One of the suggestions in my sourdough group on facebook was things to do with leftover sourdough starter (or discard). This is because sometimes when you have bulk fed your starter to make bread you have extra leftover. I’ve tried brownies (they were nice but a little weird), and then discovered these pancakes.

Good lord were they yummy!

In the UK in general we tend to make crepes when we make pancakes – super thin batter and thin big flat pancakes that you roll up after smothering them with lemon and sugar. However this recipe makes what I think of as “American” pancakes – thick and fluffy and amazing.

I often use a mixture of wholewheat and plain flour in my starter, so these were slightly wholemeal which gave them a really lovely flavour, and they were so light and fluffy with loads of holes and bubbles as it cooked.

Served with butter and maple syrup and fruit – SOOOOOO GOOOOD.

Also this batter does really well if it’s left in the fridge for a day or more, as it develops more flavour, so it made enough for me and my daughter to have pancakes 2 or even 3 days in a row. YUM

Here’s the recipe, it’s from this site here, but I find it annoying that so many recipe sites make you scroll and scroll past pages and pages of instructions and tips before getting to the actual recipe (presumably to make you see all the adverts on your way down). So I’ve just typed it out for myself so I can find it again more easily next time.

Note – I made this recipe using half quantities as it makes way too much for us, but if you’re a larger family you might want the whole amount! I think you can use discard that you keep in your fridge without needing to bulk-feed it or wake it up first, though admittedly I made these the day after making bread, so the starter had only just been activated and I haven’t tried it with starter that’s just been sitting there for a few days.

You’ll need:

• 4 Tbsp butter, melted
• 2 eggs
• 1 cup milk (you can replace this with almond milk or similar if you prefer) – ideally you’ll want this to be at room temperature and not straight from the fridge)
• 1 tsp vanilla extract
• 1 ½ cups sourdough starter, stirred
• 1 ½ cups flour (I used strong white bread flour, but you can add in a little wholemeal if you like – I already had a little wholemeal in my starter)
• 1 tsp baking soda
• 1 tsp baking powder
• 1 tsp salt

Steps:

1. In a large bowl, melt the butter. Let it cool slightly, and then add the eggs, milk and vanilla. Stir well. (If the milk is too cold it can cause the melted butter to solidify into lumps, so ideally you want your milk slightly warmed or not straight from the fridge).
2. Add the sourdough starter and stir well.
3. Add the remaining ingredients and stir well. Let the batter sit for about 30 minutes.
4. Meanwhile, preheat the griddle.
5. When the batter is ready, gently stir and use 1/3 cup measuring spoon to ladle pancake batter onto the hot griddle. Let the pancake cook for 2-3 minutes, until the edges are showing signs of being cooked and there are bubbles on the top.
6. Gently flip the pancake and continue to cook for 1-2 minutes.
7. Serve hot with your desired toppings. I like butter and maple syrup and berries… (also sometimes bacon!)