Sourdough Chai Pancakes
Always researching for ways to use my sourdough starter, I came across this website. There were a number of recipes which caught my eye, one of them being a sourdough pumpkin recipe. However truth be told I’m not a big pumpkin flavor person. But I love the warming spices that go with pumpkin flavors. However what I like even more are chai flavors! So I decided to reinvent their recipe and create sourdough chai pancakes.
Warming Spices
Warming spices like pumpkin and chai flavors make people think of the fall. There’s a reason for that, as the air gets cooler we tend to gravitate towards foods and spices that are more warming. Warming spices help to increase the blood flow to warm up the body. This is why you start to see an influx of pumpkin spiced and apple spiced items in the fall and winter instead of spring and summer. However there’s more to warming spices as listed below.
Here’s a list of some of the benefits of warming spices.
- Can help you feel full (so you tend not to overeat when there’s warming spices in the meal).
- Can help aid digestion.
- Can help boost blood circulation.
- Can provide antioxidants.
- Can provide anti-inflammatory and anti-cancer properties.
- Can help with maintaining or lowering sugar levels.
Here’s a list of some of the most popular warming spices.
- cinnamon
- cloves
- cardamom
- ginger
- nutmeg
- pepper
- turmeric
If there’s a need to either limit or omit sugar intake all together, warming spices like cinnamon, ginger and cardamom can help. There’s an inherent sweetness to these spices. So substituting some sugar with warming spices in desserts or things like pancakes can really help curb sugar cravings.
Sourdough Chai Pancakes
These pancakes will make you think you’re drinking a cup of chai tea. The pancakes are warming with chai spices and have a subtle sweetness that you would swear is coming from sugar. There’s only a slight detection of sourdough flavor. Where the sourdough is fully represented, is in the texture. The texture is soft and fluffy with beautiful fermented air pockets in the pancakes.
There’s no sugar in this pancake recipe thanks to all the warming spices. So anyone watching their sugar intake, this recipe is definitely for you. There’s also no dairy or eggs in the recipe. So this is fully a plant based recipe. These pancakes are also easy to digest due to the einkorn flour. Einkorn flour is used, in the sourdough starter as well as the additional flour. Einkorn is very easy to digest and even more so after fermentation. I talked all about this flour in a previous post.
The Recipe
If you have a sourdough starter this sourdough chai recipe is a must try. It’s a great way to use your throw away starter. Also you can stock up and freeze the pancakes for later eats!
This recipe is a great way to use your sourdough starter. There's no sweetener in this batter because all the sweetness comes from the warming chai spices and the toppings you choose to use!
Take two bags of chai tea I used this brand
and place in a liquid measuring cup. Pour hot water up to the 1 cup measuring line. Let it steep for about 30 minutes. The tea should cool down significantly after 30 minutes.
In a bowl place the sourdough starter, flour and steeped tea in a large bowl. Stir all the ingredients together, cover and let the bowl rest overnight.
The next morning when the bowl is uncovered it should be fermented with small bubbles showing.
Before mixing the rest of the ingredients to the overnight mixture, the flaxseed egg has to be prepared.
To make your flaxseed egg, place 1 tablespoon of flaxseed and 3 tablespoons of water in a bowl and mix together. Set to the side.
Now add to the sourdough mixture your spices which will be the cinnamon, ginger, cardamom and sea salt. Once those spices are mixed in, add the flaxseed egg and coconut oil.
Last but not least add the baking soda. As soon as you add the baking soda you will see the batter thicken and become almost airy.
Take a griddle pan that's on low to medium heat and lightly brush coconut oil on the pan. Scoop out the batter to make the pancakes. You will know when to flip the pancakes when they become a little dry around the edges and there's little air bubbles forming.
This recipe will make around 10 to 12 pancakes. They can be served with all natural fruit preserves, maple syrup, honey, nut or seed butter, cream cheese or served on it's own.
Store any leftover pancakes in the refrigerator. The pancakes can also be frozen and used for later. Whenever you're ready to eat them just take a couple out, place them in a toaster oven or slide them in a toaster for a few minutes.
This pancake also makes a great snack toasted to have with some tea.
Ingredients
Directions
Take two bags of chai tea I used this brand
and place in a liquid measuring cup. Pour hot water up to the 1 cup measuring line. Let it steep for about 30 minutes. The tea should cool down significantly after 30 minutes.
In a bowl place the sourdough starter, flour and steeped tea in a large bowl. Stir all the ingredients together, cover and let the bowl rest overnight.
The next morning when the bowl is uncovered it should be fermented with small bubbles showing.
Before mixing the rest of the ingredients to the overnight mixture, the flaxseed egg has to be prepared.
To make your flaxseed egg, place 1 tablespoon of flaxseed and 3 tablespoons of water in a bowl and mix together. Set to the side.
Now add to the sourdough mixture your spices which will be the cinnamon, ginger, cardamom and sea salt. Once those spices are mixed in, add the flaxseed egg and coconut oil.
Last but not least add the baking soda. As soon as you add the baking soda you will see the batter thicken and become almost airy.
Take a griddle pan that's on low to medium heat and lightly brush coconut oil on the pan. Scoop out the batter to make the pancakes. You will know when to flip the pancakes when they become a little dry around the edges and there's little air bubbles forming.
This recipe will make around 10 to 12 pancakes. They can be served with all natural fruit preserves, maple syrup, honey, nut or seed butter, cream cheese or served on it's own.
Store any leftover pancakes in the refrigerator. The pancakes can also be frozen and used for later. Whenever you're ready to eat them just take a couple out, place them in a toaster oven or slide them in a toaster for a few minutes.
This pancake also makes a great snack toasted to have with some tea.
References
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/20361714
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