Woman Connected to Recipe: Gilda Banfield
Submitted by Liz Banfield (Gilda’s daughter)
About Gilda's Sourdough Pancakes:
My mother lived in Alaska for two years while she was newly married in the early 1960s. Sourdough was a mainstay in the region.
When the family relocated to Minnesota, where I was raised, she began using Sourdough to make pancakes, usually on summer mornings at the cabin.
You'll need basic sourdough starter to start this recipe. Any yeast-based sponge works. If it's been in the refrigerator a long time, it may have separated and look slightly grey in color and that's OK. If it's any other color (such as orange), your starter has gone bad and you must start over.
INGREDIENTS
2 cups sourdough starter
2 Tablespoons sugar
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 egg
1 Tablespoon vegetable oil
1 Tablespoon milk (+more if needed)
INSTRUCTIONS
1. The night before put starter in a large bowl on the counter to proof. Add equal amounts water and flour to the starter so that you have about six cups total of starter. Cover with a towel.
2. In the morning, get a 2nd clean bowl out and put two cups of the overnight starter into the clean bowl. Reserve the rest of the overnight starter. Heat a griddle.
3. In a small bowl, mix 2 Tablespoons of sugar, 1 teaspoon of baking soda and 1/2 teaspoon of salt. Mix well to remove any lumps.
4. In another small bowl, whisk 1 egg and 1 Tablespoon of vegetable oil, 1 Tablespoon of milk until well blended.
5. Add egg mixture to your 2 cups of starter until blended.
6. Sprinkle sugar/soda mixture on top and fold in. Batter will start to activate so you must start making pancakes immediately to get the maximum air. Add more milk if consistency is too thick.
7. Flip pancakes after big bubbles have popped. They will cook faster than standard batter.
Store remaining Sourdough starter (the one that is reserved on counter and has not been mixed with other ingredients) in the refrigerator in a plastic container. Please note that is MUST be plastic (not glass) or the gasses will build up and eventually explode in your refrigerator.