Sourdough pikelets are the easiest and tastiest way to use up that leftover sourdough starter discard. They are even easier to make than my sourdough pancakes and take less than 5 minutes to make. I like to add a few chopped chives to my pikelets and have them for breakfast!
Quick Glance at the Recipe: Sourdough Pikelets
- Recipe Name: Sourdough Pikelets (Sourdough Discard Recipe)
- Why You'll Love It: Five minutes start to finish, uses up your sourdough discard, and works for sweet OR savory breakfast. Crispy edges, soft middle.
- Time and Difficulty: 1 minute prep + 8 minutes cook. Beginner-friendly.
- Main Ingredients: Sourdough discard, sugar, salt, baking soda, butter. That's it.
- Method: Stir baking soda, salt, and sugar into a cup of unfed sourdough discard. Cook in butter on a preheated medium-low pan, low and slow, 5 minutes on one side and 3 on the other.
- Texture and Flavor: Crisp buttery edges, soft, slightly tangy interior with the holes of a crumpet. Less airy than a pancake, more substantial than a crepe.
- Quick Tip: Low and slow is the only way to cook these. If the pan is too hot, the outside burns before the inside cooks through.
I know people don't care much about family history and recipes but this is truly the first family recipe I have shared here on Sugar Geek Show so darn it, I'm going to share a little bit about why I love pikelets!
Pikelets are a part of my childhood. I had never even had a pancake until I was in my teens. My dad is from New Zealand, and if you're from New Zealand, this is your version of the Betty Crocker cookbook. The Edmonds Cookery Book. Everything we made pretty much originated from this book. This is the actual cookbook my Mom and Dad used. I never thought to even ask my Dad if he still had it because he isn't much of a baker or a cook and my Mom has long since passed away.
I recently invited him over to test out some sourdough bread, sourdough focaccia, and a sweeter lemon blueberry sourdough focaccia I was making. He has a gluten intolerance and I wondered if he could actually eat sourdough bread because I had read that people with an intolerance can actually eat it with no pain. Hop on over to my sourdough bread recipe to see how that went!
As I was making the bread, I decided to make some pikelets out of the discard and it brought back all my memories of eating them as a kid. I quickly called my Dad and asked him if he still had that old cookbook and what do you know... he did. Now, these sourdough pikelets are not exactly like the ones I had growing up, these are made from discard while the ones I had growing up were made with fresh flour and baking powder. But the texture is almost identical and quite delicious! Ok, that's my schpeel about pikelets 😀
What Is A Pikelet?
A pikelet is similar to a pancake but pancakes are made with a thinner batter and are usually eaten at breakfast. Pikelets are made with a thicker batter and can be eaten at any time of the day.
I often like to add savory ingredients to my pikelets, such as chives, cheese, bacon, or even roasted corn! Mmmmmm so good.
A pikelet is actually the same thing as a crumpet, except it is not cooked in a metal ring. Pikelets are commonly referred to as the poor people's crumpet because not everyone could afford a metal ring to bake in!
If you love a sourdough breakfast bread, my sourdough English muffins are the proper bread version with all the same nooks and crannies.
Sourdough Pikelet Ingredients
You only need a few ingredients to make easy sourdough pikelets from your discard. I typically have about a cup of discard leftover. If you have more or less, you can adjust these ingredients as needed. I always recommend weighing your ingredients with a digital kitchen scale for the most accurate results.
- Sourdough discard. Unfed sourdough starter straight from the fridge or counter, no need to wake it up. This is the ENTIRE base of the recipe, so use discard you'd actually want to eat (not weeks-old liquid alcohol-smelling stuff).
- Sugar. Just a teaspoon. Gives the pikelets the faint sweetness of a pancake. If you're going fully savory, leave it out (a reader asked about this, and it works fine).
- Salt. Balances the tang of the sourdough. Don't skip.
- Baking soda. This is the most important ingredient after the discard. Baking soda reacts with the natural acidity in the sourdough discard and gives the batter its rise. Without it, you'd have a dense, flat pikelet.
- Butter. For the pan. This is what gives the pikelet its crispy edges. Don't substitute oil unless you have to; the butter flavor is part of the point.
How To Make Pikelets Step-By-Step
For exact measurements, see the recipe card below.
- Preheat your pan for 15 minutes on medium-low heat. Cast iron is ideal. The surface temp should be around 300º F.
- Add the baking soda, salt, and sugar to your sourdough discard and stir. You'll immediately notice the batter puffs up from the baking soda reacting with the acidity in the discard.
