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Potato pancakes, aka latkes, are one of my favorite comfort foods.
When I was young my mother served up the gluey, chewy, potato pancakes from a box mix. They are delicious in their own right, but honestly they have nothing on my sourdough potato pancakes.
My sourdough version uses an easy overnight leaven (thick batter) that is then mixed with shredded potato, eggs, and spices. The result is a thin crispy pancake with a perfect potato texture and a chewy sourdough center.
These Easy Sourdough Potato Pancakes Make a Great Breakfast or Brunch.
Serve them with Homemade Apple Sauce and Cultured Raw Sour Cream!
They also make a great side dish to many meals. My daughter enjoys them served like hash browns with ketchup.
Sourdough Potato Pancakes
Prep Time:
20 minutes
Cook Time:
30 minutes
Fermentation:
12 hours
Total Time:
12 hours 50 minutes
An easy overnight batter that is then mixed with fresh shredded potatoes and spices for a perfect fermented potato pancake!
Ingredients
For the Overnight Leaven
- 150 grams (1 heaping cup) organic all-purpose flour
- 150 grams (just shy 2/3 cup) filtered water
- 100 grams (about 1/3 cup) sourdough starter, 100% hydration
For the Batter
- 2 eggs (100 grams)
- 14 grams (2 teaspoons) salt
- 6 grams (2 teaspoons) onion granules
- 56 grams (1/4 cup) melted butter
- 700 grams (4 cups) grated yellow potato (about 5 large)
- 2 grams (1 teaspoon) freshly ground black pepper
For Frying
- 215 grams (1 cup) tallow, lard, ghee, or avocado oil
Instructions
The Night Before
- Mix the flour, water, and starter into a thick batter and let it ferment overnight at room temperature.
The Next Morning
- Melt the butter in a small pan.
- Grate the potatoes into a small bowl.
- Add the eggs, salt, onion granules, and pepper to the overnight leaven batter. Whisk well.
- Stir in the cooled melted butter and whisk until fully incorporated.
- Check on the grated potato. If it has released a lot of water, drain most of the liquid away and gently squeeze the potato.
- Add the grated potato to the batter and stir well until fully distributed.
- Cover the batter and let it ferment at room temperature for at least 1 hour.
For Cooking
- Preheat a cast-iron pan or griddle over medium/low heat until evenly heated.
- Add about 1 tablespoon of cooking oil. Using a large spoon, scoop enough batter into the oil to form a thin pancake 4 to 6 inches in diameter. Use the spoon to spread the batter out thinly and evenly.
- Cook the potato pancake slowly until golden brown on both sides. Lower the temperature slightly if the pancake browns too quickly. It should take around 3 minutes per side for the potato to cook through.
- Serve the potato pancakes hot from the pan with apple sauce and sour cream!
Want To Learn Everything About Sourdough?
Start with this free guide:
Katy
Tuesday 14th of September 2021
Can I use leftover mashed potatoes in this recipe ?
Butter For All
Monday 27th of September 2021
Hi Katy!
You can absolutely try! I'd love to know how it goes!
Courtney
Grace
Sunday 15th of August 2021
I have some red-skin potatoes from our CSA to use up and was wondering if they would work as well as the yellow ones in this recipe?
Butter For All
Monday 16th of August 2021
Hi Grace!
Absolutely! I love red skinned potatoes. Sometimes they need to cook a little less or a little longer depending on variety so you'll have to adjust the time and temperature a little bit. If they need more cooking time, lower the temperature so they don't burn. If they need less cooking time, raise the temperature so the get nicely browned.
Hope you love them!
Courtney
Alex
Tuesday 12th of May 2020
Made this recipe using white potatoes, though I didn't have any onion granules and didn't feel like adding onion this time around. I found the frying time not enough to cook the potato in the latkahs, so I ended up frying them and then finishing them off in the oven at 350 deg F for ten minutes as per Olia Hercules' recipe. Not sure if maybe mine were on the thicker side than what was happening in the instructions, but regardless, the flavour was good!
Butter For All
Tuesday 12th of May 2020
Hi Alex,
I try to make very thin in the pan because I like them crispy! But, that's a great tip for people who are having the same results. I will add a note in the recipe! Thanks for your feedback. Glad you liked them.
Courtney
Chantal
Friday 1st of May 2020
I loved these! They went perfectly with your applesauce recipe. My half Polish self could eat these every day and never look back :) Thank you!
Cameo
Tuesday 21st of April 2020
Do you have to press the liquid out of the potatoes?
Butter For All
Tuesday 21st of April 2020
Hi Cameo,
I didn't, but if they are really wet you might want to. I'll make a note in the recipe. Thanks!
Courtney