Yes, these guys are naturally low carbâ courtesy of our live culture (thanks Yosemite!).
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Before we get to todayâs recipe, we have an important order in question: the welcoming of Tania as an official member to the Order of the Phoenix, for her services rendered to our humble cause (i.e. recommending a completely natural low carb sweetener in last weekâs post: lucuma).
Iâve now secured a bag of the so-called (marketed?) Peruvian Gold (and I say marketed because Peru exports so many terrific products which have been deemed âgoldâ beforeâ say, maca).
My initial thoughts: itâs lightly sweet, with true delightful notes of caramel throughout (just as the distinctive fruit from which itâs derivedâ lucuma, otherwise known as mamey)(and not exaggerating, my absolute favorite Mexican fruit for its ability to produce the best tasting helado).
Thus far it flavored my coffee beautifully, did wonders to my morning âporridgeâ and sweetened an (instant) chocolate milkshake quite nicely.
(And I just tested it on the pancakes this afternoon, and I could swear it made them fluffierâ my best guess is the added prebiotic fiber acts a bit like âdefattedâ almond or peanut flour, iykyk)(but more testing is needed đ”ïžââïž).
Itâs one drawback thus far? The one that I discussed with Tania last week: itâs not fully soluble, so it does leave a tad of sediment behind.
Though I frankly donât think this will be a major issue in most baking recipes (I just need to account for the added fiber), and if added to drinks I may be tempted to use my coffee press and filter it out (Iâll be missing out on a tad of goodies, but Iâm a coffee purist first and foremost).
Still. Said sediment is also why itâs naturally low carb (for there really is always a tradeoff in life): itâs not a pure sugar, it has added fiber in it.
And said fiber is what helps bring about the low glycemic response which itâs touted for (in Taniaâs case it was similar as with xylitol)(Iâll get a CGM again in the next couple weeks and try myself).
So thanks for chiming in last week (also on instagram with heritage grain recs)(and keep chiming!)â this is the best part about being here with yâall: maximizing knowledge, as there really is power in numbers.
Iâll be back soon with some baking reviews for it though (should you try it in the meantime? for sure! and report back with your thoughts pretty pls!).
But circling back to our brekkie of choice đ
Todayâs recipe is a personal favorite of mine, and probably the one single-handedly responsible (quite frankly) for me keeping such a steady sourdough culture going: I simply canât get enough discard, as these make for an easy bomb meal both sweet and savory alike (hint: leek fritters).
Itâs effectively a recipe I came across on TikTok a year ago (with some small twists). I also managed to trace its humble origins (I believe) to the guys over at King Arthur who deem them crumpets.
Still. I think its use is best served as pancakes, as cooking up a thick one can result in a gummy bite. So keep them thin ân small in order to get crisp yet tender pancakes.
But what is sourdough discard?
Nothing more than the resulting by-product after feeding your culture. Itâs the âstuffâ thatâs left after you feed it, and itâs risen and fallen.
And said stuff is now sugar free (for you can count on your culture to eat it all up), yielding a prebiotic fiber with more readily available nutrients.
Which is also why I donât mind (at all) to feed my cultures, both Montana and Yosemite, with prime heritage flours.
So doesnât it taste terribly sour?
(you know, for there is the sour in sourdough)
Thatâs were the baking soda comes in, acting as a neutralizing agent⊠as well as giving the starter a big âpuffâ (which yields both extra fluffy and lightly crisp pancakes).
But what do they taste like, Paola?!
A little like buttermilk pancakes! (I know, I prob shouldâve started with that).
xo! Paola
(yup, thatâs it! as perhaps some emails donât have to include an entire soap opera with added magic in them đ« ).
(Iâll see you tomorrow thoughâ be sure to bring some extra water and sunny shades as weâll be circling back to ancient Egypt (as I may or may notâve secured a Time Turner for our educational purposes đȘ).
Today though, weâre staying firmly in muggle landâ for itâs not magic (even if it feels like it), but pure chemistry which brings about our carb-less creation.
flour + sourdough culture + temperature = prebiotic fiber (in due time)
And I def simplified that one, for now.
Ultra tender and with a wonderful tang, these guys are simply âšitâš.
It makes 5 small pancakes (feeds one starved human)(or two for a snack)
For the pancakes
227g (1 cup) sourdough discard starter
1 tablespoon lucuma sugar (lol, or whatever granular sugar you use)
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
pinch fine sea (or kosher) salt
1/4 -1/2 teaspoon baking soda (i.e. our âsecretâ ingredient)(use less for fresh discard and more if itâs ultra sour)
To serve
While I love a classic maple syrup drizzle for these guys, a fruit compote is just as delightful here against the lightly crisp texture.
6 p.m. feed your starter
What you feed your starters matters here (as weâre using the bi-product after all). I would say my personal favorite thus far is this type 00 pastry flour made out of white Sonora wheat (not affiliate nor sponsored). The resulting discard simply feels very âdelicateâ, yielding a suuuper tender crumb in these pancakes.
Say, I wouldnât make pancakes with Montanaâs rye discard (but King Arthurâs bread flour also yields good discard for these).
Add roughly 150g of flour to feed your starter (you want roughly 1 cup of discard), so it depends on how big you keep your starter (say you may want to feed it for a couple days without discarding if you keep a small one going)(or you can accumulate the discard of a few days in the fridge and whip up a big batch during the weekend)(just bring it to room temp ahead of time).
Add enough spring water (you donât want filtered, you really do want the added minerals)(this should tell you something too about what you should be drinking too btw đ) until the dough resembles a thick pancake batter. Generally 70g of water/100 g of flour (i.e. a 70% ratio) is enough to get the consistency right. But if youâre using heritage grains or most gluten free flours youâll need to add a little more.
My top tip: you donât want your resulting discard to be too runny (your pancakes wonât go fluff), so make sure itâs thick when youâre mixing.
Allow to rest for 12 hours in a warm(ish) place: Iâm keeping them on top of my gas stove (rip)(I just got an electric countertop oven lol).
6-10 a.m. make your pancakes
Add sourdough discard, sugar, vanilla, a pinch of salt and mix well with a spatula (spoon, or whisk⊠itâs not important) until well combined. Add the baking soda at the very end (right as youâre heating up your skillet), and mix until just combined and it puffs up nicely (itâs a chemical reaction, youâll know what I mean).
Heat up a skillet or non stick pan over medium heat. Melt a small pad of butter (or cooking oil of choice) and pour in two scant tablespoons of batter per pancake.
Cook over medium heat until it begins to bubble, flip and cook until lightly golden. Just be sure to cook these guys thoroughly!
Serve right away with toppings of choice.
p.s. weâre still a few weeks away from getting our first lab results back on my sourdough starters⊠but personally, these donât affect my glucose (at all). Plus, if you bake up sourdough discard youâll find that it doesnât brown one tiny bitâ and, as we all know, even keto flours brown just a little (i.e. we can count on our cultures to eat up all the sugars đ).
