The Best Sourdough Pancakes

-Kim B.

Good morning friends!

 Today we’re going to be making my family’s absolute favorite chocolate chip sourdough pancakes. We reserve them for the weekend so it’s always a special treat on our slow mornings. Through the years I’ve tweaked this recipe to make it a little higher in protein and a little less calorie dense. Packed with high-quality ingredients, this recipes makes the kind of breakfast that nourishes and delights, all in one bite.

If you’re new to sourdough, don’t let this recipe intimidate you. In my opinion, it’s the easiest sourdough recipe out there. You will need a sourdough starter to make these pancakes. If you don’t have one already or don’t know how to make one, check out our easy sourdough starter recipe linked here! It breaks it down into simple steps so you can get started in no time.

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The Ingredients

Let’s talk a little about each ingredient and what I love about them and where to get them. I also have some alternative options if you’d like to make a few swaps. Part of the fun is getting to make this recipe your own!

Sourdough Starter

  My starter and I have been through a lot together. There have been seasons when we see each other every week and seasons when it’s had to wait a whole month before I get back to it. There’s been a couple of times I thought it was dead so I almost started a new one, but I’ve always been able to revive it. It’s exciting to see the bubbles come back to life!

I feed my starter organic white flour, but you don’t have to use white or organic flour if you don’t want to. Rye, whole wheat or unbleached all-purpose flour work as well. And since about a year ago I’ve been using water filtered through my Berkey for feeding my starter. I use my starter once or twice a week, so after I take what I need for the pancakes, it goes back in the fridge for another few days. 

Eggs

  Usually I get my eggs in a big box from the nearby Hutterite colony. But if I’m lucky, I can get extra eggs from my sister Janice’s chickens. The yolks are always a beautiful deep orange from her chickens so I love getting those when I can!  The difference in color of conventional and farm eggs is such a stark contrast!

Butter

 I buy my butter from our local Co-op grocery store when it’s on sale, or sometimes I make my own. I like to buy salted butter or add salt to my homemade butter, extra flavour right? A dairy-free alternative is to substitute for dairy free butter or for coconut oil. If you don’t want a coconut flavor, be sure to use refined coconut oil.

Honey

  Honey… what a gift from God! It’s anti-inflammatory, antibacterial, an antioxidant, helps to soothe a sore throat and delicious of course! When I have the opportunity to buy local creamed honey I get that, but right now I’m using store bought. For this recipe you can either use creamed honey or liquid.

If you don’t like the taste of honey, maple syrup can work for this recipe as well.

Salt

  Any salt will be fine in this recipe, although sea salt is best for the benefits it provides! Whenever possible I try to think about getting more vitamins and minerals in, so using sea salt instead of table salt is an easy way to do that!

Baking Soda

  Baking soda does magical things in this recipe. It’s fun to add the baking soda last, after all the other ingredients are mixed. The baking soda reacts with the starter and makes the batter puff up. This step ensures your pancakes will have a light and fluffy, melt-in-your-mouth texture.

Chocolate Chips

  The final ingredient, which is optional but highly encouraged. We love adding a sprinkle of chocolate chips to each pancake while it’s on the pan. Our favorite is Hershey’s milk chocolate chips. Semisweet is good too, use what you like!

The Best Sourdough Pancakes

Yields 8-10 medium pancakes

(4 servings, each serving contains roughly 13 grams of protein.)

Ingredients

2 cups of active, bubbly sourdough starter 

3 eggs

2 tablespoons melted butter, plus a little to butter up your pan

1 tablespoon honey

½ teaspoon salt

1 teaspoon baking soda

⅓ cup chocolate chips (to sprinkle on while in the pan)

Instructions 

1. Take your starter out of the fridge the night before you plan to make the sourdough pancakes. In a quart size glass measuring cup add one cup of unfed starter. Feed it flour and water until it measures about 2 cups. Loosely cover with a tea towel or plastic wrap and leave it on your counter overnight. 

2. By the morning, you’ll see your starter has grown. Remove any extra starter that grew beyond the 2 cups needed. You can store the extra in the fridge to use for the next time you need starter. 

3. Add the eggs, melted butter, honey and salt to your starter, mixing well. Add the baking soda last and watch as the batter rises slightly and becomes bubbly.

4. Heat your frying pan or griddle on medium low heat. Melt a bit of butter on your pan (cooking spray would also work). Ladle about  ⅓ cup of batter onto the hot pan for each pancake then sprinkle with chocolate chips. 

5. Let the pancakes cook until the edges start looking golden, then flip.

  Our favorite toppings are sliced bananas and maple syrup, but the possibilities are endless. Whipped cream, berries, nutella for some extra indulgence… yum!

And there you have it… the most delicious and moist pancakes you’ll ever have! I hope you try these this weekend and taste the goodness for yourself. 

Recipe