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Easy Overnight Sourdough Pancakes

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These sourdough pancakes are a real treat. They are thick and fluffy and Combine the slight tang of sourdough and the sweetness of maple syrup, these pancakes are a delicious breakfast to start your weekend!
three plates with stacks of sourdough pancakes

It is, of course, only natural that you use your sourdough discard to make sourdough pancakes.

These sourdough pancakes are a real treat. They are thick and fluffy and Combine the slight tang of sourdough and the sweetness of maple syrup, these pancakes are a delicious breakfast to start your weekend!
stack of sourdough pancakes

These aren’t the type of pancakes that you make when you just roll out of bed, though. Well, you can, you just have to do a little prep work the night before. All you have to do is mix up the levain and leave it to overnight. That’s easy enough, right?

Once morning rolls around (and you’ve had a cup of coffee, of course) you and your little helper (if you happen to have one) just mix up a few more ingredients, let your skillets warm up, clean up the batter that flew across the room when your little helper really wanted to help stir (Ladybug’s new favorite thing) and you can pancake-it away!

stack of sourdough pancakes

And you will be justly rewarded for your planning in advance, because these overnight sourdough pancakes are a real treat. Combining the slight tang of sourdough and the sweetness of maple syrup, these pancakes are delicious! (Especially if you happen to throw in a few blueberries in the mix, too!)

Sourdough pancakes are an easy way to use your leftover sourdough discard! They are especially great if your sourdough discard is newly made and you want to test your starter’s activity level and check on its flavor.

Other ways to use your sourdough starter for breakfast:

fork with bite of overnight sourdough pancakes

How to make sourdough pancakes with leftover sourdough starter discard

These overnight sourdough pancakes are simple to make, as long as you think about about making them! For the complete recipe, please scroll down to the recipe card below, but here is a simple overview of how to make these:

The night before:

  1. The night before, mix together your sourdough discard (you can use active, fed sourdough discard or unfed, inactive sourdough discard), warm water, and the flour in a large mixing bowl. Cover with plastic wrap and allow to sit on the counter overnight. (This is making a levain, which is a bigger sourdough starter with a more specific hydration rate.)
collage showing images for how to make sourdough pancake levain batter

In the morning:

  1. In the morning, use a medium sized mixing bowl to whisk together the egg, milk, baking soda, salt, sugar, and vegetable oil until combined.
  2. Whisk this into the levain from the night before. Keep whisking until you get a nice smooth batter.
  3. Allow your batter to sit for five minutes undisturbed while you heat up your skillets or griddle.
  4. Grease the hot skillets with cooking spray or a little bit of butter.
  5. Drop about 1/3 cup of batter at a time onto the skillet and cook until bubbles have formed on the top and the bottom is golden brown.
  6. Flip the pancake over and cook until both sides are golden brown.
  7. Remove to a plate covered with a tea towel to keep warm, and continue cooking the remainder of the pancake batter.
  8. Serve with butter and maple syrup, or whatever toppings you like.
collage of images showing how to make sourdough pancakes

What kind of sourdough starter do I need for this recipe?

These pancakes work best with 100% hydration sourdough starter. You can use either active, fed sourdough starter or unfed, inactive sourdough starter discard. Either work fine, since you are leaving it out overnight to become active.

How to make this recipe quicker

Short on time? You CAN make these pancakes without an overnight rest period! Simply mix all the ingredients together and allow it to sit for 30 minutes before you start to cook. The pancakes will not have as much sourdough taste or be quite as fluffy, but will still be good!

stack of sourdough pancakes with butter and syrup

Sourdough pancake variations

To change these pancakes up, you can easily add in fresh or frozen blueberries, chocolate chips, or more! Pour the batter onto the hot griddle and then immediately sprinkle a few additions of your choice over the pancake while it cooks.

This method works better than adding the additional toppings into the pancake batter so you get them more evenly distributed.

GOT LEFTOVERS? FREEZE THEM!

