Once I began milling my own grain, I began playing with all different types of wheat. I have tried lots of whole grains like kamut (khorisan), soft white, hard white and red, spelt, and of course einkorn! I love einkorn in any baked goods and this freshly milled flour banana bread is no exception. It’s soft and delicate and does not even taste like it’s whole grain! This whole food snack or breakfast is perfect if you’re trying to add additional nutrition to your diet.

You’ll find that it’s a super easy one bowl banana bread that comes together quickly and tastes perfectly delectable! The whole grain gives this quick bread recipe a nutty flavor. While you can use some of the modern wheat flours in this recipe, using einkorn, which is an ancient variety of wheat that hasn’t been tampered with, is absolutely delicious.

This recipe doesn’t need a hand mixer or a kitchenaid mixer. You just need a bowl and a whisk. Super easy and very old school! You’ll love this einkorn flour banana bread!

Ingredients for freshly milled einkorn banana bread

It only takes a few ingredients to make this einkorn banana bread with freshly milled flour. Here’s what you’ll need:

Wet Ingredients

• 600g or 4-5 overripe bananas
• 2 large eggs
• 10g or 2t. vanilla extract
• 2/3c melted butter (or melted coconut oil) and cooled to room temperature

This post contains affiliate links, so we may earn a small commission when you make a purchase through links on our site at no additional cost to you.

Dry Ingredients

• 170g or 3/4c. brown sugar (can substitute coconut sugar)
• 360g or 3c freshly milled einkorn flour (or soft white wheat or spelt)
• 2 pinches of salt
• 8g or 2t. baking soda

Instructions for einkorn banana bread

Combine wet ingredients:

First, mash overripe bananas in a large bowl.

Next, add the large eggs one at a time and whisk together. Add the rest of the wet ingredients – vanilla extract and melted butter or coconut oil. (you could also replace the melted butter with a light tasting olive oil). Mix together well.

My very favorite way to combine the ingredients is using a danish whisk. I feel like it incorporates all the ingredients and they don’t get stuck like in a traditional whisk.

Combine Dry Ingredients:

The next step is to combine the dry ingredients in a separate bowl. 

I often sift these directly over the wet ingredients so that I can just use one large mixing bowl instead of having extra dirty dishes. If you have a large mesh strainer like this one, you can just set it on top of the bowl and sift all the dry ingredients right on top of the wet ones.

Mill your flour:

First, mill your einkorn. Here’s what the einkorn berries look like before they are turned into einkorn flour. They contain so many nutrients and because the flour will be used before those vitamins oxidize, it makes this einkorn banana bread a healthy whole food.

Mill the einkorn or other low gluten grain like soft white wheat, kamut or spelt. I use either a dry container for my Vitamix, or my Mockmill 200. Here, I show what the einkorn flour looks like after mixing the berries in my Vitamix dry container for 1 minute. It makes a gorgeous fine flour.

If you already have a Vitamix and would like to delve into milling your own flour, this is a very affordable alternative to a mill. I used mine to grind grain for over 15 years before I took the plunge into buying a mill!

Add the rest of the dry ingredients:

Next, add in the rest of the dry ingredients – brown sugar, salt, and baking soda. You could add one teaspoon ground cinnamon to the mix if you’d like to add a little more flavor. Whisk it up! This would also be a great time to add a good dose of walnuts if you want a little crunch in your einkorn banana bread!

Put the wet ingredients and dry ingredients together and whisk until just mixed. If you overmix the banana bread batter, it develops the gluten and makes it tough. So make sure to stop whisking as soon as it comes together.  This will keep the crumb light and delicate.

Prepare 2 loaf pans with nonstick spray or parchment paper. I normally do this by cutting the parchment paper as wide as the long side of the loaf pan. This way it doesn’t cover the ends, but it does give you excellent handles to lift it out. Divide the batter in half and pour each half into a prepared loaf pan for a total of two pans.

Bake your freshly milled einkorn banana bread:

The next step is to preheat the oven to 350 degrees. The banana bread batter needs to sit for 15 minutes minimum in order for the freshly milled einkorn to absorb the liquid and soften the grains and that’s why I choose to preheat the oven at this stage of the baking process. Then once it’s preheated, the batter had time to sit and absorb the moisture and it’s ready to go in the oven. 

Now, bake at 350 degrees for 50 minutes. 

Finally, take einkorn banana bread out of the pan and let it cool on a wire rack. Eat immediately with plenty of butter on top. Store leftovers in an airtight container – if you have any!

Banana bread freezes well – I love to wait until the banana bread cools and wrap one tightly in plastic wrap and then place in a freezer Ziplock bag and freeze for the next time I want freshly milled flour banana bread but don’t want to bake! It’s a great quick snack!

