The Fresh Loaf

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Sourdough Pancakes Using Left Over Levain?

Song Of The Baker's picture
Song Of The Baker

Sourdough Pancakes Using Left Over Levain?

Does anyone have a recipe for sourdough pancakes using left over/discarded levain?

I find that some formulas, such as Tartine Country Loaf, ends up with left over levain that I end up discarding.  Typically the formulas tell you to use the discard as your perpetual starter, but I already have a perpetual starter that I use to make the levain in the first place.  I have seen formulas for sourdough pancakes using starter, but I would like one that takes advantage of the levain...especially because the levain is nice and bubbly and ready to use first thing in morning after sitting to ferment overnight.

John

adri's picture
adri

Well, in my understanding, a levain/leaven is just one special state of starter where it can perfectly be used leavening a bread ;)

If you see it as a starter that is fed and already mostly fermented but not yet starving, you can use the recipes for "starters". The only thing is, that it won't be that tangy as a starving starter.

And if you let it sit for a while longer, the leaven will become a starving starter that creates the tangy starvation flavour/smell. But if you add a bit of sugar (I personally don't like anything sweet in the pancake) and fresh flour, even with a bit of "starvation" it will still be bubbly.

Adrian

clazar123's picture
clazar123

If you are doing pancakes just for yourself or your family they just about make themselves. I take my discard and add milk, egg, salt, and oil. If my discard is particularly sour, I might add sugar and I would use a little baking soda stirred in right before I was going to cook it so it bubbles up. I would base the amounts on some basic ratios-for every 2 cups flour: about  1/2-1 tsp salt (more or less to taste),1 egg, 1-3 tbsp. oil, about 1 tsp baking soda or baking powder and sugar/vanilla to taste. Add milk or liquid to get the correct consistency.

If you want to scale up or down you will probably need a formula.

If you want a yeast raised pancake, it is not much different than making a preferment but then your discard has to be active enough and it usually needs a period of time to raise. You may still need baking soda or powder. I don't usually make pancakes this way as it is too much bother.

 

Song Of The Baker's picture
Song Of The Baker

Thanks guys.  It looks like what I am after may not be the best method for sourdough pancakes.  I was hoping to use the left over levain and not my actual sourdough starter culture.  That is fine though..I will just use the starter instead as most recipes call for.  In the days before baking a bread, I end up throwing a lot of the starter away in the feeding discards...so makes sense to use these discards into something.

I will try that out.

Happy baking!

John

dabrownman's picture
dabrownman

and almost exactly exactly what I do.  I too sneak in a little baking soda (1/4 tsp) to the mix right at the end to get them to puff up like a pancake should.  Flour, water, oil, a little sugar an gg with the levain discard.  Just delicious....A bit of vanilla doesn't hurt either but not too much 1/4 tsp.

Happy pancake making John

clazar123's picture
clazar123

It may be a simple terminology difference that I don't understand. I use a bit of my starter to make a preferment (flour,water,starter) that I use in my dough as the only leavening. I always use all the preferment as that is how my recipes are set up.

Would you call my preferment " the levain" and the starter my "actual sourdough starter"?

The lexicon can be a challenge for me sometimes. There are so many variations of terms.

Also, you can use either the levain or the starter and just build from there. As I said-pancakes are the most forgiving items of deliciousness to make. The fermented dough gives them such good flavor.

 

 

dabrownman's picture
dabrownman

in French.    So levain could be the starter or the preferment  or the discard from building either.  I love the famous Forkish video where he throws away 2/3rds of the way too large preferment he made from his starter, calling it 'spent fuel'  and the use the rest of it, also exactly the same spent fuel for his bread:-)

Like you,  i don't have any extra preferment and build exactly what I need for the bread, that isn't spent fuel, so I have to make a preferment every time I want pancakes.  But when I made larger liquid preferment, I always had discards that had to go to making something - usually EM's or pancakes.  On thing is for sure.  With no discards and keeping a small rye starter in the fridge for 4 weeks without feeding,I don't have EM's a SD pancakes much anymore :-) 

Song Of The Baker's picture
Song Of The Baker

Sorry, I end up using terminology I see in formulas so it may not be clear.  What I am calling 'levain' is the preferment.  My levain (preferment) would be a tablespoon of starter, equal parts water and flour, then sit overnight to ferment.  My starter would be the sourdough culture that I perpetually keep alive in fridge and feed days before I bake a bread, then add to the 'levain' or preferment. 

