general because the taste of coconut really compliments the honey and the sourdough. For the whole milk, I will swap out any plant based milk I have on hand. My favorite is coconut milk to go with the coconut oil, but choose whatever is your favorite!

Gluten free: This recipe uses plain all purpose flour which means it’s as simple as switching regular flour out for a 1 to 1 gluten free flour like this one from Arrowhead Mills. If you wanted to substitute with another type of flour like coconut or almond, you could. However, those flours have a different moisture absorption rate which would affect the texture of the finished pancake. If you wanted to use something other than 1-1 all purpose, you would need to adjust the amount of milk to create the correct consistency in the batter.

Egg free: If you’re looking for a completely vegan pancake, a quick and easy substitute for an egg would be some applesauce. Using about a third of a cup or about 50 grams of applesauce will be just right. There are many other egg substitutes out there if you don’t have applesauce or don’t want to use it. Here’s a look at a few tested back to back.

Making sourdough pancakes

This recipe is as simple as throwing all the ingredients in a bowl, stirring it up, and frying on a hot griddle. There are just a few important things to remember to get perfect pancakes every time.

Mise en place

I love making things as easy in the kitchen as I possibly can. One way to do that in this recipe as well as most others is setting out all your ingredients ahead of time. Preparing and measuring everything takes a few more minutes in the beginning, but when it’s all finished, all you have to do is throw it all together and mix.

Getting the right consistency

Pancake batter isn’t too thick nor is it too runny. When it’s good, it’s somewhere perfectly in the middle. When I’m mixing my ingredients, I like to look for gloopiness (which is the scientific word for it, I’m pretty sure). It should have a few lumps in the batter but be easily pourable. Feel free to add more flour or milk to adjust to get the right consistency.

Frying sourdough pancakes

The first thing you need is a ripping hot pan or griddle. The second important component is a well-greased surface. I prefer to use butter, but I have substituted that for coconut oil before. Use your fat of choice, but make sure to use it liberally.

After pouring the pancakes on the hot pan, let them sit untouched until bubbles begin to form on the top and the sides begin to dome. They’ll look something like this:

At this point, I like to use my spatula to start peeking underneath. When I see the browning that I like, I’ll flip them over. I let them sit for another minute or two or until I see browning on the other side. Then they go directly onto a plate to be enjoyed!

Comment below your thoughts on this recipe and if you did any special variations or substitutions!