I know, this is the third sourdough posting in a row. I’m having fun with it and want to share. I know this is not Italian food. But it’s my food. And I think my readers trust me that when I post something it has to be good. And this is really good.

There really is no substitute for sour dough. You need to take the first step and develop your own sourdough starter. It’s easy and simple. My first posting, Sourdough Bread, has the instructions on how to develop those little beasties right in your own kitchen.

Sourdough pancakes don’t taste like any other pancake. Not buttermilk or buckwheat, they have a flavor all their own. Whenever I have a high carb breakfast, like a bowl of oatmeal or pancakes or waffles, I’m usually hungry three hours later. It’s like a flash in the pan. The carbs burn up quickly and I’m left starving before lunch. Not with Sourdough Pancakes. Sourdough pancakes have nothing in common with other pancakes, except in shape and color. And the proof is in the pudding, or sourdough. After a breakfast of sourdough pancakes I’m good until lunch, late lunch. These hotcakes really stick to your ribs. It has to be the high protein content of sourdough. The fermentation of the wild yeast changes things in the flour. It breaks down the grain into amino acids and makes it tolerable even for the gluten intolerant. If you are interested in all the health benefits of sourdough  you should read this article by Sasha Navazesh.

I’ve been making pancakes since the age of 9 or 10. When my mother Rose would get up in the morning and start making breakfast for by brother Richard and sister Annette, I would sit it out. “I’ll make my own breakfast, Mom”, I would say to her dismay. I just liked the way I did it better. My mother was a great cook. I learned everything I know from her and my Grandmother. But my breakfast had to be a certain way. Till this day, when I make breakfast for my sons, they tell me that no one makes bacon and eggs or pancakes and waffles like I do. By now I think I have it down pat. These sourdough pancakes are worth the effort of keeping a pot of sourdough starter going just for them. They are the most tasty, lightest and satisfying hotcakes I ever had. And they taste nothing like regular pancakes, even with all the added butter and syrup and honey you put on. These hotcakes stand alone.

Sourdough Pancakes

• 2 cups sourdough starter
• 2 tablespoons of sugar
• 4 tablespoons of melted lard or butter or vegetable oil ( I prefer the lard that I make from the pastured pigs I get)
• 1 egg
• 1/2 teaspoon of salt
• 1 teaspoon of baking soda diluted with 1 tablespoon of warm water

The night before I want to make pancakes I take out my sourdough from the refrigerator, stir it up and place a cup of it in a large mixing bowl. I replace what I took out of my sourdough container with a cup of flour and half cup of filtered  water. I let it sit on the counter for an hour before I place it back in the fridge to be ready for my next recipe.

To the cup of sourdough I just placed in the mixing bowl, I add a cup of flour and a cup of filtered or spring water. Stir it up, and cover the top with a paper towel or plastic wrap, and let it sit on your counter overnight. The next morning I should have a full 2 cups of  bubbling active sourdough in my bowl. Check to see if it’s the consistency you want in your pancake batter. You can add more water or flour at this point to get it there.

Beat the egg and add that to the sourdough, along with the salt, melted butter and sugar. Stir it up well. Leave the baking soda to the very end when your griddle is hot and ready. Once you have your griddle hot, butter it with some butter. Add the baking soda mixed with 1 tablespoon of warm water and gently fold this into your sourdough. Don’t mix it hard . You will notice the soda reacting to the sourdough and bubbling up.

Pour your sourdough batter onto the hot grill. Wait till the top bubbles before turning.

Turn only once and NEVER pat down your pancake with your spatula. Leave it until you are ready to place it on your plate.

Top with butter, honey or syrup and enjoy.

If you want blueberry sourdough pancakes add a handful of blueberries to the pancake you just poured onto the griddle. Flip it over when ready and enjoy.

I have to say, these hotcakes are good enough to have for dinner. Add some breakfast sausage or bacon or smoked ham to the side and a hot cup of Joe and your set. Guess what I’m having for dinner tonight?