The main point I was wondering is, can one make sourdough pancakes from left over preferment or levain?  I seem to only see sourdough pancake formulas using just the sourdough starter.

Since I only have a rye starter, this would make a rye pancake....which I don't want.  I usually use 50% spelt and 50% AP flour in my pancakes.  If I was able to find a formula that uses the preferment, then the rye starter would be a very small amount that wouldn't really be noticeable.

John

dabrownman's picture
dabrownman

Just follow clazar123 add milk, egg, oil, little sugar maybe a tsp or 2, and a bit of baking soda 1/4 tsp to make your normal batter thickness.  You can ferment it you want to,  just don't put the BS in till right before you make the pancakes.  Bu't you don't even have to ferment at all either - just mix and dump.

 

Song Of The Baker's picture
Song Of The Baker

Ahhh...ok good.  I will try this then.  Looking forward to it.  I have had a craving for sourdough pancakes for years...even though I have never actually tried them.  Always made them with buttermilk, baking soda and baking powder.

Years ago, I read the popular book 'Alone In the Wilderness,' the story of Dick Proenneke who left everything behind and moved alone to Alaska to live off the land and his hand built cabin.  Almost every morning he would make his sourdough pancakes...it sounded so rustic and appetizing...I've been craving them since.

Thanks dabrowny.

John

clazar123's picture
clazar123

You can use either your starter or your preferment in your pancakes. If your preferment is other than spelt and AP, you may have a delicious surprise in store.  Any flour (except maybe bread flour) will make a pretty good pancake. Pancakes just need to have a relatively weak flour so they are not chewy and enough starch to form a paste that can capture the gases to rise while cooking. The flavor from sourdough derived pancakes come from the flavors of fermentation and baked flour.

I don't usually have any leftover preferment. I make mine exactly like you do and use it all but occasionally, I make a preferment and then don't use it. Then we have pancakes sometime in the next few days. Put it in the refrigerator and use it when I'm ready. I use it all and just add another cup of flour (there is just 1 cup in my preferment). Makes enough pancakes for the 2 of us with leftovers.

I keep 3-4 starters-APand rye-in the refrigerator.I use either of these to make a preferment for white or whole wheat bread. I make rye bread with rye starter. I haven't had any difficulty rising WW with the AP or the rye.  Every weekend I either bake or just feed them. If I just feed them, then I have discard that I try and use-biscuits,muffins or pancakes. Rye seems to add a different dimension of fermented flavor but it is by no means dominant.  

Experiment a bit. I have even seen a recipe somewhere for a rye based cookie.

Song Of The Baker's picture
Song Of The Baker

Thanks for this...I will be trying it very soon.  I do realize I will probably have to experiment a bit till I get them the way I like...I posted this recipe a while back.  My typical pancakes are mostly spelt flour and buttermilk based.

http://www.thefreshloaf.com/node/34189/spelt-pancakes-blueberry-compote

John

Song Of The Baker's picture
Song Of The Baker

Thanks for this...I will be trying it very soon.  I do realize I will probably have to experiment a bit till I get them the way I like...I posted these recipes a while back.  My typical pancakes are mostly spelt flour and buttermilk based.

http://www.thefreshloaf.com/node/34189/spelt-pancakes-blueberry-compote

http://www.thefreshloaf.com/node/31794/spelt-flour-buttermilk-pancakes-carmelized-apples

John

dabrownman's picture
dabrownman

great looking SD pasta we saw not long ago.  Lucy hasn't gotten around to making it yet!  We like rye starter in SD discards to make pancakes too but we love rye in everything :-0 

Song Of The Baker's picture
Song Of The Baker

SD pasta? Remind me.

John

dabrownman's picture
dabrownman

makes SD pasta and she posted about it  - at least I think it was her.  Sounds fantastic,  i noted it on the to do list  but haven't made it yet   But it is getting very close!  Here it is.  Turns out there are a lot of SD pasta recipes using the search tool even one from ttxfarmer.  I still think it is cool

http://www.thefreshloaf.com/node/34454/sourdough-pasta

trailrunner's picture
trailrunner

It is the only way we make it now. It is amazing. Keeps uncooked for days and doesn't discolor  at all. I believe it is the acid level in the "levain/starter/preferment" that works its magic. You can't imagine how terrific lasagna is with this. We make extra levain just to have for pasta when we have folks coming over. Made a 6 egg batch yesterday and sent have of the pasta home with our chef son...he loves the stuff. Hope this helps. Keep me posted on the pancakes..oh and the same recipe makes killer waffles ! 

Mini Oven's picture
Mini Oven

Does that count?  Used Semolina (Duram) flour 100% hydration with yeast and salt and spelt for the bench work.  Smelled like I threw beer in the dough.   The crust was actually better the next day.

For pancakes I just make up the pancakes and toss in the sourdough.  

dmsnyder's picture
dmsnyder

has recipes for SD pancakes, waffles and pizza using excess SD starter. For the last 5 or 6 years, I've been using a recipe I got from SylviaH, as I recall. It is identical to the one on the KAF web site and is very good. (I leave out the salt and halve the sugar.) There is also a recipe on wildyeastblog.com, as I recall. 

Bon appetite!

David

Song Of The Baker's picture
Song Of The Baker

Thanks David and Mini...however, I was looking for a pancake formula using left over levain/preferment, not starter.  I only use a rye starter for all my breads.  I don't particularly want a rye pancake, which is what I would pretty much be getting using the large amount of starter the formulas call for. 

Happy baking!

John

pmccool's picture
pmccool

that rye flour in a pancake is a very good thing--especially when it is combined with some whole wheat and oat flours.  In that blend, you don't taste RYE to the exclusion of everything else; instead, it becomes another note in the flavor of the pancakes.  Very tasty!  And there's no reason that you couldn't use sourdough/levain as the carrier for the rye flour.

Paul

Song Of The Baker's picture
Song Of The Baker

Hi Paul.  Really!  I will have to try rye out then in my pancakes.  I am a huge fan of using mostly whole grain flours in my pancakes.  I feel unhealthy and gross after eating white flour pancakes.

Take care.

John

trailrunner's picture
trailrunner

Just take your bubbly levain and follow through. I have done it both ways...used my starter of which I had too much since I was planning on making a lot of loaves and built it up and I have used the extra levain from excess build for a particular formula. All you are doing when you use the starter or levain or preferment is subbing this "stuff" for part of the flour/liquid . Nothing more nothing less. Whatever you are feeding your levain or preferment with will carry over into the recipe. The one from KA is a very good one.

The other alternative for a recipe is to take your favorite buttermilk pancake recipe and use a 100% hydration preferment for part of the flour/liquid in the recipe. I will link to our best and I do mean BEST buttermilk pancake recipe. And I will post the pic from yesterday AM  :)  

 

Do not thin the batter.... barely stir it and leave lumps....

Whisk together 2 c AP flour, 3 tsp fresh baking powder ( makes a huge difference..check your dates) 1 tsp salt and 1/2 tsp baking soda ( check date on this too...keep sealed well..believe it or not it does expire and lose potency) Beat 2 large eggs and 2 c. Bulgarian Buttermilk and a scant 1/4 c peanut or other no flavor oil together. Add to dry and barely mix...fold in blueberries very gently. Have griddle oiled and on hottest setting ...cook 3 min approx on a side till golden. Your griddle may vary. ENJOY 

What you would do is sub for instance 1 c  100% preferment for 1/2 c flour and 1/2 c buttermilk...very easy. Follow the rest of the recipe exactly as written. You don't have to make this ahead as you do the KA and there is no need for any further fermentation and any age preferment /starter/levain will work . More or less sour to be determined by your product of choice. 

 photo IMG_6846_zps4c59956b.jpg  photo IMG_6849_zpscc4604ba.jpg  photo IMG_6851_zps6016fe76.jpg

dmsnyder's picture
dmsnyder

I gotta try this pancake recipe. I love that it doesn't require starter feeding before going to bed.

I just got home from grocery shopping. I had an unexplained urge to get buttermilk. Now I know why! I sometimes wish I listened to my instincts more diligently. :-(

David

Song Of The Baker's picture
Song Of The Baker

Hey man...these look great.  I ALWAYS use buttermilk in my pancakes but I will have to try Bulgarian Buttermilk. 

Thanks for the idea!

John

trailrunner's picture
trailrunner

you will be hooked ! The only caveat  is it has "thickeners" that I wish they had left out...unpronounceable stuff :(...but the lactus bulgaricus is unique to this product. I buy Dairy Fresh brand..there is at least one other. Please do post back. c

trailrunner's picture
trailrunner

if I listened to my instincts consistently...:)  You will love this recipe without the starter too. When my husband makes it he uses a scant 1/4 c peanut oil...I use 1/4 c melted butter...it is ALL good. I think it is the fat that makes these keep so well in the fridge...it makes about 20 or so...we cool them on a rack and then place in a sealed plastic box. Store in fridge as long as a week ( if they last that long ) reheat for 45 sec in microwave. You will never know they aren't fresh. I use the Bulgarian Buttermilk from Walmart. Only place I know to get it . It is very very thick and is a different culture base. Just don't thin the batter...it needs to stand up quite thick and don't over mix. ENJOY and post photos. c

Mini Oven's picture
Mini Oven

and water amounts of your left over levain and make waffles.  Add melted butter, eggs and etc.  or use heavy cream instead of butter,  I'm making myself hungry and my kitchen is closed for the night.   

how much left over do you have?

MackTheBaker's picture
MackTheBaker

I know this is a 2 year old thread, but I thought I'd chime in just incase anyone finds this string using the search function (as I did).

I'm a relative noobie sourdough bread baker, and like everyone else, was pretty sad to discard so much starter in the process. I've been practicing the Tartine standard recipe and cringing when I basically throw out half of the leaven. I've also been nervous to try to make anything with the leftover, so I didn't --- until today. I searched through the forum here looking for a pancake recipe, and found this thread. I didn't want to do the 8-12 hour process like many recipes suggest, so I just winged-it by following some of the advice above. They were AWESOME! I thought I'd post about it here, in case another noob needed the same advice and happened upon this post.

  •  leftover leaven from the Tartine recipe (about 200g?)
  • 1c Milk
  • 1c, plus a bit extra (to get the right consistency, use your judgement) Sprouted Spelt Flour (I suppose you could use any flour, but I had just used the last of mine in the Tartine bread recipe)
  • 2 Tbsp of Sugar (adjust this to your liking)
  • 3-4 Tbsp of melted Butter
  • 1/2 Tsp sea salt
  • 1/2 Tsp EACH of Baking Powder and Baking Soda (you could probably adjust this, use one or the other, I don't know why I decided to use both)
  • 1/2 Tsp (approx) of good Mexican Vanilla

All of these proportions are rather approximate.

I mixed this and used right away to make the pancakes, no sitting or leaving in the fridge. I fried in a hot cast iron with a touch of coconut oil. Served them with some melted butter, homemade raspberry rhubarb jam and a little maple syrup. Yummm! 

Christopher Barreto's picture
Christopher Barreto

Can this recipe be used for poolish preferment in any form?

MackTheBaker's picture
MackTheBaker

Probably? What sort of poolish were you thinking of using?

Christopher Barreto's picture
Christopher Barreto

I heard typically Poolish preferment are made with white bread flour and 100% water hydration. However, I'm not sure if milk would go well as a substitute to ensure a softer consistency, but I'm not too sure of the exact science. Verify these two links if you can:

http://www.thefreshloaf.com/node/22266/preferment-would-milk-be-ok

http://www.thefreshloaf.com/node/25719/milk-bread-making

I don't seem to have bread flour with me, but rather this:

My initial though was a retarded preferment with 125% milk hydration with 2% fat and 0.2% yeast. However, this type of flour might pose a problem due to it's high gluten content. Any thoughts?

Mini Oven's picture
Mini Oven

the 14% high protein content is mostly due to "whole" flour containing the higher protein gram bits. Not all protein is gluten.  So per 100g when compared to fine white flour, the gluten is actually lower.  

I might suggest soaking the flour several hours to soften bran before mixing up the recipe batter. 

Song Of The Baker's picture
Song Of The Baker

Thanks for contributing Mack.  I don't have much time for baking in the last year, but I still have time for pancakes!  I will try this out when I revive my year-and-a-few-months sleeping in the fridge starter.

Happy baking.

John