Love sourdough, but don’t want to waste the discard? Turn it into some sourdough discard pancakes! These are the only pancakes we eat in our house anymore. Delicious and gut healthy. These are a super simple, quick breakfast that the whole family will love. Plus they freeze well!
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Sourdough to the Rescue
In high school, I started breaking out in hives for no apparent reason. We had been to every doctor in town and nobody knew why I was so itchy. I eliminated foods and eventually discovered that gluten set off the hives. I changed my diet to permanently remove gluten. It was a hard breakup. Tears were shed.
I had never enjoyed cooking, therefore I didn’t know much about it. Cooking just about anything required a research paper first. During that research I stumbled upon sourdough. I read about the benefits of fermented foods, how to make a starter, and amazing looking recipes.
Then I found something interesting about gluten in connection to sourdough. The article stated that people who are sensitive to gluten can oftentimes handle sourdough because of the fermentation. I was immediately curious and did what any nerd would do. More research!
That led me to creating a sourdough starter. After a week, I set out to make all things sourdough. I failed a lot. But I also learned a lot. I eventually mastered sourdough waffles. They became my breakfast staple. I kept waiting for the hives to show up or my stomach to hurt, but I never had either. So I kept practicing recipes so that everything could be sourdough.
Then something crazy happened. I was in a situation where I had to eat gluten to avoid being awkward. Going home that night, I was preparing myself for the worst. I knew that hives and a stomach ache lay ahead of me that night. I just hoped that it would wait until I was safe in my own house. The hives never came. My stomach didn’t hurt. So naturally I ate gluten again a week later. No side effects!
That was about a year ago. I eat sourdough at least once a day, if not more. If I’m baking something at home, I always try to ferment it. I can then eat all the gluten I want without getting sick or breaking out in hives. Sourdough totally changed my life and eating habits. Despite the bad breakup, gluten and I have gotten back together and have a wonderful relationship, as long a sourdough is there.
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Why Sourdough?
Sourdough was used by people to leaven bread before they were able to go to the store and by those little yeast packets. Sourdough is the old-fashioned yeast packet.
Grains contain phytic acid, but our bodies don’t really process it well. Phytic acid prevents our bodies from absorbing the nutrients from our food. Fermentation gets rid of most, if not all of the phytic acid, in the grains before we eat them. The fermentation process also helps break down some gluten, so although the bread isn’t gluten free it does have a lower gluten content. This allows people like me, who are sensitive to gluten, to eat sourdough. It also acts like a probiotic, which makes it great for gut health. Sourdough has prebiotic characteristics as well, which simply means that the good bacteria in your gut enjoy eating the fiber.
Sourdough Discard Pancakes Recipe
Ingredients
1 cup sourdough starter or discard
¼ cup fractionated coconut oil or melted butter
1 egg
½ teaspoon salt
1 tablespoon honey
1 teaspoon baking soda
Coconut oil or butter for frying
Instructions
- Whisk together 1 cup of sourdough starter, ¼ cup of fractionated coconut oil, 1 egg, ½ teaspoon salt, and 1 tablespoon honey together.
- Preheat a cast iron skillet. This prevents the pancakes from sticking to the pan. When it gets warm add some coconut oil or butter. You need just enough to coat the pan. About a tablespoon should do for a large cast iron skillet.
- Right before you’re ready to fry add 1 teaspoon of baking soda to the batter. You can add it right before freezing if that’s your plan.
- When the pan sizzles when flicked with water, it’s time to fry. Pour about ¼ cup of pancake batter into the pan.
- The trick is to only flip it once. When the top gets nice and bubbly and the edges get brown it is probably time to flip. If you flip too soon it is more likely to stick and cause problems.
- Let it cook for about 30 seconds to a minute on the other side.
- Serve with peanut butter, whipped cream, or good old maple syrup!
Freezing Sourdough Discard Pancakes
Line a cookie sheet with parchment paper. This will keep the pancakes from sticking together when they freeze. Lay as many as you can flat on the parchment. If you have more pancakes, put more parchment paper on top and put on another layer of pancakes. You can do as many layers as needed to freeze all of your sourdough discard pancakes. Put the pan in the freezer to flash freeze the pancakes. When they are frozen solid, take them off the parchment and put them in a plastic bag. I make up large batches on the weekend and keep them in the freezer for breakfast during the week.
To reheat the sourdough discard pancakes, pop them in the microwave for about a minute depending on the size of the pancake. Smaller pancakes can be reheated in the toaster. I normally do giant pancakes so that isn’t an option.
If you are wanting to make pancakes while camping, you can totally freeze the batter too! Make up the batter and put it into a plastic bag. Freeze it flat so that it packs well in the cooler. When it’s time to make breakfast, let the batter thaw out. Cut off the bottom corner of the bag. Now you can squeeze the batter into the skillet without making a mess. We did this while camping this summer and it worked wonderfully!
Sourdough Discard Pancakes
Ingredients
- 1 cup sourdough starter or discard
- ¼ cup fractionated coconut oil or melted butter
- 1 egg
- ½ teaspoon salt
- 1 tablespoon honey
- 1 teaspoon baking soda
- Coconut oil or butter for frying
Instructions
- Mix together 1 cup of sourdough starter, ¼ cup of fractionated coconut oil, 1 egg, ½ teaspoon salt, and 1 tablespoon honey together.
- Preheat a cast iron skillet. This prevents the pancakes from sticking to the pan. When it gets warm add some coconut oil or butter. You need just enough to coat the pan.
- About a tablespoon should do for a large cast iron skillet.
Right before you’re ready to fry add 1 teaspoon of baking soda to the batter. You can add it right before freezing if that’s your plan. - When the pan sizzles when flicked with water, it’s time to fry. Pour about ¼ cup of pancake batter into the pan.
- The trick is to only flip it once. When the top gets nice and bubbly and the edges get brown it is probably time to flip. If you flip too soon it is more likely to stick and cause problems.
- Let it cook for about 30 seconds to a minute on the other side.
- Serve with peanut butter, whipped cream, or good old maple syrup!
The site may contain links to affiliate websites, and we receive an affiliate commission for any purchases made by you on the affiliate website using such links. As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases. As a Revive EO Affiliate I earn from qualifying purchases.
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