If you happen to have any leftovers (which has never happened in my house with three hungry girls, but maybe it does in yours!), you can freeze these for another time.

  • Cook as regular and allow to cool completely.
  • Place the cooled pancakes on a cookie sheet in a single layer and place in the freezer for 1-2 hours.
  • Remove the pancakes from the cookie sheet and place them in a freezer safe container. Don’t forget to label it so you remember what they are and when you made them! Store in the freezer for up to 6 months.
  • You can reheat them either in the oven or the microwave. In the oven, heat at 375 F for 10 minutes, flipping halfway over. In the microwave, heat on high for 1 minute 30 seconds, or until heated through.
stacks of sourdough pancakes on three plates

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maple syrup being poured on sourdough pancakes
graphic for sourdough course - reads "new to sourdough? learn the skills to impress your family and friends with your sourdough baking. Click here".
stack of sourdough pancakes

Overnight Sourdough Pancakes

These sourdough pancakes are a real treat. They are thick and fluffy and Combine the slight tang of sourdough and the sweetness of maple syrup, these pancakes are a delicious breakfast to start your weekend!
4.62 from 13 votes
Print Pin Rate
Course: Family Breakfast Recipes
Cuisine: American
Prep Time: 20 minutes
Cook Time: 20 minutes
Total Time: 40 minutes
Servings: 28 pancakes (1/3 cup batter)
Calories: 73kcal
Author: Jenni - The Gingered Whisk

Ingredients

Levain

  • 2.5 cups unbleached all purpose flour
  • 1.5 cups warm water
  • 1 cup 100% hydration sourdough starter active or discard
  • cup milk
  • 2 Tablespoons brown sugar
  • 2 Tbsp vegetable oil
  • 1 egg
  • 1 tsp baking soda
  • 1 tsp salt

Instructions

The night before:

  • Mix the flour, warm water, and starter into a large mixing bowl bowl. Loosely cover with a lid or plastic wrap and allow to sit overnight (this is your levain).

In the morning:

  • In a medium bowl, mix the egg, milk, baking soda, salt, sugar, and vegetable oil until combined.
  • Whisk this into the sourdough levain you made last night.
  • Allow to stand for five minutes undisturbed while you heat your skillets or griddle to medium heat.
  • Drop onto a hot griddle or cast iron skillet (1/3 cup works awesome) and cook until bubbles have formed one the top and the bottom is golden.
  • Flip and cook until both sides are golden.
  • This recipe makes about 28 1/3 cup pancakes.
  • Enjoy with butter and maple syrup, or the toppings of your choice!

Notes

You can make this with either active sourdough starter or discard.

Nutrition

Serving: 1pancake | Calories: 73kcal | Carbohydrates: 13g | Protein: 2g | Fat: 1g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 1g | Cholesterol: 7mg | Sodium: 135mg | Fiber: 1g | Sugar: 1g
plate of sourdough pancakes with syrup poured on top
stack of sourdough pancakes
griddles on stovetop cooking pancakes
pile of pancakes

5 Comments

  1. Congrats on all counts! You know, I get rejected on a regular basis from Tastespotting, to the point that now I don't even care anymore… I managed to get 2 breads accepted and 10 or so rejections. I know I'm not good at photography, but wish I could get some pointers in the right direction.

    Now, to sourdough pancakes – they seem amazing, I've never had them, and now you make me crave for one

  2. Sounds so good! A friend just gave me some starter and I am ROLLING in it! So glad there are more uses than JUST a loaf of bread!

    Will be trying this in the morning. 😉

    Petra

    1. Congratulations on having a starter! It is so fun! I encourage you to check out Sourdough Surprises (www.sourdoughsurprises.blogspot.com), its a fun group of us that find all kinds of amazing things to make with our starters (and not just bread and pancakes!)

  3. My husband and son loved these pancakes! The recipe makes a lot of pancakes for two, how long can they last in the fridge?

  4. These pancakes are truly the best I’ve ever had! SO YUMMY!

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