Sourdough Waffles and Pancakes
I practically lived on sourdough waffles in college. To my buddies and me at the time, sourdough waffles were the staff of life. One of these friends happened to be the campus locksmith so I had a key to the kitchen for early dawn provisions runs. It takes an awful lot of those little butter pats to do the job! The only rub was having to interrupt eating to go flip the circuit breaker as the electrical load of three waffle irons running simultaneously out of the same outlet was a little much.
Back then, my typical routine was just mixing up equal part parts milk and flour with a cup or so of starter and some salt the night before. Then mixing in a little baking soda the morning of. That produced a very sour waffle or pancake and was a little on the heavy side. No one complained.
Now I mostly use the following recipe. It comes from Nancy Silverton’s Breads from the La Brea Bakery. Follow it exactly using some healthy sourdough starter and it makes truly awesome waffles and pancakes.
By the way… I’ve recently discovered this waffle iron is a gem for making great waffles in short order.
For more Sourdough pancake and waffle recipes…
►Click this link for Jacki’s great sourdough pancake recipe.
►Also, see Jon’s great looking sourdough waffles recipe (and unique technique) in his post below.
Heat the following in a pan until the butter is melted and then let cool to room temperature.
4 oz (1/2 cup or 115 g) butter
8 oz (1 cup or 225 g) milk
Add the milk-butter mixture to:
9 oz (about a cup or 255g) white starter
1 tsp salt
1 Tbsp (packed) brown sugar
6 oz (about 1 1/2 cups or 170 g) all purpose flour
Mix these together to form a thick batter, cover the bowl tightly with plastic wrap and let stand at room temperature for 8-14 hours. If you do this before going to bed, you’ll have the batter ready for breakfast the next day.
Preheat your waffle iron for 10-15 minutes.
Uncover the batter and whisk in 2 large eggs and 1/4 tsp baking soda. Pour 1/2 to 3/4 cups of batter on the hot waffle iron and close the lid. Let cook for 3-5 minutes until golden brown and crisp.
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I received my live this week, and it grew so enthusiastically that I had not only enough for today’s first loaf of bread, but also Jacko’s pancake recipe. They were great pancakes!!
Now I just have to wait for the bread to finish proofing.
Nice!
Hi
Since sourdough starter is the rising agent in baking. Why do so many sourdough non-bread recipes like muffins, cookies, some pancake etc call for baking powder along with the sourdough? Doesn’t that negate the original purpose of the sourdough?–to bake without these chemicals?
This seems redundant after reading the comments, but Jacki’s pancakes were the best pancakes I have ever eaten! I substituted agave for the sugar and I let the batter rest for about 15-20 minutes before I started cooking them. It was amazing. Thank you!
Redundancy is good!
And I appreciate your comment about the agave. I like knowing what others have tried and how it turned out. Thank you.
Kelli:
I posted a receipt a few years ago that does NOT use milk. Can’t comment on the honey substitution.
Search for “Jon” posted on January 31, 2008 at 12:33 am to find that receipt.
Have fun!
jon
In reading all your recipes, I really want to try the sourdough pancakes or waffles but I have a few questions before I do so. I noticed the different recipes call for sugar but both of my guys can’t have sugar. Can I substitute honey or will it not make them chemically correct? Meaning, sometimes replacing sugar, a solid, with honey, a liquid, creates problems such as being too thin or not the right chemical combination. Secondly, I am supposing that replacing the milk with almond milk or coconut milk is an okay substitution, right?! I am so excited to start this for my guys and myself. We have come a long way and sourdough has been a lifesaver for us since find out they couldn’t have gluten or gliadan. But they tested just fine for sourdough. Thanks in advance!
Hi Kelli,
You can just skip the sugar if you want, it’s not necessary to replace it with anything but any of the healthy sweeteners will work. And substituting milk with almond or coconut milk should be fine. Consistency of the batter isn’t all that fussy with pancake and waffle batter. Your guess is going to be fine.
I’m too lazy to keep two types of starters, so this morning I made waffles with whole wheat starter and white flour. They came out absolutely awesome. A heap of fried apples piled on top and we were in heaven.
