Sourdough Pumpkin Pancakes

5 from 2 votes

These sourdough pumpkin pancakes are a fluffy, delicious breakfast! They’re made with sourdough discard, milk kefir (or buttermilk), flour and pumpkin purée.

Prep Time5

Cook Time30

Minimum Fermenting Time:2

Total Time2 35

Course: Breakfast

Cuisine: American

Diet: Gluten Free, Vegetarian

Servings: people (2 pancakes each)

Calories: 218kcal

Author: Sarah Trenalone

Ingredients

Sourdough Ferment (2 Hours or Overnight):

½ cup pumpkin purée
1 ½ cups milk kefir (plain) or buttermilk, divided See recipe notes
1 cup sourdough starter (unfed, discard) Use gluten-free starter if needed, see "gluten-free pancakes" in Recipe Notes
2 cups all-purpose flour (~8 ounces, measured by weight) Use gluten-free all-purpose flour such as Cup 4 Cup if needed.
2 tablespoons sugar or honey (optional)

Remaining Ingredients:

2 eggs
3 tablespoons melted butter, slightly cooled Or use 3 tablespoons oil
½ teaspoon sea salt
1 teaspoon pumpkin pie spice Or swap Chinese 5 spice
1 teaspoon baking soda
⅓ cup chopped pecans (optional)
oil spray (or more melted butter) for griddle, optional
maple syrup or honey (to serve)
extra butter (to serve)

Instructions

Fermenting the Batter:

In a small bowl (or mixing cup), mix together the pumpkin and about ½ cup of the milk kefir.
Remove the sourdough discard from your starter. Go ahead and feed your sourdough starter after removing the discard.
Add the pumpkin kefir mixture, the discard, flour, remaining kefir (or buttermilk) and sugar to a large mixing bowl. Whisk until incorporated and fairly smooth.
Cover the bowl with a lid or a towel.
Short Ferment: Let the batter rest for at least 2 hours at room temperature (70°F -75°F). You'll begin to see bubbles rising up in the batter.
Longer Ferment (for Stronger Sourdough Flavor): Let the batter rest for 12 hours or overnight at room temperature (70°F -75°F). The batter will rise somewhat as it rests and become very bubbly. After a long ferment, gently deflate the dough with a spoon or whisk.

Finish the Batter:

Whisk the eggs and melted butter in a small bowl. Make sure the butter has cooled slightly so that the eggs don't scramble.
Gently whisk the egg and butter mixture into the batter.
Add the salt, pumpkin pie spice and baking soda to the batter and gently whisk again until just incorporated. (Avoid over-mixing.) At this point, the batter will begin to bubble and rise.

Make the Pancakes:

Preheat a griddle over medium heat. Spray with oil (or brush with butter) if not non-stick.
Use a ⅓ cup measuring cup to pour batter onto the hot griddle, using the back of the cup to help shape the pancake into a circle if desired.
Top the pancake with a small pinch of pecans (if using).
As the pancake cooks, the edges will begin to pull away from the griddle. Use a large, flexible spatula to test the bottom of the pancake and check to see if it's golden. If you typically watch for bubbles setting to know when to flip your pancakes, that technique won't work here, because there are bubbles in the batter.
When the bottom of the pancake is golden, flip it. Cook until both sides are golden.
Repeat with remaining batter and pecans.
Keep pancakes warm in a 190°F oven while you finish cooking the batter, or until ready to serve.
Serve warm with butter and maple syrup or honey.
Leftover pancakes (Fridge): Wrap pancakes in foil and store for up to one day in the fridge. Reheat in a toaster, toaster oven or microwave until warm (about 30 seconds).
Leftover pancakes (Freezer): To freeze, wrap the pancakes in wax paper and store in an air-tight container for up to 2 months. Reheat in a 350°F oven for 8-10 minutes, on a griddle until warm, or in the microwave for 1-2 minutes.

Notes

Yields twenty 4" pancakes (when made with ⅓ cup batter per pancake).

For homemade buttermilk: Use 2 cups milk (2% or whole) and 2 tablespoons white vinegar. (1 tablespoon vinegar for each cup of milk).

To substitute milk: Store the pancake batter in the fridge overnight (instead of at room temperature).

Gluten-Free Pancakes:

This recipe is not completely gluten-free unless you use both a gluten-free sourdough starter and gluten-free flour.
For gluten-free pancakes using AP gluten-free flour, you may need to add an extra ½ cup of milk kefir (or buttermilk). The xanthan gum in AP gluten-free flour will thicken the batter more than traditional AP flour.
I've these tested gluten-free pancakes using a rice flour sourdough starter and Cup 4 Cup flour (and they were pretty delicious!).

Optional toppings (maple syrup and extra butter) are not included in the nutrition information.

Nutrition