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Sourdough Sunday: Perfect Buttermilk Sourdough Pancakes

October 30, 2016 by Nicole 20 Comments

Easy overnight buttermilk sourdough pancakes | pinchmysalt.com

These perfect buttermilk sourdough pancakes are mixed up the night before and ready to be cooked in the morning for a lazy weekend breakfast. They are very easy to make once you have your sourdough starter going and I believe they are the most delicious pancakes you’ll ever taste.

Easy overnight buttermilk sourdough pancakes | pinchmysalt.com

Even if you aren’t interested in baking sourdough bread from scratch, these pancakes and the sourdough biscuits that I shared last week are more than enough reason to keep a sourdough starter in the refrigerator.

This post may include Amazon affiliate links. Making purchases through these links won’t affect the amount you pay and I may earn a small commission.

Whether you get some from a friend, buy it online, or make your own (it’s really not that hard!), maintaining a sourdough starter is easy. And once you have a jar of starter bubbling away on the counter or tucked away in the refrigerator, you can use it to start making these delicious pancakes that everyone will love.

In my experience, even people who don’t normally care much about pancakes will rave about these!

Mixing overnight sourdough pancakes batter | pinchmysalt.com

Making the batter is simple. The night before, stir together flour, buttermilk, and sourdough starter. Cover the bowl and let it sit out at cool room temperature overnight. By the way, if you don’t have buttermilk, regular milk works just fine in this recipe.

Mixing overnight sourdough pancakes batter | pinchmysalt.com

The next morning, the batter will be nice and bubbly and ready for the rest of the ingredients.

Mixing overnight sourdough pancakes batter | pinchmysalt.com

Stir in an egg that has been beaten with salt and baking soda. I mix the soda and salt into the egg just to help everything get distributed into the thick batter a little easier.

Mixing overnight sourdough pancakes batter | pinchmysalt.com

Stir it all together until the egg is completely mixed in.

Mixing overnight sourdough pancakes batter | pinchmysalt.com

Next, stir in the melted butter. I add the butter separately so that the melted butter doesn’t doesn’t harden from being mixed with the cold egg.

Mixing overnight sourdough pancakes batter | pinchmysalt.com

That’s it! Your pancake batter is ready to go.

How to grease a cast iron griddle | pinchmysalt.com

I cook my pancakes on a cast iron griddle that came with my stove. Because it’s cast iron and takes a while to heat, I turn it on before the final mixing of the batter. Then when I’m ready to cook, I brush it lightly with either butter or oil using a silicone pastry brush. This time I used coconut oil.

Sourdough pancakes on the griddle | pinchmysalt.com

Sometimes I make big pancakes, sometimes I make small ones. It just depends on my mood and who I’m feeding. These were for my husband, so they are on the large side.

This is a pretty thick batter so the pancakes will cook up thick and fluffy. Because of that, you want to make sure your griddle isn’t too hot or the pancakes will burn before they are cooked through. You’ll know it’s time to flip them when edges of the pancakes are starting to look dry.

Easy overnight buttermilk sourdough pancakes | pinchmysalt.com
Easy overnight buttermilk sourdough pancakes | pinchmysalt.com

It may take a little trial and error to get the griddle to the perfect temperature, but once you get the hang of it, you’ll be rewarded with perfect, golden, fluffy sourdough pancakes.

Easy overnight buttermilk sourdough pancakes | pinchmysalt.com

Don’t forget the butter and maple syrup!

Easy overnight buttermilk sourdough pancakes | pinchmysalt.com

This pancake recipe is adapted from the recipe that came with the original sourdough starter I purchased from King Arthur Flour about 10 years ago.

Kitchen equipment used for this recipe:
(the following are Amazon Affiliate links)

  • Reversible Cast Iron Griddle/Grill
  • Silicone Pastry/Basting Brush
  • Small syrup pitcher (handy for heating syrup in the microwave!)

Related Recipes:

  • How to Make Sourdough Starter
  • Easy Pumpkin Maple Sourdough Cake
  • Buttery Sourdough Biscuits
  • Sourdough Chocolate Cake with Chocolate Cream Cheese Frosting

Around the Web: 

  • Sourdough Crumpets from Chocolate and Zucchini
  • Sourdough Blueberry Muffins from Turnips 2 Tangerines
  • Sourdough Loaf with Cranberries and Walnuts from Bewitching Kitchen
  • Sourdough Muffins from Kitchen Stewardship
Easy overnight buttermilk sourdough pancakes | pinchmysalt.com

Perfect Sourdough Pancakes

Yield: 10–12 4-inch pancakes
Prep Time: 15 minutes
Cook Time: 20 minutes
Additional Time: 8 hours
Total Time: 8 hours 35 minutes

Ingredients

  • 1/2 cup whole wheat flour
  • 1/2 cup all purpose flour
  • 1/2 cup sourdough starter
  • 1 cup buttermilk
  • 1 tablespoon sugar
  • 1 egg
  • 1/2 teaspoon salt
  • 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
  • 2 tablespoons butter, melted and cooled

Instructions

  1. The night before you want to make pancakes, combine the flours and sugar in a mixing bowl. Add buttermilk and sourdough starter and stir to combine. Cover the bowl with plastic wrap. Let sit out at cool room temperature overnight (up to 12 hours is fine).
  2. The following morning, melt butter and set aside to cool a bit. In a separate bowl, whisk together egg, baking soda, and salt. Stir egg mixture into the pancake batter until well combined then stir in melted butter.
  3. Drop by spoonful (as large or small as you want) onto a moderately hot, lightly greased skillet or griddle. Cook pancakes until bubbly and starting to dry out on the edges then flip and and continue cooking until browned to your liking on the other side.

