Sourdough Pancakes are started the night before so you can have a fresh stack for breakfast mere minutes after waking up. This is another great way to use that discard!

If you don’t have one, you can learn How to Make a Sourdough Starter. Then I can show you how to Feed and Maintain Sourdough Starter or How to Keep a Small Sourdough Starter.
Even though I’m a baker by profession, I’m definitely not a morning person. If you’re like me and prefer the least amount of work first thing in the morning, you’ll love this recipe.
Make the sponge the night before, then it takes about a minute to finish mixing the batter in the morning.
Scroll through the process photos to see how to make Sourdough Pancakes overnight:


Tips for making the best Sourdough Pancakes:
- Make your sponge the night before with unfed starter (aka discard). The sponge will be active and ready to mix by the time you wake up in the morning.
- The older your discard, the more sour your pancakes will be. If you want very tangy pancakes, save your discard in the refrigerator for at least a week before mixing the batter.
- Up to half the all purpose flour can be replaced with whole wheat or rye flour to make whole grain pancakes.
- Baking powder and baking soda are added for extra leavening.
- Because the reaction begins upon mixing, for maximum lift use the batter as soon as the leavening is added.
- Serve the pancakes hot off the griddle or hold them in a 200°F oven if you prefer to serve them all at once.
- The pancakes freeze well. Extras can be lined up on a sheet pan and frozen. Stack the frozen pancakes into a freezer bag. Just pop them in the toaster or reheat on the griddle.
If you’ve got a waffle maker, I recommend my Multi-Grain Sourdough Waffles. For a little international flair, you’ll love these sweet or savory Dutch Pannekoeken.
Since you’ve got your starter fed, peruse the entire list of My Best Sourdough Recipes. Have fun!
I know you hate to throw away that sourdough discard. Check out these recipes that use sourdough discard.


If you love this recipe as much as I do, I’d really appreciate a 5-star review.

Sourdough Pancakes
Start making Sourdough Pancakes the night before and have hot fresh pancakes for breakfast.
Ingredients
Overnight Sponge
- 1 cup (8 oz, 224g) unfed sourdough starter (100% hydration)
- 2 cups (10 oz, 280g) unbleached All-Purpose Flour
- 1/4 cup (2 oz, 56g) sugar
- 2 1/4 cups (18 oz, 540 ml) buttermilk
Batter
- Sponge
- 2 large eggs, room temperature
- 1/4 cup (2 oz, 60 ml) vegetable oil
- 1 teaspoon table salt
- 1 teaspoon baking powder
- 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
- butter or oil for cooking
Instructions
The night before:
- In a large mixing bowl, combine the starter, flour, sugar, and buttermilk. Cover with plastic wrap and leave at room temperature overnight.
In the morning:
- Preheat a griddle or cast iron skillet over medium low heat. Preheat the oven at 200°F if you want to hold the pancakes before serving.
- In a small bowl, whisk the eggs with the oil. Add the egg mixture to the sponge and mix until combined. Sprinkle the salt, baking powder and baking soda over the batter.
- Mix until the baking powder, baking soda and salt are completely dispersed in the batter. Use the batter immediately.
- Turn the heat up to medium under the griddle or pan. Lightly brush the preheated pan with butter or oil. Use a large scoop or 1/3 cup measure to portion the batter into the pan, leaving 3" between pancakes. Cook on the first side until there are bubbles over the entire surface and the edges are beginning to brown. Flip the pancakes and cook until the second side is nicely browned. Adjust the heat as needed to allow the pancakes to cook evenly.
- Serve pancakes immediately or hold in a 200°F warm oven till ready to serve.
Notes
The starter should be "unfed" when you mix the sponge. This is also called sourdough discard.
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Malin
Saturday 19th of December 2020
Hi! There is no buttermilk to buy where I live. Could this be made with regular milk, and still leave it out overnight? Or I've found some recipes on how to make my own buttermilk by just mixing milk with vinegar and letting it sit for a couple of minutes. Does that work as well? Thanks!
Eileen Gray
Sunday 20th of December 2020
Yes, making your own buttermilk would work. If you can find it either on-line or at your grocery, powdered buttermilk is a good substitute and nice to have in the pantry (I am required to note that as an Amazon affiliate I earn commission on sales).
JR
Sunday 1st of November 2020
Does the buttermilk go bad overnight? I was worried about leaving it out all night.
Eileen Gray
Sunday 1st of November 2020
No, it's fine.
Malcolm
Sunday 2nd of August 2020
Hello Eileen, Nice recipe. - I tweaked it the second time by separating the eggs and beating the whites to a stiff peak stage and folding back in. produces extra fluffy soft pancakes
Cheri
Thursday 26th of November 2020
Nice! Thanks for sharing.