Thank you so much for the amazing waffle recipe! They were so delicious and crisp. This is probably how I am going to make waffles from now on.
I am interested in using Jackie’s recipe but have a question about serving size. It says it makes 6 servings, does that mean 6 pancakes? I am cooking for 23 people and would like to get a good estimate. I don’t mind having too many, just don’t want to be short. All I need to know is does this recipe make 6 “standard” size pancakes? If not how many. Thanks for your help.
Hi Bob,
It means 3-4 average sized pancakes per person. The batter when all ingredients have been added makes approximately 6 cups of batter. At 1/4 cup of batter per pancake, you would get 3-4 decent sized pancakes. For that number of people, I would definitely quadruple the recipe… perhaps even one more. Better to have left overs than not enough, right?
Jacki
Here’s the sourdough pancakes we know and love – I think it’s from the Carl Griffith’s website. I like making these to keep my starter active, especially if I’m in a time when I can’t be home long enough to bake bread.
Sourdough Pancakes
The night before, mix well (to incorporate some air) 1 cup of your sourdough starter with 1½ cups of all purpose flour and 1 cup of warm water (85°-90°). Leave at warm room temperature (70°-85°) overnight, covered well with plastic wrap.
The next morning, return 1 cup of the starter mixture to the fridge.
Then mix the remaining 1½ cups of starter with
1 egg, slightly beaten
1 Tablespoon of sugar (or more if you like)
1 Tablespoon of melted butter
¾ Teaspoon of salt
½ teaspoon (generous) of baking soda
2 Tablespoons of milk
Try to have your ingredients at room temperature. This will help to make more tender pancakes.
Bake on a 400° griddle. Enjoy!
warm hello
Lyn 
im looking forward to trying this
why do u put one cup of starter back in the fridge?
so far i only know how to make no need bread with this spelt starter of mine
i need to feed it twice before i use it for making bread
and make sure it doubles in size too
do i need to do the same for this one cup of starter for waffles?
kindly
thanks
You put starter back in the fridge so you have starter for your next cooking experience. I’m using starter I made in the mid-70′s and keep putting back in the fridge.
If I don’t use it for several months it takes me a few days to ‘wake it up’ but I don’t have to make new starter.
I use the same starter for all sourdough recipes. Just feed & work the starter up to a bit more than you need for your recipe and then save some in the fridge for next time.
jon
thanks Jon
i just became confused as to why the avoid directions said to put a specific amount ( 1 cup) back in the fridge
i started learning from this site just a year ago
about making a starter for bread making
i always put some dried starter in the freezer because i dont use it that often and would hate to loose it
i tried keeping a small amount in the fridge but it developed “things”
one “thing” was like an icing
and the other was like a browish liquid
i am new to this and i dont understand the terms used
is the brownish liquid what i’ve heard people call “hooch”?
i assumed this “icing” and the brownish liquid was a bad thing and threw out my starter
my very first bread was amazing
but since then its never been near as good
i assume my starter was the best in the beginning because it didnt have a chance to go off
the very first bread i made i used a friends oven that went up to 600 degrees
was the reason why it was so good?
i used the clay oven soaked in water and also used a water bath in the oven
the flavor and the texture have not been the same since then
im trying to enliven a starter now from the freezer
(i grind up dried starter and put it in the freezer)
i dont understand why it takes time to get going
its been two days i think
i add water and then after a few hours
feed it with water and new flour
? something about feeding and feeding until?
i hate having to use so much flour to get it going
knowing i wont be able to use it up
one thing i understand clearly now
is your starter must double in size first
before u can expect it will double in your recipie
update :
i put my starter in the dehydrator last night on low
(thinking maybe it was too cold and thats why it did not become alive with action)
it was full of air this morning but the glass jar was more than warm to the touch
i stirred it and the air went away immediately it went all liquid ish…i added more fresh flour
Hi Teresa,
You may be rushing your starter that was frozen. Do you have any any more dried starter? If so, begin again. Don’t add any new flour & water until the first batch has stood in a warm spot for 24 hours.
