Just when you thought all pancakes recipes began with the instructions “Open the pancake mix box,” we bring you cowboy pancakes, or as the old Chuck-wagon cook used to call them, Sour Dough Pancakes. Like their close cousin, sour dough bread, this begins with making a starter that you have to prepare several days in advance but can then draw on for years to come.
Ingredients
- Starter
- 2 TBL Dry yeast
- 2 cups Flour per person – (feeds four)
- 16 oz Water – more if too thick
- Pancake mix
- 2 Eggs
- 1 tsp Baking Soda
- 0.5 tsp Salt
- 1 TBL Sugar – Brown or white campfire cookie’s choice
- Note:
- 1 TBL Vegetable oil if making waffles
Process
- Mise en Place – Measure and prepare your ingredients in advance of starting.
- Make starter:
- Mix starter ingredients – French call this Poolish
- Put in lightly covered container that has space to let gas escape.
- Leave on counter overnight.
- Make Pancake Batter
- Remove a 0.5 of the starter if you want to save some starter for future mix or use it all.
- Bring dough you’re using up to full starter amount – if you use half then add 1 cup flour and 1 cup water to the dough mixture
- Add the remaining pancake ingredients and mix will – should be thick but pour-able.
- Cook Pancakes
- Heat griddle or cast iron frying pan on high.
- Once warm add butter and then pancake batter.
- Cook until batter starts to bubble, then flip and cook for ~1 mins more.
