When I’ve let my sourdough starter sit untouched for a few weeks, I make pancakes. I never “discard” starter in the sense of throwing it away. Instead, if my starter becomes dormant from lack of use, I pull out a recipe that doesn’t need a lot of oomph, like pancakes. I then feed my remaining starter, let it expand and bubble, and bake something more lofty, like rustic bread.
I also recommend sourdough pancakes as your first recipe if you’re rehydrating a new-to-you starter. I’m giving away my sourdough starter through the end of January; you can find the giveaway form at TwiceAsTasty.com. What you’ll receive is a dehydrated packet of my personal sourdough starter, along with instructions for turning it into a lively, bubbling jar.
If you follow those instructions, by the time your starter is fully active, you’ll have plenty to make a batch of pancakes and keep starter on hand for your next project. You might just cook up pancakes, feeding the remaining starter and sticking it in the fridge for another day. Or you might feed the remaining starter, let it sit overnight too, and then bake one of the many sourdough recipes at TwiceAsTasty.com – or the ones I’ll be sharing here this month.
For pancakes, I give measurements in grams and cups. I write my sourdough recipes in grams because the ratios are easy to scale up or down and the measurements more accurate. As a bonus, setting a bowl on a scale and pouring in ingredients means fewer sticky tools to clean up.
As you continue on your sourdough adventures, I highly recommend using a digital kitchen scale to measure the prime ingredients. But pancakes are quite adaptable, as you can see from the starter range, so you can successfully make them by measuring in cups if you don’t yet have a scale.
Overnight Sourdough Pancakes
Makes about 12 pancakes
150–300 grams (1/2–1 cup) sourdough starter (100% hydration), unfed
240 grams (about 1 cup) milk
120 grams (about 1 cup) all-purpose flour
1 tablespoon sugar
1 large egg
3 tablespoons butter, melted, plus more for cooking
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
Stir down your jar of sourdough starter; remove 150–300 grams, placing it in a large mixing bowl. Stir in the milk, flour, and sugar. Cover and let rest overnight at room temperature to ferment, rising slightly and forming bubbles. Feed the remaining starter in your jar.
In the morning, beat together the egg and melted butter in a small bowl; add it to the sourdough mixture. Stir in the cinnamon, salt, and baking soda.
Heat a frying pan, coating it generously with butter. Scoop the batter into the pan, 1/4 cup at a time, and form pancakes. Cook the pancakes until done, flipping halfway through. Serve immediately, or keep warm in a single layer in a 200°F oven as they are cooked.
Julie Laing is a Bigfork-based cookbook author and food blogger at TwiceAsTasty.com.