Light Fluffy Sourdough Pancakes

Since I'm currently experimenting with sourdough as a leavening agent I decided a few weeks ago to try using it in pancakes.  I started with Mrs. Bugbear's basic pancake recipe and modified it slightly.  Providentially in the second or third attempt I added the original leavening agent (baking powder) as well as the sourdough starter which resulted a light fluffy and very thick pancake.  Yesterday I used the following recipe and got a 3" diameter pancake that was almost 1-¼" thick.

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1 cup sourdough starter
1 cup hard wheat flour
1/4 tsp Gluten (optional)
1 tsp baking powder
3/4 cup milk
4 tbsp cup white sugar
2 tbsp oil (optional)

Sift the dry ingredients together.  Add wet ingredients and mix well, the batter should be fairly thick.  Let the batter rest while the pan heats to between medium-low and medium (a bit cooler than for a regular recipe).  For best results use a cast iron frying pan.  You'll note that the batter will have begun to bubble on it's own this is normal and desirable.   Flip the pancake after the top looks bubbled, the bubbles may be larger than you're accustomed to in a regular pancake recipe.  Serve topped with butter and maple syrup.

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A Couple Variations:

1. I recommend leaving the oil out of the recipe as the pancakes end up tasting almost like donuts.
2. By increasing the amount of starter and decreasing the added flour by the same increment you can vary the sourness of your pancake, the amount of milk will have to be adjusted to keep your batter from being too thin.  The recipe as presented above tastes like a regular pancake with just a hint of sourness.

A Disclaimer:

This recipe works well with my starter.  Your starter may be less active and you may need to start your pancake batter the night before.  In that case omit the baking powder in the dry ingredient mix and instead dissolve the same amount of baking powder in water and add it to the recipe just before cooking.  I found this recipe worked well but your mileage may vary.

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