Easy Sourdough Discard Pancakes

What’s better than a Sunday morning breakfast spread complete with eggs, bacon, and fluffy pancakes? I love sitting down to some fluffy pancakes topped with butter, real maple syrup, and sliced bananas.

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I recently made it a goal of mine to start doing better at cleaning out the fridge and freezer between each grocery haul. Partly because I need to start making more room in my freezer for food-prepped meals, but also because I think it’s important to reduce food waste, for the environment and my wallet! So, when I was staring into my fridge while craving breakfast, I decided to come up with a no-wait sourdough discard pancake recipe. This recipe requires no rest time and can be made immediately, subbing out granulated sugar for coconut sugar to add just a little extra punch to the taste-meter.  

What kind of sourdough discard should I use?

I used unfed discard for this recipe and it turned out beautifully. Don’t worry about the age of your discard – mine had been in the fridge for about a month already and I didn’t find the taste overwhelmingly sour at all!

However, if you use a bubbly, active starter, that is totally fine as well. The only thing that is altered is the texture of the pancake batter.

Why use sourdough discard?

There is some evidence that sourdough breads are a healthier option to standard yeast breads since they are easier to digest being a fermented product. Sourdough products made with wheat, wholewheat, or spelt flours are FODMAP diet approved because they contain reduced levels of fructans (a type of sugar found in fruit).

While the health benefits of sourdough are still being researched and still aren’t clear, it tastes amazing anyway!

Ingredients:

All the ingredients used in these pancakes are whole, unprocessed ingredients and can fit into a clean eating lifestyle quite easily! Here’s what you’ll need:

• Sourdough discard

• 2 large eggs

• 1 cup milk, I use 2% but you can use whatever you’d like.

• 3 tablespoons butter, melted

• 1.5 tablespoons coconut sugar (you can use white or brown sugar here if you’d rather, substituting for a 1:1 ratio.)

• 1.5 cups all purpose flour

• ½ tsp salt

• 2 tsp baking powder

• 1 tsp baking soda

Steps:

These pancakes are quick to whip up and use an easy, one-bowl method.

1. Add all of your wet ingredients (discard, eggs, milk, melted butter) and combine along with the coconut sugar. Mix well until a uniform mixture forms.

2. Add in the remaining ingredients and whisk until combined. If your batter is too thick, you can add a little more milk. If it’s too thin, add more flour.

Mixing the batter is the perfect kid-friendly task!

3. Now, I know I said this recipe is a no-wait recipe, but now it’s time to heat up our griddle. Set your batter aside to let it stand for the approximate 10 minutes it will take for your griddle to heat to 350 F. During this time, the batter will get very airy, which will help give you super fluffy pancakes.

4. Once your griddle is hot, use a half cup measuring scoop to form the pancakes on the griddle. When you see your pancakes browning on the edge and the top of the uncooked side starting to look dry, you know it’s ready to flip.

5. Cook on the other side until browned.

6. Serve hot and enjoy.

   
   

Storage:

These will store in an airtight container in the fridge for 3 days. To eat, just pop them in the toaster and add your toppings as usual!

If you’re an organized mamma who likes to meal prep, these pancakes are also free-friendly. You can make these ahead of time and store in them in an airtight container for up to 3 months, popping them in the toaster when you’re ready to eat them.

Variations for sourdough discard pancakes:

• To up your clean and healthy eating game, you can always add a tablespoon of ground flaxseed or ½ cup shredded zucchini.

• When you pour your pancakes, add some blueberries or chocolate chips for a fun and exciting add-in.

• Add 1 tsp cinnamon to the batter if you want to make a fall-inspired breakfast.

How to serve:

The options are really endless when it comes to pancake toppings. Here are some of my favourites:

-          Real maple syrup

-          Strawberry compote

-          Whipped cream

-          Peanut butter

-          Sliced bananas

So, rather than discarding that discard, let’s put it to good use and make some delicious, easy, and quick breakfast pancakes. If you’ve tried these, share your favourite pancake toppers in the comments section below.

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RECIPE