An easy, one-bowl recipe for fluffy, homemade sourdough pancakes using leftover sourdough starter discard. The batter can be made overnight or on the same day- it takes less than 10 minutes to do!
When writing Artisan Sourdough Made Simple, the most interesting chapter to research was sourdough discard recipes. I wanted to sourdough-ize everything from bread, to sourdough pancakes, even waffles and crêpes. Because what’s better than a stack of warm, fluffy pancakes drenched in maple syrup and fresh berries?! It’s the quintessential weekend breakfast.
And I’ll tell you something, when pancakes are made with sourdough discard they become uniquely different than regular pancakes: they’re extra fluffy, super flavorful and easier to digest (the butter-fried edges get me every time). Best sourdough pancake recipe ever? You be the judge.
How to Make Fluffy Sourdough Pancakes
Emilie’s Best Tips for Making Pancakes
Tip #1:
First and foremost, the ratio of liquid to flour needs to be on point. Too much flour, and the pancakes will be thick and doughy (like English muffins). Too much liquid and they’ll be thin and chewy like crepes. One way is neither right or wrong; it all depends on the style you want.
For fluffy sourdough pancakes, the batter should be thick, bubbly and pourable.
See that gorgeous aerated texture? You can actually “hear” it when you drag a spoon through the batter. It should drip down in slow, stretchy ribbons and not just plop into the pan.
Tip #2:
Use a combination of baking power AND baking soda. Baking powder will make the pancakes fluffy and baking soda will lighten them up. You need both. Some fluffy pancake recipes call for whipped egg whites, which definitely works, but it’s an extra step you can bypass altogether.
Tip #3:
You’ll need about 1 cup of leftover sourdough discard. Bubbly is fine too- just use what you have. When baking soda merges with the natural acids in the sourdough starter it tenderizes the texture (like buttermilk pancakes). So now you have light, fluffy and tender.
For best results, use a 100% hydration sourdough starter. Its thick, batter-like texture is perfect for fluffy sourdough pancakes. Try my Beginner Sourdough Starter Recipe or use what you have adjusting the liquid if it’s too thick.
Why Make Pancakes from Scratch?
For me, homemade has to include two things: flavor and convenience.
Here, I’ve combined the best of both worlds with an overnight pancake batter. As the batter sits, the flavor will intensify making a notable difference when compared to regular pancakes. You’ll also get the added benefit of fermentation. On the overnight, the natural acids in the starter help to break down those pesky glutenous enzymes making these pancakes easier to digest. My son who is gluten sensitive does really well with this recipe.
And for convenience? The batter is prepped ahead! No mess. No stress.
When using the overnight method, for thick and fluffy pancakes add the baking powder and baking soda in the morning (not to the overnight mixture). This will ensure the batter is nice and bubbly before cooking. For thin and fluffy pancakes, add everything all at once. You’ll get a really nice melt-in-your-mouth texture with this option. Alternatively, the batter can be made fresh on the same day. Instructions for both options are included in the recipe below.
More Recipes To Try with Sourdough Discard
As a natural next step, I suggest making my Sourdough Breakfast Crêpes (you don’t need a crêpe pan for this recipe- they’re light, lacy and tender!) these Moist Sourdough Blueberry Muffins and my craggy-topped No-Roll Sourdough Scones for breakfast and brunch. My Super Soft Sourdough English Muffins will hit the spot too.
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Best Sourdough Pancakes (Overnight or Same Day)
- Prep Time: 10
- Cook Time: 30 minutes
- Total Time: 40 minutes
- Yield: (10) 6-inch pancakes
- Category: Breakfast
- Method: Skillet
- Cuisine: American
- Diet: Vegetarian
Description
An easy, one-bowl recipe for fluffy, homemade sourdough pancakes using leftover sourdough discard. The batter can be made overnight or on the same day- it’s takes less than 10 minutes to do!
Notes:
- Do yourself a favor get a wide 6-inch spatula for flipping. Most likely, your standard spatula is too narrow. A wide one makes flipping so much easier and helps with splatter control.
- For crispy, golden fried edges fry your pancakes in a small pat butter. I use Kerry Gold salted butter.
- Use a cast iron or non-stick skillet for cooking the pancakes- both options are fine. It’s the heat that you need to pay attention to. Always make a mini test pancake first!
