Sourdough Pancakes

This morning I made one of  my favorite breakfasts, sourdough pancakes and fresh poached eggs.  I could eat these pancakes every other morning, I love them hot off the grill, they're delicious!

The night before you plan to make sourdough pancakes you will want to set out a sponge.  Here is how to use your starter (if you're new here, we made the sourdough starter a few posts back, so you could follow that first, and then be ready).  Place a cup of the starter into a glass or ceramic bowl; add 2 cups of warm water and 2  1/2 cups of flour (I used whole wheat, or sometimes mix half whole wheat and half unbleached white flour).  Mix thoroughly.  The mixture will be thick and lumpy but the fermentation will thin it down and it will be lively and bubbling in the morning.  Cover bowl, I just set a plate over the top, and let the dough sit in a warm spot overnight.  Mine sits on the mantle by the woodstove pipe. 

This is what it looks like at night after mixing the starter with flour and water.

       In the morning it will be bubbly, and look like this.

  

Care and use of sourdough starter:  In the morning take 1 cup of the basic batter and store in an earthenware crock with a tight fitting lid, or if you don't have one just use a pint jar.  If your always remove a cupful in the morning and keep your starter going, you will continue to have a starter that will develop a rich sourdough flavor over time.

Sourdough Pancakes

remaining dough (after starter has been removed)

1 egg

2 tablespoons oil

1/2 cup milk (I used buttermilk) but any kind will do

1 teaspoon salt

1 teaspoon baking soda

2 tablespoons sweetener if desired (honey, maple syrup, sugar, brown sugar) 

often times I don't add any sweetener except maple syrup when eating.  But if making them for snacking on throughout the day with nuts and fruit, sometimes I will add the sweetener.

Place the dough in a bowl and add egg, oil, and milk.  Mix well.  Combine salt, soda and sweetener, sprinkle over the dough and mix.  This will leaven and cause a foaming action.  Let mixture rest for about 5 minutes. 

Heat skillet on medium high heat, grease with butter and pour pancake mix onto hot grill.  Sourdough pancakes take longer to cook and need a higher heat than regular pancakes, and they resist burning well.  I usually cook them two or three times as long as regular pancakes.  Having all the tiny bubbles helps to cook the pancakes more thoroughly.  You will see what I'm talking about when your do it.  This is the time to add nuts and chopped fruit, or save it to put on top at the end.  I also heat the maple syrup to pour on.

There are many variations you can make with different flours, milk, fruits and nuts.  This recipe is just a guide, you can't mess up these pancakes, they're hardy.