Craving a loaf of sourdough bread? Make it yourself if you have a Sourdough Starter. Learn how to take care of your starter to keep it healthy in this post. And get a bonus sourdough starter pancake recipe too!

I am away on vacation this week but I prepared a quick post for you today about sourdough starters. Before you can make a sourdough bread, you will need to get your hands on a sourdough starter. You can totally make your own starter at home if no one has any to spare (see resource list below). And just like your kids, you have to feed your starter regularly to keep it alive! No one wants a dead starter on their hands 😉

sourdough starter and pancakes

The starter pictured above is a 100% hydration sourdough starter. That means it is 1 part starter, 1 part flour and 1 part water BY WEIGHT! Very important. You may recall from the video in my sourdough bread recipe post that my starter was a lot more liquid, it just had more water, or higher hydration. If you get into sourdough breadmaking you will see the term hydration a lot.

I bake bread maybe every 3 weeks. And I keep my starter in the fridge so I only have to refresh it (feed it) once a week. Check out this short video of me feeding my starter! If you like the video make sure to subscribe to my channel!

Sourdough Starter Resource Center

Want to learn more about sourdough starters and try bread recipes? Check out this resource list:

Since I do not bake every week, it took me a while to figure out how much starter to keep so I would not be wasteful the following week. I feed 2 ounces of starter and end up with 6 ounces once fed. If I do nothing at the end of the week I only toss 4 ounces. Sometimes I freeze it to give to friends. Or I use the starter in a recipe from the last link listed above. Like these fluffy sourdough egg-free pancakes.

Don’t have a sourdough starter, no worries just check out this recipe for fluffy pancakes.

sourdough starter pancakes

But my favorite no fuss recipe that is practically made up of only the starter is pancakes. This egg-free pancake sourdough recipe is the bomb. The pancakes have a light sour tastes and are just a touch chewy.  If I am alone for breakfast I just make 2 pancakes out of my 4 ounces. If you want to make the full recipe I would feed all 6 ounces the night before to get the 2 cups and make the pancakes in the morning. Just remember to keep 2 ounces aside to feed.

Even if you do not bake bread, it is worth having a starter just to enjoy these pancakes every weekend!

Egg-free Sourdough Starter Pancakes

My favorite no fuss recipe that is practically made up of only the starter is pancakes. This egg-free pancake sourdough recipe is the bomb. The pancakes have a light sour tastes and are just a touch chewy.
Course Breakfast
Servings 8 pancakes

Ingredients
  

  • 2 cups sourdough starter
  • 2 tablespoons melted butter
  • 2 tablespoons sugar or maple syrup
  • 1/2 teaspoon salt
  • 1 teaspoon baking soda
  • optional: water
  • Butter for frying

Instructions
 

  • Whisk all the ingredients together in a small bowl.
  • If the starter is really too thick you can mix in a bit of water, 1 to 2 tablespoons at a time. It should still be thick.
  • Heat a non-stick skillet on the stove or griddle. Add a bit of butter and spread 1/4 cup of the mix per pancake into the skillet and cook until browned on both sides.

Did you know the sourdough starter is created by the process of fermentation? Here are a few more fermented recipes: