Fluffy Gluten Free Sourdough Discard Pancakes

Sourdough bread has become a staple in our house these days. I make both gluten free and regular sourdough bread every single week. Which means, I am feeding my sourdough starters a lot! These gluten free sourdough discard pancakes are a great way to avoid wasting all that starter discard. 

Good news, you can do this exact same recipe with regular all purpose flour and regular sourdough discard if you don’t need to eat gluten free. 

If you are just getting started on your sourdough journey, make sure to check out how to start a gluten free sourdough starter or how to start a regular sourdough starter so you can have loads of starter discard at your fingertips.

They are incredibly fluffy pancakes that have a sweet yet slightly tangy taste. The girls even deemed them better then my regular gluten free pancake recipe.

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My favorite way to cook pancakes is on my cast iron griddle. There is just something about butter and pancakes sizzling on a cast iron skillet that gets me every time!

You can also use an electric griddle or even just a cast iron pan if that’s all you have. No extra equipment needed for this recipe!

Our favorite ways to throw sourdough starter discard in dishes is in dinner rolls, pizza crust, and even these yummy gluten free sourdough discard crackers! Sourdough crackers are definitely a favorite. It’s amazing what you can add sourdough starter discard to that will change up the flavors.

What do I mean by discard?

You probably hear it a lot, “discard your starter and feed the remaining”. 

But what exactly does that mean? Your discard is the part of the starter that is not fed. It’s what you are removing from your jar to either discard (throw away) or to use in something else. So you do not need feed what you are putting in the discard recipe.

This means that you don’t have to plan ahead to make gluten free sourdough discard pancakes! If your starter is sitting on the counter like mine, you will always have sourdough discard ready to go.

Things that you can whip up on the whim are definitely needed on a busy homestead. Especially when it is something everyone loves!

The cool part about sourdough discard is, it is still a living/active/fermented thing. So you will still get the benefits of the fermentation process in your starter for your tummy, plus it will make whatever dish you are using it in rise just a little. 

Unfed starter is not an active starter that can be used in bread for it to rise. But it does a great job in other dishes like pizza, brownies, or these pancakes!

Ingredients:

• 1 cup sourdough starter discard (either gluten free or regular)
• 2 eggs
• 2 tsp baking powder
• 1 tsp baking soda
• 1/2 tsp sea salt
• 4 TBSP pure maple syrup
• 2 cups all purpose gluten free flour (use regular all purpose flour if you don’t have to be gluten free)
• 1/2 -1 cup milk (to get the right consistency)

How to make gluten free sourdough discard pancakes:

1. Add in your gluten-free sourdough discard, eggs, baking powder, baking soda, salt, and maple syrup to a large bowl. Whisk together until smooth.
2. Next add your flour to the wet ingredients and start to whisk together. Pour in milk a little bit at a time in between whisking until you have the right consistency and your batter is completely smooth.
3. Heat your skillet on medium heat and melt a couple tablespoons of butter on it. 
4. Take a cup of sourdough pancake batter and form pancakes on your hot skillet. 
5. Cook on both sides for a few minutes until they are golden brown and cooked all the way through.
6. Serve hot topped with butter and maple syrup.

What gluten free flour do I use?

I have mentioned this in previous posts, but not all gluten free flours are the same. How a gluten free all purpose flour blend works is they take multiple different flours and blend them together to make an all purpose flour. 

This means that depending on the flours in the blend, will depend on the outcome of your product. 

I have switch to my own homemade blend for over a year now and love it in all my recipes. I have shared the recipe in my Gluten Free Homestead Pantry e-book and in my The Ranchers Homestead Digital Cookbook. 

The flours I use in my blend are also the flours I use in my breads, so I just buy the flours in bulk on Azure Standard. That way I am not buying added flours just for the blend. 

If you would like to just buy an already made gluten free flour blend, I highly recommend Cup 4 Cup. 

Whatever flour you use, make sure it has a binding agent in it such as xanthan gum, psyllium husk, or guar gum.

Delicious add in’s for gluten free sourdough discard pancakes.

This is a great recipe to add in different things to change it up! I love taking a recipe and then changing it by just adding something delicious to it.

Some of our favorite things to add are blueberries, strawberries, or chocolate chips.

You could even do a cinnamon/raisin blend. Add cinnamon and nutmeg to taste and a few handfuls of raisins to your batter before cooking. Now add a drizzle of maple syrup once they are cooked and enjoy.

The possibilities are endless with the add ins!

As you are feeding your starters throughout the week don’t forget about these delicious gluten free sourdough discard pancakes to use up all that extra starter. These are the perfect hearty weekend breakfast that your family will thank you for making!