PRO TIP: The key to perfect pikelets is cooking them LOW AND SLOW. If your pan is too hot, the outside burns before the inside cooks through, and you end up with a raw, doughy center. Use a surface thermometer the first time if you have one.
- Add some butter to the pan and let it melt. This makes our pikelets nice and crispy!
- The batter will be thick, so I use my hands to divide it. You can get about three small pikelets from one cup of discard. Pour the batter into the pan from the bowl, and then pinch the dough with your fingers to separate it.
- Cook the pikelets for 5 minutes on one side, or until the edges start to look dry and you can see some holes forming on top.
- Flip the pikelet over and cook for another 3 minutes.
Common Sourdough Pikelet Problems To Avoid
Sour aftertaste. Discard was way too old. Toss anything that smells like nail polish remover (that's alcohol, the yeast eating itself) and start with fresher discard next time.
Pikelets are doughy in the middle. Pan was too hot. Reduce to low and give the pan time to come back down before pouring the next batch.
Pikelets are dense and flat. Forgot the baking soda, or the discard was too old and lost most of its acidity. Use discard that's no more than a week old in the fridge.
Batter is too thin to hold a shape. Discard was too runny. Add a Tablespoon of flour to thicken it, or just let it sit 5 minutes for the gluten to relax and thicken on its own.
Pikelets are burning on the outside but raw inside. Pan too hot, full stop. Low and slow.
Make-Ahead And Storage
- Cooked pikelets, room temperature. Airtight container, 1 day. After that the texture goes soft.
- Cooked pikelets, freezer. Cool completely, single-layer flash freeze for 30 minutes, then bag. Up to 2 months. Reheat in a hot pan for 1 minute per side, or in the toaster.
- Sourdough discard, fridge. Up to 1 week in a covered jar. Bring to room temperature before mixing the batter.
- Already-mixed batter. Use within 30 minutes. The baking soda reaction loses lift the longer it sits.
For best results, hide from other family members and devour immediately!
If freezer breakfasts are your thing, my sourdough sandwich bread freezes great in slices too, and sourdough rolls freeze straight from the oven for dinner all week.
If you want a savory snack, try my rosemary sourdough discard crackers, same 5-minute prep, but they bake into shatter-crisp crackers with flake salt. For a sweet breakfast, my sourdough discard pancakes use a full cup of discard. And my sourdough discard donuts turn it into a weekend treat.
Sourdough Pikelet FAQs
Yes. A reader asked about this for savory pikelets and they come out fine without it. The pikelet will be less sweet (obviously) but the texture is the same. Great if you're planning to top with cheese, chives, bacon, or smoked salmon.
Absolutely. Chopped chives, shredded cheese, crumbled bacon, roasted corn, blueberries, chocolate chips, lemon zest, all work. Stir them in after the baking soda has done its puffing.
Add more butter and make sure the pan is hot enough to set the bottom (test by flicking a drop of water on the pan, it should sizzle, not just sit there). If the pan is properly preheated and well-buttered, sticking shouldn't happen.
Yes, but it's a waste of an active starter that could have made bread. Discard pikelets are the whole point. If you're going to use fed starter, your pikelets will be slightly more risen and a touch milder in flavor.
More Sourdough Discard Recipes To Try
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Recipe
Ingredients
- 1 cup sourdough discard unfed
- 1 teaspoon sugar
- ¼ teaspoon salt
- ½ teaspoon baking soda
- 1 Tablespoon butter
Instructions
- Before you begin: Pull your sourdough discard out of the fridge so it's not ice-cold when you add the baking soda. The reaction works at any temperature but room-temp discard puffs faster.
- Preheat your pan on medium-low for 15 minutes (surface temp should be around 300º F).
- Combine all your ingredients together (except the butter) in a bowl. You'll notice the mixture gets puffy and bubbly.
- Melt the butter in the hot pan.
- Use your hands to divide the batter into three pikelets by pouring the batter into the pan from the bowl and then pinching the dough with your fingers to separate it.
- Cook your pikelets for 5 minutes or until the edges start to look dry and you can see some holes forming on top.
- Flip your pikelet over and cook for another 3 minutes.
- Serve warm and enjoy!
Video
Notes
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Ingredient notes:
- Use sourdough discard that's no more than a week old in the fridge. Older discard loses acidity and the baking soda reaction doesn't puff as well.
- Skip the sugar if you're going fully savory. A reader confirmed this works fine.
- Butter (not oil) is what gives the pikelets their crispy edges. Worth the upgrade.
- Cast iron is ideal for even, low-and-slow heat.