FAQs

Do I have to use freshly milled flour in this einkorn banana bread recipe?

While it’s a good idea to use fresh milled flour in this freshly milled flour banana bread recipe, it’s not a necessity. I have made this with regular flour (all purpose flour) from the grocery store, freshly milled einkorn, and freshly milled soft white wheat berries. Any of them work perfectly and will make a delicious banana bread. You could also try traditional whole wheat flour as well.

Additionally, they do sell whole wheat einkorn flour or einkorn wheat flour which has less gluten than modern wheat varieties. While this is not as nutrient dense as milling it freshly, it does have a lower gluten content and may be a better option over all purpose flour for those with gluten sensitivities.

The most nutritious way to make this bread is with freshly milled flour because it has the highest nutritional content. But any way you make this will be better than a store bought version, so bake away! Homemade banana bread ALWAYS wins out over the preservative laden variety you buy at the grocery store.

Can I use liquid sweeteners like honey or maple syrup?

There are definitely health benefits to using a less processed sugar in baked goods. While you could substitute something like honey granules or coconut sugar, it is a bit harder to substitute a liquid sweetener because it messes with the amount of liquid in the recipe.

If you decide to use maple syrup or honey, I’d play with it and make a half recipe until you figure it out. Cut back on some of the wet ingredients to compensate for the additional liquid and make sure there’s not too much moisture in the batter.

Variations:

Put a healthy dose of walnuts in the banana bread batter for crunch and Omega 3s for additional health benefits!

Add dark chocolate chips or white chocolate chips for a sweeter treat.

Top the loaves with raw sugar before you put it in the oven to give your einkorn banana bread a bit of a crunch on the top for a great snack!

Turn these into einkorn banana bread muffins by putting into cupcake liners in a muffin tin. Fill 2/3 full and lower the baking time to 18-21 minutes.

Remove 1/4c of flour and 1/4c of butter and replace with sourdough discard or fed sourdough starter for an einkorn sourdough banana bread. It’s even better when you pop the batter in the fridge in the evening and bake it the next day for the added health benefits of fermented sourdough.

Add a streusel topping for an extra decadent freshly milled flour banana bread.

How to ripen bananas for einkorn banana bread

If your bananas don’t have brown spots and aren’t ripe enough for banana bread, they won’t be very sweet. You need to wait until they have black dots all over them – the riper the better! However, if you’re ready to make einkorn banana bread, but your bananas aren’t ready, you can ripen them in the oven!

If you want to try to ripen them in the oven, just pop them into a preheated 300 degree oven for 15-20 minutes. You don’t even need to peel them! Leave them whole and when the skins turn black, you’re ready to go!

Next time you have over-ripe bananas and you’re looking to have a delicious snack or an easy breakfast, this is perfect and will become one of your favorite recipes. With a light crumb, the nutty flavor of whole grains and a rich banana flavor, look no further than this einkorn banana bread with freshly milled flour! THIS is real food! Follow along for more einkorn recipes!

Einkorn Banana Bread Printable Recipe Card

Freshly Milled Flour Banana Bread

This is absolutely the best banana bread I've ever tasted! Light, fluffy, moist, and so delicious!

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Ingredients

Wet Ingredients

Toggle ingredient group

• 600g or 4-5 bananas
• 2 eggs
• 10g or 2t. vanilla
• 2/3c melted butter

Dry Ingredients

Toggle ingredient group

• 170g or 3/4c. brown sugar
• 360g or 3c freshly milled einkorn flour
• 2 pinches of salt
• 8g or 2t. baking soda

Instructions

1. Mash bananas and combine wet ingredients together.

2. In a separate bowl, combine dry ingredients.

3. Put the wet ingredients and dry ingredients together and whisk until just mixed. If you overmix the batter, it develops the gluten and makes it tough. So make sure to stop whisking as soon as it comes together.

4. Prepare 2 loaf pans with nonstick spray. Divide the batter between the two loaf pans.

5. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. The batter needs to sit for 15 minutes minimum in order for the freshly milled einkorn to absorb the liquid and soften the grains and that's why I choose to preheat the oven at this stage of the baking process. Then once it's preheated, the batter had time to sit and it's ready to go in.

6. Bake at 350 degrees for 50 minutes.

7. Take out of pan and let cool. Store in an airtight container.

The post Easy One Bowl Fresh Milled Einkorn Banana Bread appeared first on Little Reasons.

If you’ve been around for long, you’ll know that I LOOOVVVEEE pumpkin everything! You can find recipes on my blog for pumpkin sourdough pancakes, or chocolate chip sourdough pumpkin cookies, or spiced sourdough pumpkin cinnamon rolls, or pumpkin sourdough waffles with discard. So. Many. Pumpkin. Options. And now there’s one more!