Ingredients
Dry Ingredients
- 1 1/2 cups (190 g) all purpose flour, spooned and leveled
- 2 tbsp. (24 g) sugar
- 1/2 tsp. fine sea salt
- 2 tsp. baking powder
- 1 tsp. baking soda
Wet Ingredients
- 1 cup (240 g) sourdough starter (sourdough discard or active sourdough starter)
- 2 large eggs
- 1 cup (240 ml) milk, plus more as needed
- 3 tbsp. (42 g) melted unsalted butter or oil, plus more to coat the skillet
To Serve
- Pure maple syrup
- Fresh berries
- Powdered sugar
Instructions
Overnight Preparation:
For thick and fluffy pancakes: Combine the wet and dry ingredients EXCEPT for the baking powder and baking soda. Whisk well, cover and chill overnight. The next day, sift the powders directly over the bowl and whisk again to combine. The texture should be thick, bubbly, and pourable. Add extra milk, 1 tbsp at a time, to thin out the texture if needed. Let the batter sit for at least 5 minutes to aerate; it should be nice and bubbly before using. The batter can be used cold.
For thin and fluffy pancakes: Add all of the ingredients together and chill overnight. No need to add the leavening agents separately.
Same Day Preparation:
Preheat your oven to 250 F.
In a large bowl, whisk the dry ingredients together. Add the wet ingredients. Whisk gently until a smooth batter forms; some lumps are ok.
In a large 10-inch skillet (cast iron or non-stick), melt a small pat of butter over medium-low heat. Swirl the pan around to coat.
Pour 1/3 cup of batter into the pan. Cook for 1-2 minutes, lowering the heat as needed. When the edges begin to puff up and bubbles appear on the surface, flip it over. Cook for another minute or so. Place the pancake onto a sheet pan and keep warm in the oven while you cook the rest.
To continue, use a scrunched up paper towel to wipe out the skillet. Add more butter if the pan gets too dry. Repeat the cooking process until you are finished with the batter.
To serve, stack the warm pancakes on a platter for your guests to help themselves. Have plenty of pure maple syrup, fresh berries and powdered sugar at the ready.
Comments
Kat says
These were instantly devoured! I have 5 sons, so they didn’t stand a chance. The whole family thought they were delicious! I’ll make at least a double batch next time and maybe try substituting buttermilk.
Sourdough Junkie says
My overnight sourdough, is one cup, strong starter, 2.5 cups 100% WW, and 2 cups spring water. It is left covered on the counter, mid afternoon till the morning.
Then I add my morning wet ingredients, butter, milk, eggs, one freezer banana, as no added sugar, and blueberys.
Dry sometimes baking soda or not, salt.
Your reference to chilling must mean in the refer with eggs and milk can’t sit out overnight on the counter.
Annie says
Obsessed! Even the pancake haters in our family love this recipe. We add a minced Apple or about 300 g of blueberries, which adds a lot to the experience
Maddison says
made these this morning! We have an egg allergy in our house so I subbed the egg for 2 ground flax eggs! They still turned out great and pretty fluffy!!
Aimee says
Truly the best pancake recipe I’ve tried. So thick and fluffy! Love the overnight prep option — made my morning so easy! Anyone know how to stop eating them though? Asking for a friend.
Emilie Raffa says
Ha! Love this. Thank you Aimee 🥰
Millie says
The best pancakes. Absolutely superb. My kids ask for them repeatedly.
I have tried several recipes, sourdough and non-sourdough. It sounds like hyperbole, but this is literally the best pancake recipe ever.
Roeri says
The best pancake I’ve ever made.
I changed the flour to almond pulp, it works.
Thanks for sharing this recipe.
Fran Garcia says
A staple recipe for sundays at home now. Simply great.
I always make with fresh sourdough and overnight resting with great results. Also, I use plain yogurt instead of milk, plus a little rhum or vainilla essence for that extra kick.
Next time, I will use some cocoa powder on the mix
Mary Pampu says
Can you add protein powder to batter for higher protein content?
Lori Kupfer says
My adult kids beg me to make these for them. I over feed my starter on purpose just to have discard. After a few large feedings and 720 g of discard I make a triple batch to lure my busy kids over to see their mom and day. Works every time! They love em!!! So this mom thanks you from the bottom of my ❤️.
