Sourdough Sheet Pan Pancakes

With the upcoming arrival of our third baby, I’ve been trying to do simple batch cooking projects to fill some freezer space and make the transition from a family of 4 to a family of 5 as smooth as possible.

Pancakes are definitely always welcomed for breakfast (and sometimes dinner!) but I tend to shy away from them due to the mess and the time it takes to cook an entire batch. I’m no stranger to preparing freezer meals, so last night while the boys were at Grandma and Grandpa’s I planned on using every skillet we had to prepare as many pancakes as physically possible.

-And then it hit me-

Why not bake them?!

These pancakes are made with sourdough starter or sourdough discard. It doesn’t carry the traditional sour-ness of sourdough as the complete amount of dough doesn’t ferment overnight.

Since starting with sourdough (only about two weeks ago!) I’ve found it cringeworthy to throw away the ‘discard’ at the time of feeding my little fermented baby. The recipe I found initially from, I Am Baker, uses the discarded portion of your sourdough and gives you a beautiful, light and fluffy pancake the whole family will enjoy.

This not only provides a solution on what to do with some of the discarded sourdough, but paired with baking them in pans allows me to easily cook up large batches at a time. They can then be cut to size, frozen, and taken out to thaw in the fridge the night before.

I realize now that I was not inventing the wheel by my baking idea, as a quick google search showed me that it is quite common to bake pancakes. Let me tell you, I was so excited with the idea.

I can’t help but wonder how much more peaceful our world would be if everyone spent an occasional Saturday night testing out new recipes or mastering a new skill.

This recipe will fill one regular baking 9″x7″. Feel free to double or triple the recipe and separate onto different pans for big batch cooking!

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What You Need:

• 1.5 cups of sourdough starter
• 2 cups of flour (you may need a little more or less depending on the saturation of your pancake batter)
• 1 tablespoon of vanilla extract
• 2 room temperature eggs
• 1 cup whole fat milk at room temperature (we use our raw goat milk)
• 1/4 cup melted and slightly cooled butter (always go for grass-fed butter, if you’re able! The flavor is unmatched!)
• 1 tsp Himalayan Pink Salt
• 1 tsp baking soda
• 1 tsp baking powder
• Dash of ceylon cinnamon
• Cooking oil to spray your baking dish.
• Optional: Any extras your family prefers. Dark chocolate chunks, crushed pecans, blueberries, strawberries, etc.
• Stoneware baking dish (I got mine from Pampered Chef. I would definitely encourage you to purchase second hand or from a friend or family member that works with the company to support their business adventure! I received mine for free from hosting a party several years ago!)

*Note, I cook with all cast iron or stoneware 98% of the time. If you do not have stoneware or cast iron, your cooking times may vary. Make sure to keep an eye on your baking projects and adjust the duration as needed!

What to Do:

• Preheat your oven to 450 F.
• Mix together all of the ingredients until fully incorporated.
• Spread pancake batter evenly onto your lightly oiled pan.
• Allow batter to rise slightly in the pan for 10-15 minutes in a warm area. (I like to leave it on the stovetop as the oven is preheating. I’ve found this results in a fluffier pancake at the end.)
• Add in any of your “Extra” ingredients. I find that adding them on after the batter has risen slightly keeps them from all falling directly to the bottom.
• Take time to feed your remaining sourdough starter! If you’re anything like me, you will wander off on another project and completely forget to do so.
• Bake in your oven for 15 minutes or until the top is slightly brown and the pancake cooked completely through.
• Allow to cool for 10 minutes before slicing into your desired sizes. Serve while warm or if freezing, place pancakes on a parchment paper lined tray and flash freeze for 30 minutes before bagging. This will keep your pancakes from sticking together in the freezer!
• To reheat your frozen pancakes you can remove them to that in the fridge overnight and reheat in a toaster or lightly fry with butter on the stovetop.

Why use sourdough at all?

“Sour dough? Well, next to the Bible, sourdough is the most important possession on the frontier. You can make flapjacks and biscuits with it, patch a crack in the cabin, treat wounds, and even make brew.”

Maggie Brendan

Sourdough is desirable for many reasons. My specific interest in it has always been the ease of digestion and more nutrient availability to the body.

(Of course, the flavor is a big portion, too!)

The naturally occurring bacteria and yeast consume many of the flour’s starches and sugars while making it generally easier on those with flour, gluten, or wheat sensitivities. Those with Celiac’s disease should still avoid sourdough as there will still be traces of gluten in the culture and dough itself. There are options to create a gluten-free sourdough, just make sure that your initial sourdough starter has not been mixed with any type of gluten containing ingredients.

While sourdough bread can be bought at the store, it is generally an imposter. Simply look at the ingredients and often times you will see commercial yeast and many other preservatives and ingredients added to mimic the ‘sour’ taste.

The other main reason I wanted to look into sourdough (in light of all of 2020) is the naturally occurring yeast. During all the food distribution shortages brought on early last spring and the massive depletion of baking supplies readily available at the stores, there were several weeks we didn’t have any yeast to make our artisan or sandwich bread. Having a sourdough starter on hand eliminates the need for a commercial yeast.

Baking with Sourdough

The art of cooking with and caring for sourdough has been something I’ve wanted to learn for years. But there’s always been this ominous shadow looming over the idea of fermented foods. Looking at recipes and videos on YouTube of people weighing out precise portions and temperatures just seemed like way too much work on a regular basis.

In talking with a friend who uses sourdough regularly, she confessed to judging more so by volume – unless it’s a specifically delicate recipe. (Which, let’s be honest. I’m not one for delicate recipes!)

I was given a refrigerated sourdough starter sample from a very kind friend and began (what I thought would be) the delicate and dangerous journey in trying to revive it. I started off with equal parts starter, filtered water (from our APEC reverse osmosis system), and organic flour. Mixed well, and allowed the jar to sit lightly covered overnight.

The following day, half the mixture was removed and discarded, and I repeated the process. By the end of the second day, bubbles and the signature sour smell was starting to come from my little bacterial project. I did notice that using equal parts water seemed to be too much, and reduced the amount down by about a third.

This process was repeated to day four, where my sourdough starter exploded! (Not literally, but it more than doubled in size!)

I was tickled pink to see how well it did.

Our first venture was sourdough flatbread I served with a hearty stew.

The next night we tried the original sourdough discard pancakes from, I Am Baker. Served with extra butter and some fried ham. Delicious!

I have yet to master the art of sourdough bread. I’m not sure if the error was in the extended fermenting time I used (about 12 hrs overnight) for the dough, or if I simply didn’t use enough flour. The first attempt at bread left us with a relatively flat and extremely hard lump of too sour bread.

Fear not, I have not accepted defeat. I will master the sourdough bread in time!