Sourdough Discard Pancakes

Light and fluffy sourdough discard pancakes made with homemade buttermilk and melted butter for big flavour and the best texture. Whipped egg whites add extra lightness to these tasty pancakes.

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How This Recipe Works

It's a truly excellent sourdough discard pancake recipe, with a proper base including whipped egg whites, not just baking powder, to add lift. If you've never tried adding beaten egg whites to your pancake batter you're in for a very pleasant surprise.

The pancakes are packed with flavour, too, with buttermilk, melted butter, and discard really boosting the taste to take it from average pancake to something special. These are great pancakes but aren't any trickier to make than any other pancake recipe. Unlike our sourdough pancakes, these are cooked immediately after mixing and don't use a long ferment.

As always with pancakes, the key is to allow the pan to preheat fully before starting to cook. Your first pancake doesn't need to be a flop, you just need to give the pan enough time to heat up beforehand - a cold pan is almost always the problem. I developed and tested this recipe.

Ingredients You'll Need and Why

These are pretty standard pancake ingredients, and we're using homemade buttermilk instead of store-bought to make things easier. These are our notes from recipe testing. You can find the full recipe card below with complete measurements and instructions.

• Flour: this should be plain white flour. Bread flour makes for chewy pancakes. We haven't tested with whole wheat flour or gluten-free alternatives.
• Milk: whole milk (around 3.25% fat) is ideal, but any type of dairy milk will be fine. For a non-dairy alternative, we recommend unsweetened soy milk.
• Vinegar: a small amount of apple cider vinegar makes an easy homemade buttermilk. Lemon juice is the best substitution. 5% white vinegar is good too.
• Discard: this can be sourdough discard or active sourdough starter. If using discard, make sure it's not too old (and grey, and hooch-y), which adds an unpleasant taste to the pancakes.
• Eggs: there is no substitute for eggs. They should be at room temperature. To quickly bring cold eggs up to room temperature, submerge in a bowl of warm water for 10 minutes before use.
• Butter: the best flavour comes from using melted butter, but oil can be substituted if preferred.
• Sugar: not only for flavour, sugar also adds moisture to baking and recipes like pancakes. If you reduce it the pancakes will be dry and can become dense.

How to Make Discard Pancakes

This is a two-bowl recipe, with the egg whites beaten in a second bowl. I always use an electric mixer for the egg whites to save time, but they can be beaten by hand. Make sure they're completely mixed and you don't have any liquid egg white at the bottom of the bowl.

Step 1: whisk the egg yolks, and sugar to combine, then mix in the discard, buttermilk mixture, vanilla, and melted butter.

Step 2: add the flour, baking powder and soda, and salt. Sift the baking soda and powder through a fine mesh sieve if they're lumpy. There's nothing worse than biting down onto a piece of baking soda, and you want them to be able to incorporate well into the batter.

Step 3: beat the egg whites until stiff. The bowl must be completely clean, with no trace of oil, and there can't be any egg yolk in the mix.

Step 4: You can really see a difference here once the egg whites are folded in - look at the difference in volume in the batter between step 2 and step 4.

Step 5: let the batter rest while the pan preheats. This allows the flour to hydrate slightly and makes the pancakes fluffier. Pour some batter into the preheated pan and cook until bubbles start to form.

Step 6: flip the pancake and cook on the other side until cooked through. A common failing with pancake beginners is to flip too late, once the pancake has already started to cook through on the first side. This makes the pancakes dense.

Expert Tips for the Best Pancakes

• Don't over-mix: whisking too long before adding the egg whites will make the pancakes rubbery. Mixing too much after adding the egg whites, instead of gently folding, will knock the air out. Use a gentle hand.
• Keep the buttermilk: the acidity added to the milk makes a homemade buttermilk, which reacts with the baking soda to improve rise. Using plain milk with no added vinegar will result in flatter pancakes.
• Use a good pan: if using a cast iron griddle or pan, be sure it is well seasoned or else the pancakes may stick no matter how much oil you use.
• Brush with oil: use a pastry brush to lightly brush the griddle or skillet with oil to prevent sticking without making greasy pancakes.

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