You won’t believe how easy scones are to make. Once you cut your butter into the dry ingredients, you pour in the wet ingredients, mix gently, and shape. They are super simple and before long you’ll be able to serve your friends the best scones they have ever had! I think you’ll find it to be the perfect fall treat.

Ingredients for sourdough pumpkin scones

It’s that time of year for pumpkin spice lattes and pumpkin everything! Whether you need a quick breakfast, a Thanksgiving brunch, or a fast treat, this is a great way to get the pumpkin flavor in a new way! Furthermore, a big plus is that you’ll also have a new way to use up the extra sourdough discard you have sitting around!

This post contains affiliate links, so we may earn a small commission when you make a purchase through links on our site at no additional cost to you.

Dry Ingredients

• 240g. all purpose flour (I use fresh milled flour made from soft white wheat)
• 60g. dark brown sugar
• 1t baking powder
• 1/2t baking soda
• 1/2t salt
• 1 1/2t pumpkin pie spice

Cut in the butter!!

• 1 stick of butter, cubed or grated

Wet Ingredients

• 100g sourdough starter (active sourdough starter or sourdough starter discard)
• 1 egg
• 100g pumpkin puree (NOT pumpkin pie filling)

Instructions

Dry ingredients

In a large bowl, mix dry ingredients together – flour, brown sugar, baking powder, baking soda, salt and pumpkin pie spice. If you use freshly milled flour, it needs to cool because it comes out of the mill a bit warm. Pop it into the freezer for a while until it cools down. You want all the ingredients very cold in order to make sure the scones are nice and chilled when they go into the hot oven. This helps the butter melt more slowly and it creates a flaky texture.

I usually mix all my ingredients with a whisk, or my new favorite kitchen tool – a danish whisk!!

Cut in the butter

Add cubed unsalted butter into the flour mixture and cut it in with a pastry cutter until the chunks of butter are the size of peas. Make sure you have very cold butter. If you have room temperature butter, it won’t make tender scones with flaky layers. My very favorite pastry cutter has solid sides like THIS one so it’s sturdier.

As an alternative to the pastry blender, you can use grated butter that has been frozen or is very cold. Just add the grated frozen butter and you won’t need to use the pastry blender. Some people also use a food processor to chop the butter into small pieces. I’ve never done that, but I heard it works well.

Wet Ingredients

In a small bowl, combine the wet ingredients – sourdough starter, egg, and fresh or canned pumpkin puree (NOT pumpkin pie filling).

Give it a good stir! Once you add it to the flour mixture, you don’t want to work it too much, so it’s good to have it all completely incorporated at this point.

After that, add wet ingredients to the large mixing bowl with dry ingredients and mix with a wooden spoon until it just comes together. Do not overmix or it will develop the gluten and make the scones tough. You’ll end up with a shaggy dough.

Shaping the sourdough pumpkin scones

Turn the shaggy dough onto a lightly floured surface, scraping the sides of the bowl with a rubber spatula. I usually flip the dough over onto the floured countertop so that both sides have a bit of the flour and aren’t sticky. Pat the soft dough into a rectangle. Fold it over and pat out again. Certainly you can use a rolling pin, but it’s easier just to pat it out with your hands. Do this a total of 7 times, and it will give you a light airy scone with flaky layers and pockets of air.

Gently make the scone dough into a circle about 1″ thick. Use a sharp knife or a bench scraper to cut the dough into 8 pie shaped pieces. Cut the dough straight down and straight up to make clean cuts. Surprisingly, when you saw back and forth, the edges will seal and it causes the scones to not raise as high. You can also use a round cookie cutter or a biscuit cutter, but make sure you put the cookie cutter straight down and back up without twisting it.

When you cut the butter in well, you end up with these flecks of butter that will give you the flakey layers. SO good!

Baking the pumpkin spice scones

Finally, line a large baking sheet with parchment paper and set the sourdough pumpkin scones onto the parchment lined baking tray. Leave plenty of room between the scones on the tray to allow them room to spread while cooking.

Use a pastry brush to brush the tops of the scones with half and half, heavy cream, or a little extra buttermilk.

Put scones into the freezer while the oven preheats to 400 degrees. It is especially important to preheat the oven AFTER you make the scones when you’re using freshly milled flour. When working with flour that you mill at home, you need to let the mixture rest for at least 15 minutes before baking so it has time to absorb all the liquids. Even if you’re using all purpose flour, you’ll want to let them rest in the freezer to get nice and cold so they keep their shape better in the oven.

Bake the sourdough pumpkin scones on the prepared baking sheet for 18-20 minutes until they are golden brown.

Cool sourdough pumpkin scones on a wire rack.

