Sourdough Pancakes with Maple-Molasses Strawberries Recipe

Total Time:

40 mins

Yield:

4 to 6 servings

This recipe is inspired by the sourdough pancakes 2011 F&W Best New Chef Stephanie Izard serves at Little Goat Diner in Chicago, and it's pretty simple to make. Just steep the strawberries, make the pancake batter, scoop, flip, and serve. In 40 minutes, you'll have a show-stopping meal that's worthy of your weekend brunch spread.

Frequently asked questions

How do you make strawberry topping for pancakes?

The base for our maple-molasses strawberries starts with pure maple syrup, unsulphured molasses, unsalted butter, and a pinch of kosher salt. Add it all to a large saucepan and cook it over medium until the butter is melted and the mixture is bubbling. After the strawberries have been hulled, cut them in half or into thirds or quarters, depending on the size, and gently add them to the bubbling molasses mixture. Turn off the heat and cover the strawberries so they stay warm.

How much should you mix pancake batter?

For light, tender pancakes, you don't want the batter to be totally smooth, so don't sweat it if there are a few clumps. First whisk together the dry ingredients — all-purpose flour, whole-wheat flour, sugar, baking powder, and kosher salt — in one bowl, and the wet ingredients — eggs, whole milk, sourdough starter, and melted unsalted butter — in another. Then, pour the wet ingredient mixture into the dry ingredient mixture and stir until just combined.

When should you turn a pancake?

Cook your pancakes for a minute and a half to two minutes over medium-high heat — until bubbles appear on top and the sides seem set — then flip them and cook for another minute or two. Though pancakes are meant to cook quickly, make sure not to use too high of heat, or else you'll end up with dark pancakes that are gooey (i.e., raw) inside.

Note from the Food & Wine Test Kitchen

If you don't have sourdough starter, increase the all-purpose flour in the pancake batter to 2 1/2 cups; whisk together with remaining dry ingredients. Whisk together 1 cup warm water and 1/2 ounce instant yeast (2 envelopes) in a medium bowl; let stand until foamy, about 2 minutes. Stir in milk, eggs, and melted butter. Add milk mixture to flour mixture and stir until just combined. Proceed with recipe as directed.

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Ingredients

Maple-Molasses Strawberries

1 cup pure maple syrup
1/4 cup unsulphured molasses
2 tablespoons unsalted butter
Pinch of kosher salt
1 pint strawberries, hulled and halved

Pancakes

1 1/4 cups all-purpose flour (about 5 3/8 ounces)
1/2 cup whole-wheat flour (about 2 ounces)
3 tablespoons granulated sugar
2 teaspoons baking powder
1 1/2 teaspoons kosher salt
1 1/4 cups whole milk
1 cup prepared sourdough starter (see Note)
2 large eggs
3 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted, plus more for greasing griddle

Directions

Make the Maple-Molasses Strawberries

Cook maple syrup, molasses, butter, and salt in a large saucepan over medium, stirring occasionally, until butter is melted and mixture is warm, about 5 minutes. Remove from heat and stir in strawberries. Cover to keep warm.

Make the pancakes

Whisk together all-purpose flour, whole-wheat flour, sugar, baking powder, and salt in a large bowl. Whisk together milk, sourdough starter, eggs, and melted butter in a medium bowl. Add milk mixture to flour mixture and stir until just combined.
Preheat a large cast-iron griddle or skillet over medium-high; grease with butter and reduce heat to medium-low. Scoop a heaping 1/4 cup (or scant 1/3 cup) batter per pancake onto hot griddle. Cook until sides of pancakes look set and tops are dotted with a few bubbles, 1 minute and 30 seconds to 2 minutes. Flip and cook until cooked through and brown on bottoms, 1 to 2 minutes. Remove pancakes from griddle. Wipe griddle clean. Repeat process with remaining batter, re-greasing griddle after each batch. Serve with the strawberries.