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Long-Fermented Einkorn Sourdough Pancakes

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Collage of tender einkorn pancakes and title text.

Einkorn: Not So Modern, Not So Difficult to Digest

Many people who are sensitive to the gluten in modern wheat can enjoy ancient-grain einkorn wheat without issue. Einkorn has less gluten than its modern hybrid relatives, and souring the batter through fermentation breaks down gluten proteins even further. Interestingly, einkorn has never been hybridized and still consists of its original two sets of chromosomes.

For those suffering from modern wheat sensitivity, einkorn sourdough pancakes can be a welcome addition to the menu rotation.

Einkorn sourdough pancakes with melted butter on a plate.

A Golden Grain

Einkorn has a subtle nutty and buttery flavor and a beautiful golden hue from loads of antioxidants like beta-carotene, lutein, vitamin A, and riboflavin.

Bread and other baked goods made from einkorn flour have a tender, close crumb due to the lower percentage of gluten.

In einkorn’s case, lower gluten does not equal less protein. In fact, this fabulous ancient grain actually has a protein content upwards of 18%!

Einkorn sourdough pancakes on a plate.

A Long-Fermented Overnight Batter

This recipe is kin to my original sourdough pancake recipe that uses a thick overnight leaven of flour, water, and sourdough starter. This happy mixture ferments overnight, aiding in the ease of digestion of these scrumptious pancakes. In the morning, the batter is ready to be mixed with the additional ingredients.

A happy bubbly einkorn batter will make the best pancakes!

Bubbly einkorn sourdough
Tender einkorn pancakes cut with a fork.
A decorative plate with a stack of golden-colored einkorn pancakes.

Long-Fermented Einkorn Sourdough Pancakes

Yield: 8 Medium Pancakes
Prep Time: 10 minutes
Cook Time: 10 minutes
Fermenting Time: 12 hours
Total Time: 12 hours 20 minutes

These tender and flavorful einkorn pancakes will become a favorite from the first bite.

Ingredients

Overnight Batter

  • 125 grams all-purpose einkorn flour
  • 125 grams water
  • 50 grams sourdough starter

Morning Additions

  • 2 eggs
  • 40 grams (1 tablespoon) coconut sugar or preferred sweetener
  • 28 grams (2 tablespoons) melted butter
  • 7 grams (1 teaspoon) salt
  • Milk as needed

Instructions

  1. The evening before, mix the overnight batter ingredients together in a large bowl.
  2. Cover the bowl and allow the batter to ferment overnight on the counter. An ambient temperature of 60-65℉ is preferable.
  3. The next morning, add the eggs, sugar, butter, and salt to the batter and whisk well.
  4. Thin the batter with milk if needed.
  5. Allow the batter to rest for a minimum of 15 minutes.
  6. Preheat a griddle over medium heat.
  7. Once the griddle begins to smoke slightly, start cooking your pancakes.
  8. Each cake will be approximately 60 grams (2 ounces) of batter.
  9. Adjust the heat as needed.
  10. Serve the pancakes warm with plenty of butter and toppings of choice.

Notes

Substitutions:

  • 300 grams of active or mature starter can be substituted for the overnight batter.

  • Whole wheat einkorn flour may be used. Please note that whole wheat ferments faster and may require less fermenting time, and/or a cooler temperature to keep it from over-fermenting.

Scaling:

  • This recipe can be doubled, tripled, or more.

Keeping the batter cool overnight:

  • If you live in a warm climate, use a cooler with a little blue ice to keep your batter chilled for a long ferment.

  • Or, ferment the batter for a few hours until it's bubbly and then refrigerate the bowl until you are ready to mix in the additional ingredients.

Jennifer P

Wednesday 24th of May 2023

Can I substitute whole grain flour for the all purpose? I like to mill my own. Thanks!

Butter For All

Wednesday 31st of May 2023

Hi Jennifer!

Absolutely! It's especially easy to substitute whole grain in pancakes. Bread may need a little tweaking, but pancakes are so forgiving.

Michelle

Tuesday 2nd of May 2023

Do you add sugar for flavor or for better texture in the pancake? (I don't usually add sugar to my pancakes, but could if it was important...)

Butter For All

Wednesday 3rd of May 2023

Hi Michelle!

The sugar is there for flavor, while it may make the batter a tiny bit more tender, I doubt anyone could really tell the difference. Feel free to adjust the sweetness to your liking!

Becky Jean

Tuesday 2nd of May 2023

Courtney, I'd love to start baking with einkorn, especially sour dough, so thanks for a recipie. Where do I get the 50gm of starter?

Butter For All

Thursday 18th of May 2023

Hi Becky,

Sorry for the slow reply! An einkorn starter can be started from scratch just like any other wheat starter. Or if you already have a sourdough starter you can take a little (10g) of that to create an einkorn offshoot.You can purchase live or dehydrated starters online and use einkorn flour to revive them OR if you'd like to pay shipping and handling I can snd you some of my dehydrated starter! If you want to do that, send me a message at courtney@butterforall.com :)

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