Baking Breakfast Leftovers

Sourdough Pancakes

Chris Young's sourdough pancakes are an innovative way to use up that surplus sourdough starter! You'll make the pancake batter the night before, and then you can use it straight away in the morning.

5 minutes plus overnight fermenting prep, 15 minutes cook

Serves 8 pancakes

Ingredients

100g white wheat sourdough starter (100% hydration ie 1:1 flour and water)

30-50g plain flour

3½ tbsp milk

1 egg

1 tsp caster sugar

½–¾ tsp c=bicarbonate of soda (optional)

Butter or oil for frying

To serve:

Butter

Maple syrup

Toppings of your choice

Method

Whisk the sourdough starter with most of the flour. Cover and leave at room temperature overnight.

The next day, whisk in the remaining flour and other pancake ingredients to make a stiff batter – about the consistency of thick custard. You can leave out the baking powder, but it will result in denser pancakes.

Melt a small amount of butter in a frying pan, over a medium-high heat. Pour in spoonfuls of batter to form circles about 10–15 cm in diameter. Cook for a few minutes until set on top and lightly browned underneath.

Use a spatula or fish slice to turn the pancakes over and cook for a few minutes more until lightly browned on the other side. Remove from the pan and keep warm while you make more pancakes with the remaining batter.

Baker’s Tip: You can also make French crêpe-style pancakes from leftover starter. Simply whisk together 400g/14oz sourdough starter of any type, 1 egg and ¾ tsp fine/table salt. Melt a small amount of butter in a frying pan over a medium-high heat. Pour in just enough batter to coat the bottom of the pan thinly and swirl it around. Cook for a few minutes until set and lightly browned underneath. Using a spatula or fish slice, flip the pancake over and cook for a few minutes more on the other side. Serve at once with your favourite topping, or reserve under a clean cloth while you make more pancakes from the rest of the batter in the same way.