Disclosure: This recipe for Whole Wheat Sourdough Pancakes contains affiliate links. As an Amazon Associate, I earn from qualifying purchases.
Looking for recipes to use up sourdough discard? Try these amazing overnight Whole Wheat Sourdough Pancakes! They are flavorful and melt in your mouth tender with the slightest sourdough “chew”!
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A few weeks ago, we shared on Instagram that we are currently in our self-proclaimed “sourdough era”. Compared to the rest of the world, we are a “late bloomer” when it comes to sourdough, only starting to dabble in it the past year.
But once we started, we got hooked and haven’t looked back!
We asked you all on Instagram if y’all would be interested in seeing some of the sourdough recipes we have been testing out, or if you all thought sourdough was so 2020.
But y’all came back with a resounding “YES!” for sourdough recipes, so here we are!
If you haven’t dabbled in sourdough baking yet, we are here to tell you it is much easier than it appears.
You can find an excellent tutorial here on the King Arthur Baking website on how to get started. It basically starts with mixing flour and water and then you let that sit for a designated amount of time before discarding part of the starter and adding more flour and water.
You repeat this process, at different frequencies, for about a week and then you have a sourdough starter that you then just maintain at least once a week.
With all that said, when it comes to sourdough baking we try to keep things as simple as possible. We don’t measure out the sourdough or other recipe ingredients by weight using a kitchen scale, but use US standard measurements with the “spoon and sweep” method for measuring flour.
We also don’t use any fancy equipment, like a special sourdough jar, just a large mason jar to store our starter in. We’ve never had problems with our starter rising or activating, but if you do, you can buy this fancy warming mat, or simply place your jar on a heating pad turned to the lowest setting.
This Sourdough Pancake recipe can use active starter or sourdough discard, which makes it a great recipe to have on hand when you are first starting on your sourdough journey!
Because of this, we make this recipe almost weekly and it has quickly become our go to pancake recipe for Sunday brunch.
Since this is an overnight pancake recipe, it does require a bit of foresight and prep, but measuring out the ingredients the night before literally only takes about 15 minutes, so pretty easy and the end result is dreamy, fluffy pancakes first thing in the morning!
Let us know in the comments if you are a sourdough baker and are interested in seeing more sourdough discard recipes!
Helpful Tips and Information:
How to get started with sourdough baking:
If you are new to sourdough baking, we recommend checking out this tutorial on how to get started.
How to make sourdough pancakes?
- Stir together the sourdough starter, flour, buttermilk and sugar.
- Cover bowl with plastic wrap and let rest at room temperature overnight.
- Right before making the pancakes, in a small bowl, whisk together eggs, oil, baking soda, baking powder, vanilla and salt until well combined.
- Stir the egg mixture into the overnight sourdough batter and mix just until combined.
- Set batter aside and let rest for 10 minutes.
- After the batter is done resting, preheat a flat skillet or griddle to medium-low heat.
- Very lightly butter the warm skillet.
- Using a large cookie scoop, scoop prepared pancake batter onto the preheated griddle.
- Flip pancakes just as bubbles on the surface begin to form and pop and the edges are set and starting to turn golden brown.
- Repeat cooking process until all batter has been cooked. Serve immediately.
Whole Wheat Sourdough Pancake Ingredients and Substitutions:
- Sourdough starter – fed or discard
- Unbleached all-purpose flour – You can use all whole wheat flour in this recipe, however, the texture may be more dense. If you would prefer to use all whole wheat flour, we recommend to use whole wheat pastry flour or white whole wheat flour which will yield a lighter, more fluffy texture than traditional pure whole wheat flour.
- Whole wheat flour – You can certainly replace the whole wheat flour in this recipe with all-purpose flour, however, we really like the added flavor and nutritional value whole wheat flour adds.
- Granulated sugar – Maple syrup, honey or brown sugar may be substituted.
- Buttermilk – Nothing can replace the flavor of real buttermilk, but if you don’t have it on hand, an easy substitute for this recipe is to fill a liquid measuring cup with ¼ cup lemon juice or white vinegar. To the measuring cup, add milk, filling it up to the 2 cup line. Stir to combine and then set aside for at least 5-10 minutes or until the milk looks lumpy.
- Eggs
- Corn or canola oil – Melted butter may be substituted for the oil. However, please make sure your melted butter has cooled before adding to the other ingredients. If you don’t let the butter cool, it won’t fully incorporate into the batter and can actually cause the eggs to “scramble” slightly.
- Baking soda
- Baking powder
- Pure vanilla extract
- Salt
Tips for fluffy pancakes:
Here are some of our best tips for making perfect pancakes. If you want even MORE tips, pop on over to our Instagram account where we did an entire cooking tip series for perfect pancakes:
- Make sure your baking soda and baking powder is fresh.
- Don’t over mix.
- Use medium low heat.