The warm spot should be about 80 to 90 degrees Fahrenheit. Your dehydrator may have been too hot. I use my microwave with the interior light turned on.
When your New starter mixture has sat for the 24 hrs. Stir it, measure it, and add an equal amount of flour plus a little less water. If your starter is more than a quarter cup, toss out half before adding the new flour & water. Don’t add more flour than you have starter during this process.
When the starter can double in 12 hrs or less, feed it on a 12 hour schedule. If it doubles in 4 hours it’s perfect!
I was able to revive a very very weak starter this way. I was using just one tablespoon at the start.
I hope this helps.
I hope this helps
Teresa,
On the left of this web page, look for
“Reviving a Dried & Live Sourdough Starter ” and click on it to see Eric’s guidelines. He provides a lot of good information in the text and his various videos.
Regarding the ‘things’ on your refrigerated starter…remember…. sourdough is a fermented product. Fermentation is the process that is used to produce alcoholic beverages. I presume that this is just separation with the heavier product sinking to the bottom.
Depending on the quantity, the length of time dormant in the fridge, and the temperature at that spot in the fridge, my sourdough has been a variety of appearances when I take it out. If there is a ‘gelatin’ on the surface, I assume it is coagulated alcohol, I scoop it off the top and toss it. It would probably be fine if I let it come to room temp and stir it back in rather than tossing it.
If it’s brownish I pour it off. If it’s clear I stir it back in. I don’t think what I’m doing is necessarily ‘right’, it’s just what I do because that is how I feel at the moment.
In mid Dec I took my starter out of the fridge where it had been since the spring. After it was at room temp I transferred most of it to a crock and added flour & water. It took a good 2 weeks of tossing out & feeding & using some of it to get it ‘good’ again. The little bit I saved in the fridge is now greyish and since it is ‘emergency’ supply but I have perfectly good starter in my crock now, I’m going to toss the emergency supply, wash the container and replenish it from my crock.
I have frozen the starter in the past. I put it in a zip lock bag when I did that because I didn’t know what would happen if I left it sealed in a container. It took longer to become useable but still worked fine.
jon
Wow! Thanks u guys
i will take out more and let it sit for 24 hours
i wasn’t aware thank u
now i learned from both of u
it basically takes dumping some out and feeding a few times
to get it to the point where it will double in size in four hours
wow! (now i finally “know”)
i was in the dark before
ill put this on my fridge
~”When the starter can double in 12 hrs or less, feed it on a 12 hour schedule. If it doubles in 4 hours it’s perfect!”
so i take out some and keep feeding every 12 hours
until it doubles in size in four hours
this is the info i didnt know about
how do u learn this stuff?
i’d love to be more educated on fermenting
jon, u say gelatin…i sware it looks just like a light icing …its not clear ..has a hint of white to it
what is this gelatin/icing?
i did what u did
i scooped it off in the past
is the brownish liquid is that what people are calling “Hooch”
what is hooch?
i dont like the dumping part however
i spend money on already sprouted organic grain
maybe i should use the unsprouted for this process of getting my starter mov’in
and 80 to 90 degrees
thanks so much
its been so much fun
teresa
“amp” means
ample water?
“amp” means “there used to be an ampersand (an “and” sign) here, but formatting issues prevent it from being shown.”
In other words, it just means “and” – ignore the word “amp” and replace it with “and.”
For example, “added flour & water” should really read, “added flour and water” but the ampersand gets all screwed up when coming through “comments via e-mail.”
Thank U Carolyn
gotta Love that guy 
i stayed up late watching Eric’s video’s
and also my starters both of them had bubbles this morning …using a thermometer and leaving the door open to my dehydrator i had it at 88 degrees
before u have small tiny bubbles and once u have small tiny bubbles
u only feed it once every 24 hours?
unless it has doubled in size prior to
i think playing this song for 24 hours
helps too
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_MXgc8wzfC4
with the tiny bubbles my starter had some liquid this morning
does one always pour off liquid that has separated?
is it always alcohol?
it can be brown or clear
is that right?