- Non-stick works if you don't have cast iron, but cook a touch slower since non-stick holds heat differently.
- A griddle works for batch cooking 6 or more pikelets at once.
- Cooked pikelets at room temperature, 1 day in an airtight container.
- Cooked pikelets in the freezer, up to 2 months. Flash freeze single-layer for 30 minutes, then bag. Reheat in a hot pan or toaster.
- Sourdough discard in the fridge, up to 1 week in a covered jar.
- Already-mixed batter loses lift after 30 minutes, so mix right before cooking.
- Chopped chives, shredded cheese, crumbled bacon, roasted corn
- Blueberries, chocolate chips, lemon zest, banana
- Stir in after the baking soda puffs the batter
- Don't cook the pikelets on high heat. Low and slow only. High heat burns the outside and leaves the inside raw.
- Don't skip the baking soda. It's the only leavener.
- Don't use discard that smells like nail polish remover. That's alcohol from the yeast eating itself. Start with fresher discard.
Nutrition
Michelle says
Hi Liz. Thank you for sharing this easy recipe. My pikelets look like pancakes and did have a thick batter. Do you think it is because I used 100% hydration starter?
Elizabeth Marek says
Im not sure but you can add in more water next time if you need it.
Glenice says
Can't wait to try these!!
Glenda says
These are easier than pancakes and are very tasty as plain. I will try different flavors. I love that you can use a lot of sourdough discard. Have you tried freezing them?
Shawnie says
My first recipe with my new adventure into Sourdough! Looked up easy discard recipe and found this - they were great and super easy! I added green onion, so tasty! Thanks!!!
Elizabeth says
What hydration starter is best to use for these? They look delicious, but it doesn't seem as if a 100% hydration starter would yield pikelets as thick as those shown in the photo?
Elizabeth Marek says
My starter is about 70% hydration
Bethany says
Delicious and a great way to use up discard without using a bunch of other ingredients!! I was surprised how good they were. I did plain on half and then ham and cheese on the other half, next I'll do sweet ones. Thank you!
Michele says
OMG. These are so good and easy to make. I can't wait to try experimenting with flavors.
Heather says
I love finding recipes that have a family history connection. This is a treasure! I'm going to make these tomorrow for lunch!! Thanks so much for sharing!!
Joan says
I just started with making bread, etc. from sourdough when COVID19 hit. Never baked from scratch much, but my friend introduced me to sourdough, then it was off to the races! She raved about crumpets, but I had no rings to use, so I ran into your blog about Pikelets!! I made them using a cast iron frying pan, and your recipe... awesome is the word!! My husband ate 4 of them, and I got one! Next time I make double the recipe!! Thank you, Liz!
Wish I could get my hands on that cookbook! Now I will need to search for that! I'd love to make genuine NZ dishes!
Lucia says
Delicious !
Super quick and easy, going to add corn and spring onion next time. Thanks for sharing Liz xx
Nancy Kim says
Just tried this recipe today and fell in love with pikelets! So thankful you shared this recipe. Sadly, I only got one bite before my sisters devoured them all xD Amazing recipe, Liz! Can't wait to make more when I get some more discard hahaha
Christine Yarbrough says
My first, and the pikelets are superb!
Elizabeth Marek says
I love that so many people are discovering their love for pikelets!!
Patty says
It says to combine all the ingredients, but then says to melt the butter in the pan. I’m assuming the butter doesn’t go in the mix?
Elizabeth Marek says
Oops! Sorry about that! The extra butter won't hurt them, I will update the recipe
S M R says
Thank you so much for adding the recipe! Tried these babies - WOW, delicious! Got rave reviews from friends and family, and 3 days later they still feel fresh and soft. Disclosure: I saw another recipe that used large mouth canning rings, so I did these crumpet-style (grease the rings and put them in the pan, lip side up. Don't overfill! a scant 1/4 cup was almost too much). So amazing toasted with jam!! Thanks Liz 🙂
Elizabeth Marek says
That's a great idea with the canning ring lids! Smart!
S M R says
Hi there, is it just me...I cannot find the actual recipe for these pikelets? Would love to try them! 🙂
Elizabeth Marek says
Just added it for you! Enjoy!
Dawn says
Hide from your family...LOL
April says
These are so easy and delicious and a perfect way to use up sourdough discard. I love that. I leave them in the refrigerator and they still taste great by day three. I’m trying to find good toppings to put on these but right now. I’m just eating them by themselves and they are amazing.
Jen C says
I looked forever for a discard recipe that I could use a ton for after some aggressive rehabbing. This was perfect!