Sourdough Biscuits

Today I had way more starter than I needed. That happens when I don't make bread regularly. The problem is that we just don't eat many sandwiches, so I need more ways to use up this excess starter. We ( and by we I really mean I like sweet breakfast over savory) so the pancakes are great for me, but I would have a revolt in the person of dh if we had pancakes every day. Enter these biscuits. I have a great biscuit recipe, but extra great recipes are always welcome. I really didn't expect this to be a great recipe. I was pleasantly surprised. Try it and I think you will be very happy with the results. I fed my starter the night before to get prepared to make these biscuits this morning.

Sourdough Rolled Biscuits

1 cup of starter
1/2 teaspoon of salt
1/2 teaspoon of soda
2 Tbsp. sugar
2 tablespoons of cooking oil, or melted butter or shortening
1 cup of flour
2 teaspoons of baking powder

Mix starter and oil. Stir dry ingredients and add to starter and oil. Roll mixture on floured board until 1/2 inch thick. Cut biscuits, let rise for 15 minutes. Bake at 425ºF. for 15 minutes.

Sourdough Pancakes

I'm just a few weeks into my sourdough journey. I certainly don't know a lot about using sourdough. I'm still researching and learning. When I bought my sourdough, I was still going to be on the road for a week. I put the sourdough in an ice chest and iced it down daily.
When I brought it home, I set it on the counter and let it warm up for about an hour. Then I add 1/4 cup warm water and stirred well. Then I added 1 cup flour and 3/4 cup warm water. I left it on the counter and fed it daily for about a week. I wanted to make extra sourdough for friends and family who wanted it. After a while, though, it just made more sourdough than I could possibly use. On one blog, the blogger said she only kept about 1/2 cup in her fridge. I had way more than that.
We don't eat a lot of sandwiches, so we don't eat a loaf of bread a day. Maybe a half of a loaf, if the boys come for a visit. I read that you need to take some out regularly, to maintain some kind of chemical balance. So, off I went to find other recipes to use the excess sourdough on. I can't bring myself to throw away perfectly good starter, which is what one sourdough site advised.
Last night I begin the process of soaking my grains to make sourdough pancakes. All I can say is wow! Wow! Is this recipe ever delicious! You must try this. This is very food storage friendly if you use powdered eggs like I did.

Sourdough Pancakes

2 cup of sourdough starter
1 cup warm water
1/3 cup milk powder
2 1/2 cups of whole grain flour
3 large eggs
4 tablespoons of brown sugar
1/4 cup of oil, or melted butter
1 teaspoon of baking soda
1 teaspoon of salt

The night before you want to serve this, combine the starter, water, and flour. Make sure that you have plenty of room for this mixture to rise. The next morning, add the rest of the ingredients, and combine well. The thickness, will depend on the hydration of your starter. If you want thinner pancakes you can thin with water (or milk). Drop about 1/4 of a cup of the batter on a lightly oiled hot griddle (over medium to medium-high heat) until the the top is set, and the bottom lightly browned. Flip the pancake and cook until the pancake is lightly browned on the other side.

Sourdough Pancake Variations:

Blueberry Sourdough Pancakes:
Combine 1 cup blueberries dusted with 2 tablespoons sugar; let stand a few minutes. Gently fold blueberries into the batter just before adding the baking soda mixture.

Apple Pancakes:
Grate some tart apples into the batter before adding the baking soda mixture.

Banana Pancakes:
Thinly slice or mash banana into the batter before adding baking soda mixture.
(Chocolate chips would be a great addition to the banana pancakes for the kiddos)

Try these pancakes. Really, you'll thank me. It will become your go-to pancake recipe. I'm off to throw out my old favorite recipe.