Sourdough Blueberry Pancakes

5 from 3 votes

These sourdough blueberry pancakes are a fluffy, delicious breakfast! They're made with sourdough discard, milk kefir (or buttermilk), flour and fresh or frozen berries.

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: 213kcal

Author: Sarah Trenalone

Ingredients

Sourdough Ferment (2 Hours or Overnight):

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 cups milk kefir (plain) or buttermilk See recipe notes
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 baking soda
2 cups fresh or frozen blueberries, plus more to serve (amount approximate)
oil spray (or more melted butter) for griddle, optional
maple syrup or honey (to serve)
extra butter (to serve)

Instructions

Fermenting the Batter:

Remove the sourdough discard from your starter. Go ahead and feed your sourdough starter after removing the discard.
Add the discard, flour, 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 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 blueberries. (I like to use about 8-10 berries per pancake.)
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 blueberries.
Keep pancakes warm in a 190°F oven while you finish cooking the batter, or until ready to serve.
Serve warm with extra berries, butter, and maple syrup or honey.
Leftover pancakes: 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.
Pancakes can be stored for up to a day in the fridge, but the moisture in the blueberries tends to make them become soggy more quickly than pancakes without berries.

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).

Blueberry note: If desired, you could stir the blueberries into the batter before ladling the batter onto the griddle. I've found this technique makes it harder to ensure that each pancake gets enough blueberries, so I prefer to add as I go. Note that frozen blueberries mixed into the batter will likely turn the batter blue.

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