Teresa:
When I am actively feeding my sourdough if it has liquid on top when I check it I stir it back in, or if it’s a lot of liquid because maybe I was sloppy in my feeding, I add more flour. I think the whole process is pretty forgiving at this stage.
Just check it once or twice a day, stir it, smell it, and be patient.
jon
thanks Jon
about the patient part
right
still not clear about feeding
its once a day ( once in 24 hours)
until it begins to double in size within 4 hours
is that right?
Teresa:
I only feed my starter when I think I need more than I have on hand at the moment. I have to feed it more often if I am waking it up from a long cold sleep (fridge). Otherwise, typically, I feed it once and a day or three later it is ready to use.
I have not followed the beginning of this conversation so I don’t know where the double in size reference is coming from. That said, from my point of view the sourdough that I feed, which I keep on the counter in a crock jar, never doubles in size. Ever.
If I am making bread then the recipe that I prepare has sourdough starter in the recipe and that ‘sponge’ is generally expected to double in size during the process of rising before starting to bake it. My waffle recipe never doubles in size until I fold in baking soda. And double is probably a bit of an exaggeration in my experience.
Since I have not read the post you originally referred to I might be wrong here, but I am thinking that you are confusing feeding the starter with preparing a recipe in which you use sourdough and quite often that recipe calls for doubling in size.
just experiment and good luck, jon
Hi,
I just made the Alaskan Frontier Sourdough Hotcakes from the book Wild Fermentation by Sandor Katz. My husband and I agreed that they were by far the best pancakes we had ever eaten!! Here is a link I found online with the recipe: http://www.foodgeeks.com/recipes/21853
Nancy… how many eggs do you use, the recipe at that link does not say.
Thanks!
Hi Carolyn,
The recipe from the link above is from Sandor Katz’s Wild Fermentation book and is dairy and egg free.
Since my husband and I tried that recipe, we have been using Jacki’s sourdough pancake recipe and it has become our current favorite! We add homemade buttermilk instead of milk.
Oh, okay. Perhaps the person that posted it made a typo then because step 2 says…. Beat eggs and add to batter with oil….
I’m trying Jacki’s recipe this morning. I have to cut it in half so I’m using one of my hen’s really big eggs (half of 3 eggs). It sounds great! Thanks for your help & Merry Christmas!
Yes Carolyn, you are right! I am looking at the original recipe from Wild Fermentation, and it does contain one egg! In using Jacki’s recipe, I always freeze the extras for popping into the toaster. Merry Christmas too!
Hi Nancy
i went to this link
it calls for eggs and sugar
but doesnt say how much
what did u use?
i want to use spelt flour
also why does one need the baking soda do u know?
thanks so much for sharing
teresa
Have you tried aluminum free baking powder? It really improves the taste. Also you can substitute baking powder for baking soda…..
Yes, good stuff. Available in health food stores and whole foods type grocers.
Thanks for that info. I have tried for many years to keep aluminum out of my body. Back in the 70′s, I read an article in Prevention Magazine that aluminum is very likely the main cause of Alzheimer’s. If you search Bing for “alzheimer’s and aluminum”, you will get about 25 million hits. If your stick deodorant is white, it is actually an anti-persperant and the main ingredient is aluminum. If it is more like a solid gel, it probably has no aluminum. I use cast iron cookware and grit my teeth everytime a recipe calls for baking powder. I will definitely look for the aluminum free baking powder.
Almost any health food type grocer would carry it. Or you could buy it online from iHerb.com or probably Amazon.
Now I see, looking at Jon’s recipe again, that it doesn’t use milk at all, which is excellent. It’s sometimes hard to scroll through the comments, reading them to search for answers to my questions before posting to ask them, and remember all the words I’m scanning for.
In any event, my question still stands, really, though is now more general: in sourdough recipes where milk is called for, is there any reason I shouldn’t just substitute water?
Thanks again!
Sarah
Hi, Sarah. I know it’s probably a bit late for you, but to answer your question. There shouldn’t be any reason why you can’t substitute water or almond milk or any other kind of alternative milk for the cow’s milk. It just tastes a little different and has a bit of a different consistency, but should do well with adjustments, maybe using a little less liquid or more, depending on how it cooks up.
