• Home
  • Recipes
    • Vegan
    • Raw
    • Salad
    • Soup
    • Treats
    • Smoothies & Juices
      • My Awesome Smoothie Book
      • Favourite Products
      • Smoothie & Juice Recipes
      • Juicing Articles
  • Happiness
  • Adventures
  • Work with Me
smarterfitter

Recipe

Sourdough Buckwheat Pancakes

September 24, 2011 · By Monica Shaw

Sourdough Buckwheat Pancakes

In the last few months I’ve been practising making sourdough bread. This involves keeping a starter around that I feed from time to time with flour and water. A loaf of bread only takes a few tablespoons of starter to bake, so I end up with lots of leftover starter around.

It’s a common predicament for sourdough bread bakers, and many have come up with various ways to use it (see my previous post on sourdough buckwheat crepes, and Clotilde’s post on sourdough crumpets).

Last week I got a hankering for pancakes and Carl Legge pointed me to this wonderful recipe for sourdough buckwheat pancakes by Northwest Sourdough. The recipe turned out a real treat – simple, light, fluffy pancakes, perfect for a Saturday morning.

Sourdough Buckwheat Pancakes

I just enjoyed some of these pancakes with fresh picked blackberries, homemade blackberry and plum jam and a bit of natural yogurt (creme fraiche with have been amazing). Purists would adore these with maple syrup, or perhaps strawberries and whipped cream.

And just look at the interior of these pancakes: beautifully bubbled and airy, speckled with lovely buckwheat.

Sourdough Buckwheat Pancakes

I’ve tweaked the recipe just a tad from the original, using slightly less butter in the batter and maple syrup for sweetening. Next time I’d like to try mixing the flour, water and sourdough starter the night before to let things ferment a bit and bring out the sour flavour a bit more. I’d also like to try upping the buckwheat quotient. Then again, why tweak a recipe that’s already pretty stellar to begin with? Because I’m like that.

This recipe makes a LOT of pancakes so scale it down if it’s just one or two of you. Or don’t – they should freeze well, and who wouldn’t want a stockpile of yummy fluffy pancakes in the freezer?

Sourdough Buckwheat Pancakes

Sourdough Buckwheat Pancakes

Adapted from a recipe at Northwest Sourdough. The recipe makes a LOT of pancakes. I like mine on the small size, about 3-4 inches in diameter, and this recipe made over 30 pancakes (yowza!). But the good news is they freeze well. Reheat in the toast and you have the ultimate pancake breakfast, available at your fingertips!

Ingredients

  • 2 cups sourdough starter
  • 1 cup warm water
  • 1 cup milk
  • 4 beaten eggs
  • 2 Tbsp maple syrup
  • 1/4 cup butter
  • 1 1/2 cups of all purpose flour
  • 1 cup of buckwheat flour
  • 2 teaspoons salt
  • 1 teaspoon baking soda
  • 1 Tablespoon baking powder
  • Butter for cooking

Method

  1. In one bowl, mix together the wet ingredients (sourdough starter, warm water, milk, egs, maple syrup and butter).
  2. In a separate bowl, mix together the dry ingredients (all purpose flour, buckwheat flour, salt, baking soda and baking powder).
  3. Heat up a pan to just above medium – you want a fairly hot pan (sourdough likes hot temperatures according to Northwest Sourdough).
  4. Just before you’re about to cook, mix the wet ingredients into the dry ingredients into the dry ingredients until just mixed.
  5. Put a little butter into the pan and spread it around.
  6. Pour dollops of batter into the pan (I use a 1/4 cup measure that’s about 2/3 full). As you first start to see bubbles in the centre (this will happen quickly), flip the pancakes. After a minute or so check the bottoms. When their nice and golden, take off the heat.
  7. Repeat with the rest of the batter, adding more butter to the pan as needed.


Prep Time: 5 minutes

Cook time: 20 minutes

Yield: About 32 4-inch pancakes.

Per pancake: 77 Calories | 2.4 grams Fat | 12.5 grams Carbohydrates | 2.5 grams Protein | 0.7 grams Fiber

About Monica Shaw

Veg lover, dog owner, hill walker, wild camper, avocado addict, nerd. I write about how to be awesome through a "smarter fitter" approach to eating, drinking, living and working.
Learn More →

Share

Share
Tweet
Email
Pin
Comment
Previous
Next

Comments Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Recipe Rating




  1. Laura says

    October 23, 2011 at 9:28 am

    These look fantastic, Monica. I’ve never tried baking sourdough but think it would be a great technique to master. These pancakes are particularly selling it to me!

    Reply
    • Monica says

      October 23, 2011 at 9:38 am

      Laura, thank you so much for the comment. Sourdough is great – for bread, too, obviously! Give it a go. I could even send you some sourdough to get you started. 😉

      Reply
  2. Jessica says

    September 5, 2018 at 6:36 am

    How would you alter the recipe for overnight fermentation?

    Reply
  3. Marilee says

    January 25, 2021 at 11:16 pm

    Hi, I make these weekly. They always turn out like the pic. Great recipe!!

    Reply
    • Kelly says

      December 20, 2023 at 4:33 pm

      These buckwheat sourdough pancakes are my new favorite! I like to modify by leaving out the maple syrup, subbing apple sauce for the butter, using vanilla protein flour and coconut flour for the all purpose flour, and also adding in a tsp of vanilla extract. I also cook them in coconut oil. They still come out delicious!

      Reply
  4. Cassandra Bergin says

    August 25, 2022 at 10:26 am

    Thank you, Monica, for this recipe! I halved it, use a buckwheat starter (I’m gluten free) and did 1cup buckwheat flour, 1/4 cup gf flour blend…. They’re amazing. And no more problems with bucketloads of discard around – just mountains of delicious waffles!! Thank you so much.

    Reply
  5. Stani says

    August 23, 2024 at 4:21 pm

    Hi 🙂 I love this recipe cause I have a lot of starter and also buckwheat which I am not sure what to do with. I have a question. Do you use active starter or leftover starter from the fridge?
    Thanks ❤️

    Reply
    • Monica Shaw says

      August 26, 2024 at 8:40 am

      Ideally make it with active starter. 🙂

      Reply
  • Facebook
  • Instagram
  • Pinterest
  • Twitter

Search

Eat Sleep Wild is our nature-based business in the Northwest of Scotland. Join me on a guided hike in Assynt, stay at our dog-friendly self-catering cottage, or join Mark on a stargazing evening under Scotland's darkest skies!

Writer's Residence is my website builder for writers - create an online writing portfolio in minutes!

Instagram

Instagram did not return a 200.

Follow Me!

About

  • About
  • Work with Monica
  • Contact
  • Smarter Fitter Smoothies

Follow Me

  • Facebook
  • Flickr
  • Instagram
  • Pinterest
  • Twitter

Search

Subscribe

Buy my book

Smoothie eBook

Copyright 2025 smarterfitter