- Use a large spring-loaded ice cream or cookie scoop to easily scoop and pour batter.
- Wipe off your griddle and add fresh butter between each batch.
How to Keep Pancakes Warm:
Preheat oven to 175-200 degrees F. Place pancakes in a single layer on a wire rack that has been sprayed with cooking spray. Place wire rack on a baking sheet and place in the preheated oven to keep warm while cooking the remaining pancake batter.
How to freeze pancakes:
These Sourdough Pancakes freeze wonderfully! To make these pancakes ahead of time and freeze them, follow the recipe as directed and cool completely. Place cooled pancakes on baking sheet in a single layer and freeze for 4-5 hours. Once completely frozen stack pancakes and place in freezer safe packaging.
To re-heat, place desired number of pancakes on a baking sheet in preheated 350-degree F oven for 15 minutes. Or heat pancakes from frozen in a toaster, until heated through and golden brown, or microwave for 1 minute, flipping halfway through cooking.
What to serve with Whole Wheat Sourdough Pancakes:
We usually serve these sourdough discard pancakes pretty minimally topped with REAL maple syrup, butter and fresh fruit; but occasionally like to switch things up and add chopped nuts or chocolate chips to the batter when cooking.
Of course, you can also change up your syrup, and make our seasonal favorite, Apple Cider Syrup, or in a pinch, make your own Homemade Maple Syrup if you don’t have the real stuff on hand!
If you want to serve these sourdough pancakes with other breakfast favorites, such as some bacon, sausage or scrambled eggs, to make this pancake breakfast more of a full brunch, we certainly wouldn’t argue! 🙂
We also would recommend our Creamy Grape Salad and Summer Veggie Omelet Recipe as a great side dish to serve with pancakes.
IF YOU LIKE these Whole Wheat Sourdough Pancakes, THEN YOU WILL LOVE THESE OTHER pancake RECIPES:
Spinach Pancakes – Whether you are looking for a healthy St. Patrick’s Day recipe or simply a hearty breakfast idea, then you need to check out these Spinach Pancakes!
Pumpkin Spice Pancakes – Discover the ultimate recipe for Pumpkin Spice Pancakes! This simple and quick pancake recipe is fluffy and bursting with warm fall spices!
Eggnog Pancakes – A holiday twist on a favorite breakfast recipe! These fluffy Eggnog Pancakes, topped with Eggnog Syrup and nutmeg, are perfect for Christmas brunch!
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Whole Wheat Sourdough Pancakes
Looking for recipes to use up sourdough discard? Try these amazing overnight Whole Wheat Sourdough Pancakes! They are flavorful and melt in your mouth tender with the slightest sourdough “chew”!
Ingredients
- 1 cup unbleached all-purpose flour
- 1 cup whole wheat flour
- 2 tablespoons granulated sugar
- 1 cup sourdough starter, fed or discard
- 2 cups buttermilk
- 2 large eggs
- ¼ cup corn or canola oil
- 1/4 teaspoon salt
- 1 teaspoon baking soda
- 2 teaspoons baking powder
- 2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract
- Butter, as needed for cooking
Instructions
- In a large bowl, whisk together the all-purpose flour, whole wheat flour and sugar.
- Stir down the sourdough starter and measure 1 cup of starter into the bowl with the flour.
- Add the buttermilk and whisk just until combined. Do not over mix! A few small lumps are ok.
- Cover bowl with plastic wrap and let rest at room temperature overnight (about 8-12 hours). The batter will bubble up and expand as it rests.
- Right before making the pancakes, in a small bowl, whisk together until well combined the eggs, oil, salt, baking soda, baking powder and vanilla.
- Stir the egg mixture into the overnight sourdough batter and mix just until combined. Over mixing can cause the gluten in the pancakes to develop a gummy texture when cooked. The batter will foam and bubble a bit while stirring.
- Set batter aside and let rest for 10 minutes.
- After the batter is done resting, preheat a flat skillet (we recommend a crepe pan) or electric griddle to medium-low heat. On an electric stove top, setting 3-4 is ideal and on an electric griddle it should be set to 350 degrees.
- Very lightly butter the warm skillet. Using a large cookie scoop, scoop prepared pancake batter onto the preheated griddle, making sure to leave enough space between each pancake to flip.
- Flip pancakes just as bubbles on the surface begin to form and pop and the edges are set and starting to turn golden brown. This will take about 2-3 minutes. Allow pancakes to cook an additional minute on the raw side and then transfer to a cooling rack.
- Repeat cooking process until all the batter has been cooked, wiping off the griddle and adding additional butter in-between each batch.
- Serve immediately with pure maple syrup, butter or fresh fruit.
Notes
*PLEASE SEE THE "HELPFUL TIPS AND INFORMATION" SECTION ABOVE FOR ADDITIONAL RECIPE NOTES.
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