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Cinnamon Sourdough Pancakes

Source of Recipe

From "Old-School Comfort Food" by Alex Guarnaschelli


Recipe Introduction

"These are my favorite homemade pancakes. Now, don't get me wrong; I will admit freely that I also love pancake mix. Just blend, cook, and eat. But there are times when I crave a deeper flavor and tang. I think it's so cool to add the sourdough flavor of a loaf of great bread to pancake batter. It's not overly acidic but it makes pairing your pancakes with the sweetness of syrup and any fresh fruit all the more special. Plan ahead, letting the batter rest in the fridge overnight before making the pancakes the next morning."

List of Ingredients

â—¦ 2 ½ teaspoons active dry yeast
â—¦ ½ cup warm water (about 110° F)
â—¦ 2 cups all-purpose flour, plus more if needed
â—¦ 3 tablespoons sugar
â—¦ 1 ½ cups whole milk, plus more if needed
â—¦ 6 to 8 tablespoons (¾ to 1 stick) unsalted butter, as needed
â—¦ 2 large eggs, lightly beaten
â—¦ ½ teaspoon vanilla extract
â—¦ ¾ teaspoon ground cinnamon, plus more for sprinkling
â—¦ ¼ teaspoon ground allspice
â—¦ Pinch of kosher salt
â—¦ Maple syrup (optional)


Recipe

In a medium bowl, mix together the yeast and warm water. Allow the mixture to sit in a warm area of your kitchen until the yeast dissolves and the mix is foamy. In a separate bowl, combine the flour and sugar.

In a saucepan, warm the milk. Do not let it simmer or boil. Remove the milk from the heat, stir in 3 tablespoons of the butter, and pour into a bowl to cool slightly before mixing with the other ingredients.

Stir the yeast mixture and gently whisk in the flour mixture. Finish by blending in the milk mixture. Cover the bowl with a layer of plastic wrap and set aside in a warm place to proof until the batter increases in volume and is somewhat bubbly in appearance, about 1 hour. Refrigerate until the next morning.

In the morning, preheat the oven to 300° F. Remove the batter from the fridge, whisk it to wake it up a little, and allow it to come to room temperature, about 15 minutes. Meanwhile, whisk together the eggs, vanilla, cinnamon, allspice, and salt. Stir the egg mixture into the flour batter.

Heat a large nonstick skillet (or, if preferred, a griddle). Melt 1 tablespoon of the butter in the pan. Spoon in a little of the batter to make a small test pancake. This batter tends to be a little runny. If it spreads too much in the pan, whisk in some additional flour. Batter too thick? Add a little milk and blend. Once the batter is good to go, cook the pancakes, adding about ½ cup for each one and leaving room between them as they'll spread in the pan, until you see a bubble here and there on the surface, a couple of minutes. Flip, cook for another minute, and then put them on a plate and keep them loosely covered with foil in the oven until you build up enough of a batch to serve. Add additional butter to the pan as needed. Serve stacks of pancakes topped with maple syrup, if desired, and dusted with some additional cinnamon.

Makes 8 to 10 large pancakes;
Serves 4 to 6