Green Apple-Sourdough Pancakes

Since I haven’t maintained an active sourdough starter for a while now, we have been missing sourdough pancakes. Bart made these pancakes for us the other day. These are great because you can just make your starter the night before. We served our pancakes with Apple Cider Syrup (see recipe at The Sisters' Café).

Recipe from Food Network Magazine.


Ingredients

For the Sourdough Starter:
• 1 cup whole milk
• 1 teaspoon active dry yeast (1/2 packet)
• 1/2 cup apple cider
• 3 tablespoons packed light brown sugar
• 2 tablespoons unsalted butter , melted
• 1 cup all-purpose flour
For the Pancakes:
• 1/2 cup all-purpose flour
• 1 large egg, slightly beaten
• 1 teaspoon baking soda
• 1 small tart green apple (such as Granny Smith), unpeeled, diced
• 1 to 2 tablespoons unsalted butter
• Maple syrup or honey, for serving
• Chopped pecans, for garnish (optional)

Directions

Make the sourdough starter: Warm the milk in a small saucepan over low heat to about 110 degrees F. Transfer to a medium bowl, sprinkle with the yeast and let stand until foamy, about 5 minutes. Whisk in the cider, brown sugar, butter and 1 cup flour until smooth. Cover with plastic wrap and let stand at room temperature overnight.

The next morning, make the pancakes: Whisk 1/2 cup flour, the egg, baking soda and apple into the sourdough starter. Melt 1 tablespoon butter in a cast-iron griddle or nonstick skillet over medium heat and swirl to coat. Pour about 1/4 cup batter onto the griddle for each pancake. Cook until the tops are bubbly and the edges set, about 3 minutes, then flip and cook until golden and cooked through, 1 to 2 more minutes. Repeat with the remaining batter, adding more butter as needed. Drizzle with syrup and garnish with pecans, if desired.