Dollar Pancakes

My wonderful neighbor brought me some sourdough starter. It was started clear back in 1930. I've never made anything with sourdough so I was a little wary but she assured me that I couldn't mess it up. I've never been a huge fan of sour dough either but how could I not try it. She gave me two recipes to go along with her sourdough starter: Dollar Pancakes and Honey Gold Bread. Now that I've tried the pancakes I can't wait to try the bread. The pancakes were so good. They rose a bunch while I cooked them and they were very light and fluffy. The kids inhaled them. Though as I cooked them they whined about how gross the pancakes were going to be. Sometimes cooking with kids isn't as pleasant an experience as I would like. Today they fought and whined the whole time but as soon as they were eating it was as quiet as can be. I can be so thankful for good food at times.

Here's the recipe (it's long because of the starter and I don't know how to make sourdough starter so if you want some just ask me):

Basic Sourdough batter

The basic batter is set the evening before you want pancakes for breakfast or wish to make bread:

Put all of your 1 cup of Sourdough Started in a large mixing bowl (large enough to allow for any expansion of dough or batter that may take place- depending on how warm the kitchen is) preferably a pottery, glass or stainless steel bowl. Add 2 cups of warm water (up to 90 degrees F) and 2 1/2 cups of flour. Mix thoroughly- mixture will be thick and lumpy but it will thin down from fermenting and be lively by breakfast time. Cover bowl and set in a warm spot overnight. (Allow 10-12 hours during the night in a warm spot in your kitchen for complete fermentation). Because our kitchens aren't as warm as our grandmother's were... I set my bowl on a heating pad which I have wrapped a small towel around and set it at it's lowest setting.

IMPORTANT: In the morning, put 1 cup starter in your Sourdough Pot and keep in the refrigerator until next time- this will leave you with about 4 1/2 cups of batter.

Dollar Pancakes -Marie Reese

25-30 dollar size pancakes

In the morning stir the batter and put 1 cup of this starter back into your sourdough starter pot. Cover and refrigerate until ready to use again. To the batter remaining in the bowl add:

1 egg

2 Tbs cooking oil

1/4 cup instant dry milk or evaporated milk.

Beat thoroughly. Then combine:

1 tsp. salt

1 tsp. baking soda

2 Tbs. sugar

Blend until smooth, eliminating any lumps of soda. Sprinkle evenly over top of batter; fold in gently. This will cause a gentle foaming, rising action.

Allow batter to rest a few minutes, then fry on a hit lightly greased griddle. If pancakes do not brown rapidly and sizzle slightly as you drop each spoonful of batter on the griddle it isn't hot enough.

IMPORTANT: Always made dollar size pancakes using a tablespoon full of batter for each pancake. If your batter seems too thick, it wasn't warm enough during the night and didn't ferment sufficiently- a common fault in modern kitchens. It may be thinned with a little milk. The sourdough pancake batter is normally fairly thin but lively. You'll find that sourdough pancakes require a hotter griddle than other pancakes.