Sourdough Starter Scallion Pancake Recipe

By
Eric Handelsman
Eric Handelsman
Eric Handelsman
Eric is the General Manager and Vice President of The Spruce Eats where he oversees the brand from content and marketing strategy to product and technical development. He has spent his career working at media companies across a variety of roles from FP&A to operations management.
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Updated on 09/21/22
Prep: 5 mins
Cook: 8 mins
Total: 13 mins
Serving: 1 servings
Yield: 1 pancake

Whether you are an experienced sourdough bread maker or new to the hobby, you're bound to have loads of starter. You have heard of it; starter is an awesome kitchen science experiment that uses flour and water to collect all the good, tasty microorganisms in the air. And that's what gives sourdough bread its rise and imparts its signature tangy flavor.

Growing your starter leads to a lot of excess, what with all the refreshing and feeding in its first couple of weeks. Don't toss the excess—also known as discard—in the trash. There are other creative ways to use the starter in cooking that are quicker than baking a loaf of bread but will still give you that tangy flavor, reminiscent of a sourdough loaf. Try this quick and easy recipe for sourdough starter scallion pancakes. It consists of just five ingredients, and it's easy to scale up and make more, if you like.

These sourdough scallion pancakes are a riff on the Korean staple. Chewy, slightly tangy, and loaded with the fresh bite of scallion, they are the perfect savory snack or start to a meal, or you can serve them alongside a salad, some dumplings, or fried or white rice.

Sourdough starter scallion pancake with dipping sauce

The Spruce Eats / Patty Lee

Ingredients

  • 2 teaspoons neutral cooking oil, such as peanut or canola

  • 1/2 cup sourdough starter

  • 1 tablespoon thinly sliced scallions

  • 1/2 teaspoon sesame seeds

  • 1/4 teaspoon kosher salt, plus more to taste

Steps to Make It

  1. Gather the ingredients.

  2. Heat the oil in a small nonstick skillet over medium heat.

  3. Add sourdough starter discard to the hot pan.

  4. Sprinkle in scallions, sesame seeds, and 1/4 teaspoon salt into batter.

  5. Let the pancake brown for 3 minutes and then flip and brown on the other side for another 2 to 3 minutes.

  6. Sprinkle with salt.

  7. Serve with dipping sauce of your choice. (Or make a quick combo of soy sauce, rice vinegar, and chili crunch).

How to Store Sourdough Scallion Pancakes

If you doubled or tripled this recipe, maybe there's a leftover pancake or two—if so, they can be stored, well wrapped, in the refrigerator for up to two days. Reheat in a skillet over medium-low heat. You can freeze sourdough scallion pancakes, well wrapped, for up to three months.

Tip

You can serve these pancakes as they are, with the sauce mentioned in the instructions, or something as simple as soy sauce mixed with rice vinegar, for dipping.

Why is half the sourdough starter discarded?

Sourdough starter is a great item to keep around as there is nothing like fresh sourdough bread. But it grows exponentially as it is repeatedly fed with flour and water—which keeps it alive—and becomes too big. So, some of it has to be discarded. If you don't discard some before you feed the starter, it can become too acidic and negatively affect the microbes. Try to use as much discard as possible rather than throwing it away.

Nutrition Facts (per serving)
308 Calories
11g Fat
46g Carbs
8g Protein
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Nutrition Facts
Servings: 1
Amount per serving
Calories 308
% Daily Value*
Total Fat 11g 14%
Saturated Fat 1g 4%
Cholesterol 0mg 0%
Sodium 319mg 14%
Total Carbohydrate 46g 17%
Dietary Fiber 4g 16%
Total Sugars 0g
Protein 8g
Vitamin C 1mg 6%
Calcium 34mg 3%
Iron 3mg 16%
Potassium 166mg 4%
*The % Daily Value (DV) tells you how much a nutrient in a food serving contributes to a daily diet. 2,000 calories a day is used for general nutrition advice.
(Nutrition information is calculated using an ingredient database and should be considered an estimate.)