Sourdough starter introduces a pleasant, mild tartness to pancakes, which are an easy way to use extra sourdough starter when you don’t feel like baking bread. I dot these pancakes with fresh blueberries and pair them with a sweet, warm syrup flavored with butter and orange.
SERVES: 4 TO 6
INGREDIENTS:
SYRUP
- 4 large oranges
- 2 tablespoons unsalted butter
- ¼ cup unrefined cane sugar
PANCAKES
- 2 cups sourdough starter
- 1 tablespoon honey
- ½ teaspoon baking soda
- ¼ teaspoon finely ground unrefined sea salt Lard or unsalted butter, for frying the pancakes
- 1 cup blueberries
INSTRUCTIONS:
- To make the syrup, finely grate the zest of the oranges. Place the zest in a small bowl, then cut the oranges in half crosswise and squeeze their juice into the same bowl.
- Melt the butter in a saucepan over medium heat. When it froths, whisk in the sugar. Allow the sugar to cook in the butter for 1 to 2 minutes, until fragrant and syrupy, and then stir in the orange juice and zest. Simmer the mixture until it reduces by half, about 15 minutes. Cover the pan to keep the syrup warm while you make the pancakes.
- Preheat the oven to 200°F.
- To make the pancakes, in a bowl, beat the sourdough starter with the honey, then beat in the baking soda and salt. Wait for about a minute until the batter bubbles and increases in volume as the baking soda and sourdough starter react.
- Melt about a tablespoon of fat in a skillet over medium-low heat. Pour about ¼ cup of the pancake batter into the hot fat and drop a few blueberries onto the pancake. Let the pancake cook undisturbed until the center of the batter begins to form bubbles, then flip the pancake and continue cooking on the second side for 1 to 2 minutes more, until a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean. Transfer the pancake to an ovenproof plate, cover with a kitchen towel, and set the plate in the oven to keep warm while using up the remaining batter and blueberries; add more fat to the skillet as needed. Serve the pancakes with the warm orange syrup.