Thank you, Alice. It’s not too late at all and I’m very glad for a response.
It’s what I had been thinking, but am glad for confirmation, as I’m very new to sourdough still.
Thanks!
Thanks Sarah for the definition of “amp”
i did not see a “reply” button so i came to this thread
warmly
tee (teresa)
Hello Eric and all,
Any suggestions as to how to adapt one of these sourdough waffle recipes to spelt flour instead of wheat and to water, or some other non-dairy liquid like almond milk, instead of cow milk? I am hankering to try these and have starter waiting to be used, but am not yet adept enough at sourdoughs and spelt yet to adapt the recipes myself.
I found breadtopia.com two weeks ago through a friend and have been pouring over it ever since. What a fantastic resource you have going here!
Many thanks!
Sarah
I tried Jacki’s Sourdough Pancakes yesterday. I tell you, they were absolutely delicious! The pancakes were the best I have ever made, oh so light and fluffy; and my husband loved the sourdough taste.
I’m new to this Sourdough stuff. I’ve only made one loaf of Sourdough No-Knead bread and these Sourdough pancakes. I have been faithfully feeding my starter, but as a result, I accumulated all this extra sourdough starter, that I didn’t want to just throw out. So this pancake recipe was perfect timing.
Yesterday, I was a little worried about whether I had left enough starter to keep working with a vibrant and active culture. I probably had about ¼ cup remaining; I fed it and let it sit on the cupboard for a while, it looked pretty slack with barely any bubbles. I finally put it in the refrigerator last night, and was pleased this morning to see that there were a lot of bubbles; when I stirred it, it appeared to have a nice thick consistency that I see in Eric’s videos. Yeah!
Thank you Jacki for sharing the recipe. Does anyone have a recipe for sourdough scones?
Shirley
I was up late, and decided to try a midnight (or later) batch of sourdough pancakes using Jacki’s recipe. WOW, they turned out great! Light, moist, and fluffy, and about 3/4″ thick! They do have an obvious sourdough smell when cooking, but when I tried one, I didn’t think the taste was too strong at all, even dry without any honey or maple-syrup. I’m confident the kids will like them just fine.
The only significant deviation from Jacki’s recipe was, instead of milk, I used buttermilk (which I have an abundance of from making butter). Since it’s the first time I’ve made this, I don’t yet know the difference versus using milk. Other than that, my starter is whole-wheat based, and then I used Bob’s Red Mill unbleached unbromated white flour for the recipe. I also let the completed batter (minus butter) sit for about 1 hour at room temp.
I’ll definitely be making it again!
Absolutely the best waffles and pancakes we’ve ever had, and we’re old and have gone through many pancakes over the years. The best! Uses a lot of butter, though.
What is the hydration of the sourdough starter you use? I use a firm starter, and I’m not sure what hydration level I should convert it to for your recipe.
Thanks!
Hi Stan,
I’m not very careful about maintaining a particular hydration level. But I guess it’s in the neighborhood of 100% since I use approximately equal weights of flour and water. Could be closer to 90%. It’s fairly firm also so yours should be fine too as is.
Melodie:
If your batter is too sour, you can ‘sweeten’ it a bit by increasing by a very tiny amount of baking soda. Just a pinch. Too much soda and the recipe will get too bitter. You’ll have to experiment to find the right balance for your family.
You don’t have to put the soda into the entire batter. Take enough batter for your first serving. Mix in the soda. If it is still too sour, on the next serving, increase the soda. Just a pinch. If you started with 1/4 tsp of baking soda, I’d keep it less than 1/2 tsp.
Another method to reduce the sourness is to not let the sponge sit so long after feeding the starter with flour/water. The longer it sits (say several days) the more sour it gets.
Hope this improves your sourdough experience!
jon
Is there a way to adjust the sourness on waffles?I love the texture of the waffles but it is too sour for my family.Thanks
These turned out excellent (I used the shotglass soda method). Husband does not generally like waffles, but he loved these. Thanks for sharing the recipe.
