Are you feeling hungry for pancakes? Round up a grown-up and try this recipe for Sourdough Pancakes. Believe it or not, it dates back more than a thousand years!

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Make Some Sourdough Pancakes

by Jeanie Mebane

Sourdough is believed to have been discovered by accident thousands of years ago in ancient Egypt. It is said that a baker left his flour in an uncovered container and it got wet. He noticed that bubbles had formed in the mixture of flour and water. He didn’t want to waste the flour so he made bread from the mixture and found it light in texture and flavorful.

Today we suspect that wild airborne yeast fell into the flour-water mixture. Moist yeast causes the sugars in flour to ferment (give off gas), expanding dough to make it light and porous. People in Europe are known to have used sourdough starter. They brought the technique to America. Sourdough soon became a favorite among miners and trappers in the West. In fact, miners were often called "Sourdoughs."

Miners usually got sourdough starter from someone else. Once they had it, they treasured, fed and nourished it. They kept their sourdough in pails or pots and protected it from cold. Rumor has it that some miners even slept with their covered sourdough pot to keep the mixture from freezing.

Today, some people have sourdough starter that has been handed down for generations. One man reports that his starter is 150 years old!

Even though you may not have any sourdough starter in your family, you can still make some yourself with modern yeast. Once you have that, you can whip up some tasty sourdough pancakes anytime! Round up a grown-up and try this recipe: Here's how to get started.

QUICK OVERNIGHT STARTER
Mix together in large, non-metal bowl
2 cups all-purpose flour
1 tablespoon sugar
2 ½ teaspoons dry yeast (1 envelope)
2 cups warm water (should feel slightly warm but not hot when touched)
Cover with a cloth and let it stand in a warm place (around 85 degrees) overnight or a few days.

PANCAKES
Pour about a cup of starter batter into jar or pitcher and save in refrigerator.
To the remainder in your bowl add:
1/3 cup dry milk
1 tablespoon vegetable oil
1 egg

Now, stir together in small cup:
2 teaspoons sugar
½ teaspoon salt
½ teaspoon baking soda

Add this mix to the other ingredients and let the batter stand for several minutes. Mixture will get bubbly and rise. Rub or spray a griddle with vegetable oil. Preheat. When griddle is hot, pour about 1/3 cup sourdough batter onto it. Cook until golden brown (1-2 minutes on each side) turning with a spatula or pancake turner.

Serve with maple syrup, blueberries, bananas, or applesauce.

To use your sourdough starter again, remove it from the refrigerator the night before you plan to make pancakes. Place it in a large bowl and add 2 cups flour and 2 cups warm water. Let stand in a warm place overnight. In the morning, return approximately 1 cup batter to your sourdough pot and make more pancakes using the recipe above.