Diane says
The recipe calls for 1 cup of sourdough discard. How do you get that much discard? Do you “overfeed” some starter to yield 1 cup of discard?
Bianca says
I have just done the same day pancakes for my children. Amazing!! So quick and delicious. Thank you!
nc trucker, ret says
i’ve made this several times. always comes out good. i’ve got batter chilling now for tomorrow morning. anticipation is real.
Elizabeth Rushing says
This was delicious and definitely a recipe I’ll keep making over and over! I made the batter yesterday morning using discarded starter with the intention of making the pancakes a little later for brunch. But my plans changed and I ended up leaving the fully prepared batter in the fridge until this morning. I just stirred it up (no additional milk used) and poured 1/4 cup dollops on a buttered 350 degrees griddle for breakfast today and they were delicious!! This was my first time ever eating sourdough pancakes and I hope to never have to eat a regular pancake ever again.
Jenika says
These are SO good and very simple! Followed the exact recipe except for the milk. I used organic almond milk since I didn’t have regular milk on hand and they were delicious! There are only two of us, so we’re freezing the leftovers. Thank you for another fab recipie!
Elisabet says
Hi!
I made these and the whole family absolutely loved them! It’s too much batter for us as my boys are little. Can I refrigerate the leftovers for tomorrow?
Anne Cassidy says
Could you use gluten free flour?
Nikki says
Can we save any leftover pancake mix for a day or two in the refrigerator?
Eve says
LOVE this recipe! Thank you!
Question: do you happen to have nutrition facts for them?
Terrie says
Just getting into the sourdough making game. Already have some discard so would love to make these pancakes. Question: Whole milk? Can I use buttermilk? Thank you.
Emilie Raffa says
Hi Terrie! Yes, buttermilk would work in this recipe. It will be delicious.
Karen says
Wonderful recipe! The pancakes are so light and fluffy, and very tasty! Froze some of them for future breakfasts.
Laurie says
Great recipe
Nat says
Love this recipe! Always turns out great and I make it every week or 2 for the family and they love it too, best pancakes ever!
Emilie Raffa says
So glad you love it! Thanks Nat! 🥰
Ali says
Holy cow! These are the absolute best sourdough discard pancakes I’ve ever tasted!! I batch cooked a bunch to use up discard and stashed them in the freezer for quick breakfasts. So, so good! Thanks for sharing this recipe!
Danielle says
This is an amazing recipe, I did add vanilla to the mix though. I did the overnight method and right before cooking I decided to throw blueberries in as well. Delicious recipe, will be making frequently. Thank you!
Cindy says
Just made these pancakes and they were delicious. I added about a teaspoon of vanilla and used 200 g of buttermilk and 40 g of unsweetened almond milk because that’s what I had. They turned out so good!
nctruckdriver, ret! says
i’ve been making these for maybe a year now. with this great recipe you can get great results. i and my family love the pancakes. side note: i made these “same day” this morning because i made a fresh starter with a recipe from the guy that “kicks it up a notch”. makes simple starter recipe that is ready to go in 8 hours. so, in 12 hours start to finish i’ve got great pacakes.
Victoria says
Hi! May i know your 8-hour starter recipe? :) Thank you!
nctrucker says
3 cups water, 3 cops all purpose flour. 1 1/2 tablespoons teast, 1 tespoon sugar. stir sugar and yeast into water. let sit 5 minutes to make sure yeast is doing it’s thing. stir flour in well and cover. after 8-12 hours it should be bubbly and ready to go.
Kayla Marie Currie says
Best sourdough pancakes!!
Gray Burgos says
I never leave any comments on recipes that I find on the internet. I MUST say, this is literally by far the best pancakes I’ve ever made! Thank you for sharing this recipe with us lucky folks. I’ve tried different pancake recipes before butttttt…… this one is one of a kind!!! Absolutely delicious :)
Wendy says
Fantastic pancake recipe, thank you, for Father’s Day! Light, fluffy and definitely yummy. Great not being too sweet.
I didn’t quite have enough sourdough but they were amazing, my family were impressed 😉
Jenn says
Love this recipe! Can I leave it in the fridge for longer than a day to ferment it more?
