Even if you don’t have sourdough starter, you can still make amazing sourdough pancakes. These fluffy kefir sourdough pancakes use kefir as the starter.
Since I make milk kefir daily, I always have plenty of kefir for consumption and for cooking in various recipes. I love using kefir as a starter for sourdough, because we are benefiting from a fermented batter without the work to maintain a sourdough starter. Check out my Kefir Fermented Honey Thyme Sourdough Cornbread. Watch the video below for how to make these kefir sourdough pancakes.
Uncomplicated Sourdough Pancakes
I used to think making sourdough pancakes is a complicated task, because I was intimidated by the thought of making and maintaining a sourdough starter. Then I discovered that I can actually use milk kefir as a sourdough starter, and since then I have been making these healthy yummy kefir sourdough pancakes regularly.
I want to share this recipe with the intention to demonstrate that by using kefir as the starter anyone can make sourdough pancakes. For the same reason, I wrote this recipe using all-purpose flour, because it’s the most readily available flour that everyone have access to. However, feel free to swap for whole wheat flour instead. If you prefer using a traditional ancient grain flour, my go-to is the spelt flour, and you can try the Overnight Banana Spelt Pancakes also fermented with kefir.
Another aspect of this recipe that simplifies the making process is using a food processor. When mixing the batter by hand, it takes a long time to break up the lumps formed by the flour. I highly recommend a food processor if you have access to one, because it significantly speeds up the time to make an evenly-mixed pancake batter.
Kefir Sourdough Pancake Ingredients
- Whole Milk Kefir
- All-Purpose Flour
- Salt
- Maple Syrup
- Vanilla Extract
- Egg
- Baking Soda
- Blueberries (Fresh or Frozen)
- Coconut Oil
Fermenting The Pancake Batter
The most technical part of this recipe is the process of fermenting the pancake batter. There are ingredients that go into the initial batter, and then there are ingredients that go into the batter after fermentation and right before cooking.
Initial Batter
The initial batter consists of milk kefir, all-purpose flour, salt, maple syrup, and vanilla extract. I make the initial batter the night before I want pancakes for breakfast. It takes only a few minutes to blend the ingredients in a food processor.
Fermentation Period
I leave the initial batter inside the food processor bowl, and let it ferment overnight. By the next morning, I have usually fermented the batter for a minimum of 8 hours, and up to 12 hours.
Final Batter
Right before cooking the pancakes, I add baking soda and egg into the food processor bowl and blend again until everything is well combined. By adding the egg right before cooking, you don’t have to worry about leaving a batter containing raw egg out in room temperature overnight. However, I have also tried adding the egg in the initial batter and haven’t gotten sick from eating the pancakes. Adding the egg in the final batter is a safer choice if you are concerned and it doesn’t affect the taste or texture of the pancakes. Adding baking soda after fermentation neutralizes the acidic taste of the sourdough, and creates a fluffy spongy texture for the pancakes. At this point, I remove the blades of the food processor, and stir the blueberries into the batter to complete the final pancake batter.
Related: More Tasty Recipes Using Milk Kefir
- Kefir Avocado Green Goddess Dressing (Keto, GAPS, Gluten-free)
- 3 Ingredient Strawberry Kefir Popsicles (GAPS, Gluten-Free)
- Probiotic Kefir Tzatziki Dip
- Mango Kefir Ice Cream w/o Ice Cream Maker
- Superfoods Kefir Maca Smoothie
- Raspberry Kefir Cream Cheese Spread
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Kefir Sourdough Pancakes (with Kefir as The Starter)
Equipment
Ingredients
- 1 1/2 cups whole milk kefir
- 1 1/4 cups all-purpose flour
- 1/2 teaspoon sea salt
- 3 tablespoons maple syrup
- 1 teaspoon vanilla
- 1 large egg
- 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
- 3/4 cup blueberries fresh or frozen
- 3 tablespoons coconut oil
Instructions
- On the night before making pancakes for breakfast, add milk kefir, all-purpose flour, salt, maple syrup, and vanilla extract into the food processor bowl. Place the lid on the food processor. Blend on high speed until all the ingredients are mixed together. There might be lumps that got stuck on the side of the bowl. Remove the lid and scrape down the food processor bowl using a spoon. Close the lid and blend again. Repeat until the batter is completely smooth without lumps.
- Leave the batter in the food processor bowl with the lid on to ferment overnight, for 8 to 12 hours, in room temperature.
- Right before cooking the pancakes, add baking soda and egg into the food processor bowl and blend again on high speed until everything is well combined.
- Remove the lid and blades of the food processor, stir the blueberries into the batter.
- Heat the griddle or cast-iron pan over medium-high heat. Grease the pan with a thin layer of oil. Drop pancake batter onto the pan using a spoon or ladle to form circle shaped pancakes. When small holes appear on top of the pancakes, flip them over. Cook the other side for roughly the same amount of time. Transfer the pancakes onto a plate. Repeat the process to make more batches of the pancakes until the batter is finished.
Video
Nutrition
Hi could I use a gluten free flour? Or would it need more liquid? Thanks so much your recipes look amazing 😋
Hi! Thank you for the message and trying out the recipe. I have not made this pancake with gluten-free flour before, so I can’t share my experience. I hope you can give it a try and let us know how it goes. I would guess you should be able to use a gluten-free flour. I would suggest checking on the batter and see if it’s the consistency you want, and add more kefir if you feel more liquid is required.