Being a food lover also means I really dislike throwing food away. That’s why I love these Sourdough Discard Pancakes so much and make a batch every week. Ever since I got serious about mastering homemade sourdough, I’ve had another by-product side quest to contend with. Said side quest being: finding good uses for all the discarded sourdough starter, or discard, I am left with every time I feed my starter before a bake. To this day, I have never dumped a single gram of precious starter in the trash. While it was a bit overwhelming in the beginning to juggle multiple jars of starter until I found a way to use it, I am proud to say none has gone to waste. I also have kept my original starter alive since last summer; yay me!
If you’re as averse to tossing food as I am, you’ll love the concept of discard recipes and these Sourdough Discard Pancakes will become your go-to just as they have for me. They start with the absolute best pancake recipe, which I have coveted in a well-worn spiral notebook since 8th grade Home Economics class. It’s such a solid recipe, it even got my husband looking forward to mixing up a batch whenever the littles ask for them. They’re fluffy and tall and light and melt-in-your-mouth. Adding in a healthy scoop of sourdough discard makes them even better, so much so, that we only ever make them this way now. The slight tang from the sourdough is unmistakable and very pleasantly balanced with the slightly sweet, cakey dough. A good slathering of butter and drizzle of maple syrup compliment the delightfully fermented pancake.
Not only does this recipe yield a really tasty pancake, but it uses up a good volume of discard. It’s supremely satisfying re-purposing so much of this liquid gold sourdough starter without having to sacrifice any to the garbage. I feel really good about such a pragmatic use for the discard that encourages the cycle of continuing to bake Homemade Sourdough so I can keep adding to the reserve jar of discard for discard recipes. This pancake recipe is a foolproof way to guarantee your discard always has a happy, tasty home.