We loved this recipe!!! Thank you
I took Jon’s method but substituted melted butter for the oil. The waffles are ok. My first sour dough waffles ever that I’m aware of. I think I need to let them stay in the waffle iron just a little longer next time.
P.S. My waffles taste kinda like beer, is this normal?
Made these this morning and hands down the best waffles we have ever made, crisp, tasty and never got soggy after applying butter, syrup and peaches.
Made the full recipe for two of us and had enough for two more so we froze one and my wife took one over to her mother as today she does her shopping for her and gets there before she is up and will put it in the toaster and see how it comes out and she can have it for her breakfast.
Thanks for the recipe, we have a number of waffle recipe but this is the best by a long shot.
Hey Dick,
I’m so glad you liked them! It is my fav recipe for pancakes, hands down! Next time you’ll make the whole batch! They really do freeze well.
Just finished eating them. Since I am single I made 1/3 of the recipe. Absolutely delicious and so easy to make. Took maybe 5 minutes tops and the fry them. I was going to save the extras but there were none. I had some good Vermont maple syrup I was given as part of a Christmas present along with Canadian bacon and the syrup added just the right finishing touch. Wish I still had some of the bacon as well.
Much appreciated and this one is a real keeper.
Jacki,
Thanks for the recipe. I will be making these in a couple of days. Looks like a good one. Also a good way to use up the sourdough without having to discard it. That always seemed like a waste to me.
Here it is again…
Rich Sourdough Pancakes
3 large eggs
1 cup milk
2 cups Sourdough Starter
1 3/4 cups all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking soda
2 teaspoons baking powder
1 1/2 teaspoons salt
1/4 cup granulated sugar
1/4 cup butter melted
Beat eggs in a medium bowl. Add milk and sourdough starter.
Sift together flour, baking soda, baking powder, salt, and sugar;
add to the egg mixture, mixing well. Stir in melted butter.
Lightly grease a hot griddle. Drop the batter by 1/4 cup onto
the griddle and cook until light brown, turning once.
Makes 6 servings.
These are the best pancakes! The extras freeze very well and taste delicious heated in the toaster.
These are the best sourdough pancakes I have ever had in my life!!!! Thank you so much for the recipe.
Pancake Nirvana!!!! Seriously. The best pancackes I have ever eaten. I did make one small change, since I am trying to reduce the amount of wheat I eat. I used a straight white flour sourdough starter, but for the additional flour I used a gluten free mix of white rice flour and tapioca flour. Phenomenal. I think the low gluten flour kept them tender, but the sourdough gave them a bit of chew and a copmplexity of flavor without actually being sour. LOVE! Thank You!
Just fed my starter a couple of days ago and when I looked in the fridge I found that I have quite a bit of it. Went looking for Jacki’s recipe for pancakes and the link does nada.
I was curious to find the answer and just googled “baking powder baking soda difference” and this site was the first one- I’d have to say I pretty happy to find it!
copied and pasted from:
http://chemistry.about.com/cs/foodchemistry/f/blbaking.htm
How Are Recipes Determined?
Some recipes call for baking soda, while others call for baking powder. Which ingredient is used depends on the other ingredients in the recipe. The ultimate goal is to produce a tasty product with a pleasing texture. Baking soda is basic and will yield a bitter taste unless countered by the acidity of another ingredient, such as buttermilk. You’ll find baking soda in cookie recipes. Baking powder contains both an acid and a base and has an overall neutral effect in terms of taste. Recipes that call for baking powder often call for other neutral-tasting ingredients, such as milk. Baking powder is a common ingredient in cakes and biscuits.
Substituting in Recipes
You can substitute baking powder in place of baking soda (you’ll need more baking powder and it may affect the taste), but you can’t use baking soda when a recipe calls for baking powder. Baking soda by itself lacks the acidity to make a cake rise. However, you can make your own baking powder if you have baking soda and cream of tartar. Simply mix two parts cream of tartar with one part baking soda.
What’s the difference beteween Baking soda and baking powder?
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