Notes

This recipe feeds about 3-4 people. Recipe can easily be doubled or tripled for a larger family.

You can use all purpose flour in place of whole wheat if desired, but the whole flour tastes great in this recipe.

Regular milk can be used in place of buttermilk if that's all you have. I do this quite often and the pancakes still have a great flavor because of the sourdough starter.

If the batter seems way too thick, you can thin it with a bit more buttermilk or milk. Just be careful not to add too much or your pancakes will turn out very thin.

Nutrition Information:
Yield: 4 Serving Size: 1
Amount Per Serving: Calories: 267Total Fat: 8gSaturated Fat: 5gTrans Fat: 0gUnsaturated Fat: 3gCholesterol: 64mgSodium: 603mgCarbohydrates: 40gFiber: 3gSugar: 6gProtein: 9g
© Nicole Cross
Category: Breakfast/Brunch
Easy overnight buttermilk sourdough pancakes | pinchmysalt.com

Filed Under: Breakfast/Brunch, Sourdough

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Reader Interactions

Comments

  1. Phillip says

    October 30, 2016 at 1:14 pm

    These are the best! And you know I'm one of those people who don't usually care much for pancakes. Great post!
    Reply
  2. SallyBR says

    October 30, 2016 at 5:31 pm

    Those are amazing, and such a great use for sourdough starter! Plus, your photos are wonderful!
    Reply
  3. Sabrina says

    November 2, 2016 at 10:34 am

    love the idea of using sourdough with whole wheat flour, used to have whole wheat pancakes from a family recipe years ago, but have not used a sourdough starter, so thank you for this!
    Reply
  4. Kylie says

    August 22, 2017 at 7:09 pm

    We have been using this recipe for months now! We love these pancakes, my kids and husband won't even consider any other type of pancakes now!
    Reply
  5. Donna Coats says

    December 28, 2017 at 5:57 pm

    Is this fed or unfed srarter?
    Reply
  6. Food And Drink blogs says

    January 18, 2018 at 2:32 am

    These are the best!
    Reply
  7. Sherah says

    January 19, 2018 at 7:36 am

    Hello :) I am new to working with sourdough. I just received my first starter from a friend the other day. Can you please help me understand? When you use starter for this recipe, has it already been fed? Or are you pulling some out before feeding? And can I use starter that has been fed and been sitting for about 8 hours? Does all that make sense? Thank you so much for your help! :)
    Reply
  8. Kim H says

    February 11, 2018 at 7:42 pm

    These look so great! I just finished my sourdough starter and am looking for uses so I don’t end up throwing it away. If I keep my starter in the fridge does it need to be woken back up before putting it in the pancake batter or can it be used right from the fridge?
    Reply
    • Nicole says

      March 5, 2018 at 7:58 pm

      Hi Kim, I use it straight from the fridge for pancakes and waffles.
      Reply
  9. Lindsey says

    June 30, 2018 at 8:46 am

    These were great and I say that already having an amazing family pancake recipe. I used the unfed starter discard and they turned out perfectly fluffy.
    Reply
  10. Colleen says

    June 30, 2018 at 7:37 pm

    I am new to working with sourdough too but have made this recipe many times. You will take out for pancakes and then feed your starter. I do this every Saturday night, double the recipe, and make these pancakes for my family every Sunday morning. We love them!
    Reply
  11. Hasina Khan says

    August 7, 2018 at 12:19 am

    Those are amazing, and such a great use for sourdough starter!Plus, your photos are wonderful!
    Reply
  12. Rithika Sharma says

    December 6, 2018 at 10:15 pm

    Such a amazing recipe and great use for sourdough starter. Thank you for sharing thise post.
    Reply
  13. Emese says

    June 15, 2019 at 5:41 am

    You can use either fed or unfed starter here. Because you will add flour so there is something to feed on. I get my unfed out a night before and add flours to it only....the next morning add the rest, stir and pantry the pancakes.
    Reply
  14. Julie says

    March 3, 2020 at 7:25 am

    Amazing!! Question: Can one make the batter in the morning and still use in the evening or even next day? Thanks and keep on inspiring
    Reply
    • Nicole says

      March 4, 2020 at 10:00 am

      Yes, I have made the batter in the morning and used it in the evening. If you want it for the next morning, I would just mix it up the night before.
      Reply
  15. Cyndi says

    March 15, 2020 at 9:01 am

    We really enjoyed these this morning, I did make some alterations. I added chopped walnuts, vanilla, and some spices like cinnamon and nutmeg. Very good. Thanks,
    Reply
  16. Cori says

    March 29, 2020 at 7:31 pm

    Can you substitute sour milk for buttermilk in this recipe ? Milk with a tsp of vinegar,,,,
    Reply
    • Nicole says

      March 30, 2020 at 12:11 pm

      Yes, that substitution should work fine!
      Reply
  17. Pancakes says

    August 8, 2020 at 11:57 am

    If there are no real cool spots in the house, can the batter rest in the refrigerator overnight,or should it be left out even if the house is warm (75 degrees or so)?
    Reply

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