These Overnight Sourdough Discard Pancakes begin with an overnight, room-temperature ferment. This not only adds a lovely, balancing tang, but it also allows for fermentation. Then the next morning, a few more ingredients are added right before cooking up these delicious soft and fluffy pancakes.
Pancakes are a beloved weekend tradition in many homes and ours is no exception. Making them is one of the coziest ways to get the morning going and it really makes the weekend special. We also love making Sourdough Discard Waffles occasionally and in the cooler months we love to add my Sourdough Discard Pumpkin Pancake Recipe to the weekend breakfast rotation.
I used to be so amazed at how my grandma could mix up pancake batter without looking at a recipe. I was in awe of the fact that she had made them so many times that she just knew. While she never made a sourdough discard pancake recipe, these still remind me of her.
For this recipe, I use unfed starter, either room temperature or straight out of the fridge, what some might call sourdough discard - although I don't really ever discard my starter. As soon as you add the sourdough starter to the other pancake ingredients, it becomes active and bubbly right before your eyes as it hungrily feeds on the flour and honey. It's like magic and it makes me smile everytime. But it needs to be a well-established discard for this recipe meaning it is more than two weeks old and has been fed fairly recently. It cannot be a young, unestablished starter or a very neglected starter or you will not get any fermentation.
How to cook these sourdough pancakes
I like to fry these pancakes in my cast iron skillet - nice and hot with plenty of coconut oil. I love the flavor the coconut oil lends and I also love the crispy edges the pancakes get from both the cast iron and the coconut oil. We do have an electric griddle which is great for pancakes, but I really prefer the cast iron for these.
My husband LOVES pancakes, and these have become his new favorite variety. He enjoys them the way he grew up eating pancakes with his dad: with a fried egg sandwiched in the middle of two pancakes and King Syrup drizzled on top. I love them with good, salted butter and maple syrup, but also the way my sweet granny taught me: topped with plain yogurt and sour cherry jam. So, so good. Leave a comment below telling me your favorite pancake toppings.
Overnight Sourdough Discard Pancakes Recipe
These Overnight Sourdough Pancakes are a beloved weekend tradition. A great way to use up your sourdough starter, they start with a simple overnight ferment. A few ingredients are added the next morning before frying them up and serving with your favorite pancake toppings.
- Total Time: 1 hour plus overnight ferment
- Yield: 4 servings
Ingredients
for the overnight ferment
- 1 cup or 240 grams sourdough starter, unfed - also called sourdough discard*
- 1 cup or 240 grams milk *see notes
- 1 and ¼ cups or about 175 grams unbleached all purpose flour *see notes
- 2 teaspoons or about 14 grams honey
for the final batter
- ¼ cup or 56 grams melted butter or coconut oil
- 1 egg
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract or paste
- ¼ teaspoon salt
- 1 teaspoon baking powder
- ½ teaspoon baking soda
For frying
- Coconut oil (or oil/butter of choice)
Instructions
- In a large bowl or spouted pitcher, mix the sourdough starter, milk, flour, and honey until thoroughly combined. Cover loosely and leave at room temperature until the next morning.
- The next morning, add the remaining ingredients and whisk well to combine.
- Preheat a cast iron skillet or griddle over medium heat until nice and hot.
- Add 2 tablespoons of coconut oil, allow to melt, and then add about ⅓ cup of batter per pancake. Fit as many as you can into your skillet without overcrowding.
- Cook until golden brown on the first side, flip, and cook until golden brown on 2nd side.
- Repeat, adding more coconut oil as needed for remaining batches.
- Serve with plenty of butter and syrup.
Notes
It needs to be a well-established discard for this recipe meaning it is more than two weeks old and has been fed fairly recently. It cannot be a young, unestablished starter or a very neglected starter or you will not get any fermentation.
I usually use raw, full-fat milk but I have used both whey and buttermilk before with great results. I am sure you could use goat milk, plant-based milk, really whatever milk you prefer.
