Best Overnight Sourdough Pancake Recipe {So Fluffy!}

This overnight sourdough pancake recipe is our family favorite. Who doesn’t love a heaping stack of fluffy pancakes on a Saturday morning? I can’t whip them out fast enough for my family, and they all have their own favorite toppings they prefer on them.

My husband wants them savory, with a side of runny eggs and bacon. One kid loves them plain with fresh fruit on the side, and the others love them with peanut butter, bananas and maple syrup. I’m in-between, I love them either way, especially knowing they’re fermented properly and won’t give me a stomach-ache, like regular pancakes do.

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I adore sourdough. I love baking all the things to serve my family, and a few years ago when anything I made with active yeast gave my husband heart burn and myself stomach aches, I entered the sourdough world. Now everything I make that involves flour is sourdough, and neither of us have the gut issues we experienced before. It is such a blessing to our family. I make everything sourdough from cookies to breads, pasta to pizza. Pancakes were not about to be the exception, but like with most everything, I needed to play around with recipes until I found a method and recipe that I love. Now, this overnight sourdough pancake recipe is one of our weekly go-to’s.

Why you’ll love this recipe:

• It’s actually fermented, verses mixed and made right away. I have been experimenting with a sourdough pancake recipe for a long time. True sourdough pancakes require fermentation, which results in easier to digest and more nutrient dense pancakes because of the good bacteria from the natural yeast.
• They are perfectly tangy. I’ve found sourdough pancakes recipes that were decent, but kept playing around until my recipe resulted in the best overnight sourdough pancake recipe you will find. This easy recipe uses an overnight method that results in delicious pancakes with the perfect amount of tangy flavor from the active starter, balanced with the sweetness of vanilla and honey. You have to think ahead for this recipe, it needs to be mixed the day before and the sourdough starter needs to be active. 
• They are fluffy and light. While sourdough discard pancakes are also true sourdough, I never love them. I feel those are too flat and tough and result in a very sour pancake. The baking soda and baking powder and the wild yeast from the sourdough make these pancakes perfectly fluffy, just like pancakes should be.

Here are the ingredients for the pancakes and how to make them:

Ingredients You’ll Need:

• 2 cups all purpose flour
• 1 cup unfed but active sourdough starter 
• 4 tsp baking powder
• 1 tsp baking soda
• 1 tsp salt
• 1 3/4 cups milk 
• 2 eggs
• 3 tbls melted butter or melted coconut oil
• 1 tsp vanilla extract
• 2 tbls honey

How to Make this Recipe:

1. The day before you want to have them for breakfast, mix the flour, milk and active sourdough starter together in a large mixing bowl. Cover with a plastic wrap or a wet towel and let the batter ferment in the fridge for 12+ hours. 
2. The next morning, add the wet ingredients to the overnight batter, and whisk.
3. Sprinkle the remaining ingredients: baking soda, baking powder and salt over the batter and whisk it aggressively. It should have a thicker consistency than you know pancake batter to be, but if it is too thick to whisk, add more milk. 
4. Heat your pan of choice (I use a non-stick ceramic griddle) to medium heat, I like about 325 degrees. 
5. Melt butter or any oil to the griddle, and wait for it to bubble. 
6. Scoop about half a cup of batter onto the hot griddle, and leave it until it begins to form bubbles, takes about 2-3 minutes. 
7. At this point you can add any other toppings like chocolate chips or blueberries. 
8. Flip onto the second side for an additional 2 minutes. 
9. Stack and serve with all the toppings! 

FAQ’s

What to serve with these pancakes:

• maple syrup 
• peanut butter
• dollop of yogurt
• whipped cream
• chocolate hazelnut spread
• pat of butter
• scrambled or runny eggs
• sausages or bacon
• fresh berries or bananas
• jam

Can I make my own sourdough starter?

It takes longer to start your own starter and nurse it until it’s healthy and ready to use, but yes you can. I have a blog on how to make your own sourdough starter, and how to maintain it. But if you have a friend or a relative that has an active starter, don’t hesitate to ask for some. We are constantly feeding our starters and always have extra to share. 

How long will the rest of the batter keep in the fridge?

The longer you keep it in the fridge the more sour it will taste. But you can store it in the fridge in an airtight container for up to 4 days. 

Can I use a different kind of flour?

Yes, absolutely. I look forward to the day I have my own flour mill and can experiment with different grains. But you can use any and all kinds of flour: spelt, einkorn, whole wheat flour, etc. You can use it alone or mix it with all-purpose flour, just be aware that the texture will vary. 

Can I make these dairy free?

Yes! Replace the butter with coconut oil. There are several substitutes you can use in place of milk, whether you’re looking for dairy-free options or just want to try something different, here are some alternatives to use as a 1:1 replacement:

1. Coconut milk
2. Almond milk
3. Buttermilk 
4. Oat milk
5. Water. Yes you’ll still have fluffy pancakes if you use water! 

Can I freeze these pancakes?

Freezing these pancakes is a great idea. Lay them individually on a parchment paper and freeze them. Once they are fully frozen, transfer them to a Ziplock freezer bag. I hate microwaves so I won’t recommend warming them in one, but you can. My best recommendation is the oven: heat it to 375 degrees and lay the pancakes on a baking sheet and bake them for 10 minutes. 

Other sourdough recipes you will enjoy:

• Sourdough Baked Pumpkin Donuts
• Sourdough Pumpkin Cinnamon Rolls

Overnight Sourdough Pancakes Recipe

Print Recipe Pin Recipe

Prep Time 10 minutes mins

Resting Time 12 hours hrs

Course Breakfast

Servings 8

Ingredients

  

Ingredients

• 2 cups all purpose flour
• 1 cup unfed but active sourdough starter
• 4 tsp baking powder
• 1 tsp baking soda
• 1 tsp salt
• 1 3/4 cups milk
• 2 eggs
• 3 tbls melted butter or melted coconut oil
• 1 tsp vanilla extract
• 2 tbls honey

Instructions

 

Instructions:

• The day before you want to have them for breakfast, mix the flour, milk and active sourdough starter together in a large mixing bowl. Cover with a plastic wrap or a wet towel and let the batter ferment in the fridge overnight (12+hours).
• The next morning, add the wet ingredients to the overnight batter, and whisk.
• Sprinkle the remaining ingredients: baking soda, baking powder and salt over the batter and whisk it aggressively. It should have a thicker consistency than you know pancake batter to be, but if it is too thick to whisk, add more milk.
• Heat your pan of choice (I use a non-stick ceramic griddle) to medium heat, I like about 325 degrees.
• Melt butter or any oil to the griddle, and wait for it to bubble.
• Scoop about half a cup of batter onto the hot griddle, and leave it until it begins to form bubbles, takes about 2-3 minutes.
• At this point you can add any other toppings like chocolate chips or blueberries.
• Flip onto the second side for an additional 2 minutes.
• Stack and serve with all the toppings!

Keyword overnight, pancakes, sourdough