Dan says
I absolutely love these pancakes. I’ve made them about 10 times now and they always come out great. I had made pancakes my whole life using pancake mix, but these come out so much better and aren’t any harder to make.
Jennifer Schwyn says
This was my first time making and eating sourdough pancakes. So easy and yummy. I will definitely be making these again.
Jamie says
This is absolutely the best sourdough (discard) pancake recipe I’ve ever made. All the other recipes I’ve tried came out very sour and gummy. These came out so fluffy and yummy! I’ve made Poffertjes (Dutch pancakes) with this recipes and was able to make at least 6 batches of 14 mini pancakes. Thank you for sharing this winner recipe. I’m happy that it also fits quite a large amount of discard. No binning anymore!
Becky says
Good recipe and very helpful tips.
Clare says
These are the best pancakes I’ve ever made. I’ve made them both with milk as written and with half buttermilk/half milk and each time they are absolutely outstanding. I also always add a healthy splash of vanilla extract. This recipe is such a hit with my family that I’ve printed it out and laminated it to constantly have it on hand in my kitchen. Thank you so much!
Megan says
I used your recipe to make my sourdough starter. I had enough discard by now to make half a batch of these pancakes. They were delicious! All we added were walnuts and blueberries. Thanks for all your help!
Liz says
Omg 🥰 they are incredibly delicious! Followed instructions but left baking powder and baking Soda out. Let mixture proof at room temperature for 6-8 hours. 5 minutes before baking added baking Soda and powder.
Kids said best pancakes ever!
Terra Vargas says
Best pancakes according to my little! I added vanilla protein powder and chocolate chips and used coconut oil to cook them in. DELICIOUS!
Raquel says
I honestly do not even like pancakes but found this recipe to use my sourdough discard. It was absolutely amazing. My kids, my mom, my husband, everyone told me that they were the best pancakes that they ever had. I even loved them. Really delicious. Im so glad that I found this.
I sautéed thinly sliced/diced apple pieces in butter and cinnamon before cooking.
Paige says
So good!!! Tasted like cookies – seriously the best pancakes we’ve had. We added chocolate chips
Tamara says
I was skeptical. 2 eggs seemed like it would make the batter “eggy”. It did not!! The overnight recipe (love) is what I followed to the “T”. It made 6 dinner plate sized pancakes! Next time I will half the recipe – although my extras will be frozen and at the ready for the fast morning (read work days!) yummy bite on the go. I might even experiment with using 1/2 buttermilk +1/2 milk for an tangier cake on a plate! This dough also accepted fruit readily (we used blueberries and a few raspberries cut in half) which we loved as well. Enjoy!! when you make this and Clever Carrot – Thank you! I appreciate being able to use my sourdough discard this way.
Vicki says
I made the same day version and they were amazing! Because I make smaller pancakes I got 18 out of the recipe. My granddaughter (visiting from Germany) had a grand time sprinkling mini chocolate chips on the first six and blueberries on the second batch. She was busy eating when I was making the third batch of six so I did some plain and some with additions. I’m eager to try adding toasted pecans!
I normally don’t care for thick pancakes, but these were the best I’ve ever eaten – even light, fluffy and delicious when reheated in the air fryer on day two.
Hanna says
I love this recipe! We have used it as a go-to sourdough discard recipe for a few years now. I usually omit one tbsp of sugar and add vanilla extract and greek yogurt. Delicious every time!
Candice says
Delicious pancakes! I made some plain and some blueberry. Has anyone tried this batter in a waffle iron?
Jaclyn says
Delicious. Flavorful and fluffy. This recipe also offers a simple way to use up a bunch of sourdough discard.
Theresa McNemar says
These pancakes turned out fantastic, even though I just mixed the batter up and poured it directly into the pan. I’m anticipating using my leftover batter tomorrow. They were great! Definitely going to pin those recipe!
Christina says
Could I mix all the dry ingredients ahead of time to bring on vacation ?
Emilie Raffa says
Absolutely! It will be like your own homemade “box” mix. Add the wet ingredients when ready to make.
Beatrice says
These are the BEST pancakes I have ever eaten omg. I used buttermilk and they were so fluffy and bursting with flavor.
Sharon says
Very tasty could this be used for waffles?
Rose McD says
Simply the best!