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 already have one, I can show you how to make a sourdough starter and how to feed a 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.
Recommended Products
As an Amazon Associate and member of other affiliate programs, I earn from qualifying purchases.
Bob
Friday 20th of January 2023
This must be the best pancake recipe in the universe! I’ve been making pancakes for over forty years, but this is, hands down, the tastiest! Brava! Having used Eileen’s other discard recipes, I mistakenly fed my discard in the morning so that it was really active by the time I used it. There didn’t seem to be any adverse effects.
Dave
Monday 4th of April 2022
I just made this recipe. While the pancakes turned out great, I would like to caution others regarding the level of "sour". I keep discard for weeks refrigerated. It's amazingly strong and, if fed, jumps alive ready to bake within two feedings. If kept at 75°, my normal rye starter doubles in less than four hours. I dry then powder and store a lot of my discard. It's much easier to share that way.
That being said, if you make these pancakes, first try making the amount of starter called for (224g) and letting it ripen and fall, then refrigerate for no longer than a week before using as Eileen recommends. Then follow the recipe. Remember that buttermilk has a sour kick to begin with.
The sponge will show activity (bubbles) after a 12-hour rest in the refrigerator before adding anything.
My pancakes, using my well-aged discard, have an off-putting (earthy?) flavor. AKA too much of a good thing? Next time, I make these, I'll use a normally aged starter as I've detailed above. Or make a whole wheat starter. There are lots of options with sourdough.
Otherwise, this gets a 5-star rating! *****
Amy Voorhees
Monday 6th of September 2021
I have a milk allergy. Do you think these would work with almond milk substituted? Maybe I might need to add more leavener since they buttermilk won’t be there to react?
Eileen Gray
Monday 6th of September 2021
Almond milk should work. The batter should still be acidic thanks to the sourdough discard. So I don't think you need more leavener.
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.