13 Comments
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Dessa's avatar

My mom used to make sourdough pancakes when I was a kid. I can't wait to try these!

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Niki D's avatar

I may cut this recipe and half, to make for the two of us....pancakes for dinner!

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Stacie Parillo's avatar

If my maintenance starter refresh is 2:1:1, when would I have 100% hydration discard? It seems I should be maintaining 1:1:1 so I’m more ready to bake from these recipes.

Or am I totally misunderstanding hydration?

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Andrew Janjigian's avatar

Thelma - My ratio is 2:2:1 (flour/water/starter), maybe that is what you mean? But in any case, as long as the ratio of flour to water is 1:1, then that is 100% hydration. (I need to do a post about this soon but hydration = amount of water relative to flour, so 100% is equal parts.)

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Stacie Parillo's avatar

Yes, I meant 2:2:1. For instance I just refreshed with 75g starter, 150g flour and water. But to make these pancakes or “the loaf” I’ll have to make some starter that’s 1:1:1. So now i wish I had refreshed with 75g, 75g, 75g.

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Andrew Janjigian's avatar

Thelma. Sorry if it's still not clear, but the ONLY ratio that affects hydration is the one between flour and water, how much starter you add does not affect the hydration (assuming it too is 100% hydration). 2:2:1 flour/water/starter and 1:1:1 flour/water/starter are the same hydration. How they are different is in the _inoculation rate_, ie, the ratio of starter to flour and water.

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Stacie Parillo's avatar

Oh wow! Thank you for making that distinction. I _was_ totally confused about hydration! So happy I asked, and thank you for such a clear answer.

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yelia's avatar

This is so good. Don't be like me and make the mistake of actually using a whisk to incorporate the wet into the dry because picking out all that trapped batter was not fun. (But I think people following this blog actually know things like this already)

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Tanya's avatar

Just made these for breakfast today, they were a hit! The lemon zest really adds nice citrus notes.

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Jo C's avatar

May I know the reason for the tiny amount of baking powder? can I replace it with baking soda, since there are more than enough acids in the batter to react with. Although it's difficult to measure 1/16 teaspoon of baking soda.... or can i just leave out the baking powder, I don't see how 1/4 teaspoon of baking powder is going to make a big difference.

I am not a big fan of baking powder, it's like you bought a bag of it and then you can never finish it before it doesn't work anymore, it's such a waste.

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Andrew Janjigian's avatar

It’s in there because it helps get the texture of these right, since there is a difference between a leavener that acts immediately upon mixing and one that acts during heating. But you can leave it out if you like, they should still be good. ¼ teaspoon for that amount of flour is not insignificant, though.

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Jo C's avatar

I see, cos most recipes call for 1-2 teaspoon of baking powder, so I thought 1/4 is really tiny, so I am wrong. And according to what you've said, you actually need to get the double acting baking powder, else it would be no difference from not adding it... thanks for your reply!

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Andrew Janjigian's avatar

Single-acting BP is pretty rare these days, so that is what I meant

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