Just plain, all-purpose is great, but I love using whole wheat pastry flour in this recipe. It is a very finely ground whole wheat flour. If you don't have whole wheat pastry flour but want to use some whole wheat, I'd suggest using a blend of regular whole wheat flour and all purpose. I think all whole wheat would be too dense. Rye flour is very good here too.
Recipe adapted from NY Times
- Prep Time: 20 minutes active plus overnight ferment
- Cook Time: 30 minutes
- Category: breakfast, sourdough
- Method: stovetop
- Cuisine: American
Stella says
Hello!
Just found your site and love it!!
I am a sourdough diva too!
could you please add weight measurements to your ingredient list.
it would be SO helpful.
Making discard pancakes this morning! YUMMY
Best regards, Stella
anita | wild thistle kitchen says
Hi Stella! I'm so happy you found me! Yes, I do include gram measurements in my more current recipes. This is an older one I have not gotten around to updating. It's funny though, because I'm publishing a new Sourdough Discard Pumpkin Pancake recipe later today and I had this on my list to update! So yes, I will update it soon. I hope you love the recipe! Take care and thanks for your comment. - Anita
AnnMarie says
First sourdough pancake. I wanted an overnight one that soaked all the flour. Our four kids and I all gave them the thumbs up. Frying them in a cast iron was a game changer! Thank you for your recipe and tips! We enjoyed the cakes with peanut butter and jam.
Tammy says
These were great! Thank you! I can’t wait to try your other recipes!
anita | wild thistle kitchen says
Hi Tammy! You are so welcome! I'm glad you enjoyed the pancakes!! Thank you for giving this recipe a try and for this kind feedback! - Anita
A. says
They turned out delicious!!! My family loved them 🙂
anita | wild thistle kitchen says
Hi! I'm so happy you all enjoyed this recipe! Thank you for taking the time to leave this kind feedback! xo - Anita
Emily says
These were absolutely amazing! We’ve tried sooooo many pancake recipes and these were just magical 100/10!
Monica says
Tried today this recipe with a leftover starter from 2 days on counter and simply loved it.
My daughter who doesnt really like the sourdough ones as always a bit hard said you must always do this one.
I did half recipe to try and worked perfectly .
Thank you so much
anita | wild thistle kitchen says
I'm so happy to read this! Thank you for the feedback!! My daughter is also not a sourdough lover but I have a few recipes she approves - haha. Thanks again! - Anita
Jen says
This was the first recipe I tried with my sourdough starter and it came out great. A new staple in our household.
anita | wild thistle kitchen says
Hi Jen! I am so happy you enjoyed these sourdough pancakes. We really love them too! I'm honored you used this as your first sourdough recipe. Thank you so much! - Anita
Guido Pedrcelli says
Awesome
I made these for my wonderful and incredible wife (I do most of the cooking) and she just loves eating pancakes like when she was a little girl. He grandmother and mom made these for her - so it was a really exciting time for her to dig into these with lots of Irish butter and real warm Cornell maple syrup. I will get the reward for my effort later.
anita | wild thistle kitchen says
She is a lucky lady! Thank you for this sweet feedback. 🙂
Jason (Anita's husband) says
I've made these pancakes and used your recipe down to the letter. They came out just like your photos look (but I can't take beautiful, artistic photos like you do) and tasted absolutely amazing. Lightly crusty and so soft and buttery!
CP says
so easy and so delicious! I appreciate the clear instructions and photos.
Bethany says
Holy smokes!!! These are the best sourdough pancakes I’ve made thus far!!
Now, I use grams pretty much exclusively to measure anything more than a tablespoon. I used 180 g of flour, which is closer to 1.5 cups, and I did 240g each of active starter and whole milk. I just scooped some honey outta the jar, who knows exactly how much! But dang. I must give you great kudos for this delicious recipe!
anita | wild thistle kitchen says
Well I really appreciate this!! Thank you so much for the rave review and feedback. I have been meaning to add grams to this recipe. I'm glad it turned out well for you! Thanks again - Anita