Overall, for best results, eat immediately or store in an airtight container for about a week.

FAQs for pumpkin sourdough scones

Can you freeze sourdough pumpkin scones?

Absolutlely! These are a great make-ahead option. You can freeze the leftover scones after they are baked. I put them on a parchment lined baking sheet in the freezer. Once they are fully frozen, place the frozen scones into a zip top freezer bag or an airtight container and store in the freezer. Reheat in the toaster oven or microwave.

Alternately, you can freeze shaped scones on a baking sheet lined with a piece of parchment paper. Once they are frozen, take the unbaked scones and store in a freezer-safe bag or airtight container in the freezer. Next time you’re ready for a fall treat, simply bake them. Follow the baking instructions and add a few extra minutes on to the bake time for the frozen scones.

Variations:

Add chocolate chips, white chocolate chips, or cinnamon chips into the dough before shaping.

Cover dough with plastic wrap and put in the refrigerator overnight. Bake the next day for fermented sourdough pumpkin scones.

Top with a maple glaze.

Add streusel to the top of the scones for an extra decadent treat!

Drizzle with cream cheese frosting for an extra sweet treat!

In conclusion, these sourdough discard pumpkin scones are an excellent addition to your sourdough discard recipes. If you love quick breads, you’ll love this scone recipe. It’s easy and makes the most delicious scones full of pumpkin and warm cinnamon fall flavor!

Recipe Card for Sourdough Pumpkin Scones

Sourdough Pumpkin Scones

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Ingredients

Dry Ingredients

Toggle ingredient group

• 240g. all purpose flour (I use fresh milled flour)
• 60g. dark brown sugar
• 1t baking powder
• 1/2t baking soda
• 1/2t salt
• 1 1/2t pumpkin pie spice

The rest of the ingredients!

Toggle ingredient group

• 1 stick of butter, cubed (or grated)
• 100g sourdough starter
• 1 egg
• 100g pumpkin puree

Instructions

1. Mix dry ingredients together - flour, brown sugar, baking powder, baking soday, salt and pumpkin pie spice. If you use freshly milled flour, it needs to cool because it comes out of the mill a bit warm. Pop it into the freezer for a while until it cools down. You want all the ingredients very cold in order to make sure the scones are nice and chilled when they go into the hot oven. This helps the butter melt more slowly and it creates a flaky texture.
2. Add cubed butter and cut it in with a pastry blender until it is the size of peas. Alternately, you can use grated cold or frozen butter as well. Some people also use a food processor to chop the butter into small pieces. I've never done that, but I heard it works well.
3. Add wet ingredients - sourdough starter, egg, and pumpkin puree. Mix with a wooden spoon until it just comes together. Do not overmix or it will develop the gluten and make the scones tough.
4. Turn the shaggy dough onto a lightly floured surface, scraping the sides of the bowl with a rubber spatula. I usually flip the dough over onto the floured countertop so that both sides have a bit of the flour and aren't sticky. Pat the soft dough into a rectangle. Fold it over and pat out again. You can use a rolling pin, but it's easier just to pat it out with your hands. Do this a total of 7 times, and it will give you a light airy scone with flaky layers and pockets of air.
5. Gently make the scone dough into a circle about 1" thick. Use a sharp knife to cut the dough into 8 pie shaped pieces. Cut the dough straight down and straight up to make clean cuts. If you saw back and forth, the edges will seal and it causes the scones to not raise as high. You can also use a round cookie cutter or a biscuit cutter, but make sure you put the cookie cutter straight down and back up without twisting it.
6. Line a large baking sheet with parchment paper and set the sourdough pumpkin scones onto the lined baking tray. Leave plenty of room between the scones on the tray to allow them room to spread while cooking.
7. Brush the top of each scone with half and half, heavy cream, or a little extra buttermilk.
8. Put scones into the freezer while the oven preheats to 400 degrees.
9. Bake the sourdough pumpkin scones for 18-20 minutes until they are golden brown.Eat immediately or store in an airtight container for about a week.

The post The Best Easy Sourdough Pumpkin Scones with Discard appeared first on Little Reasons.

Cozy fall mornings are one of my very favorite things! It’s pumpkin season, and I I love ALL the autumn recipes and warm spices and pumpkin flavor! If you haven’t seen a pattern in my blog yet, you can look back to my pumpkin cinnamon rolls, or pumpkin chocolate chip cookies, or pumpkin waffles… So many fall favorites! And here’s a new one to add!

Why Use Sourdough in Pumpkin Pancakes?

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Sourdough is for more than just sourdough bread! I love to add sourdough to all my baked goods! Sourdough starter is full of gut healthy bacteria that break down the sugar and gluten in the pancakes.

While you can make the pumpkin sourdough pancake batter and use it right away, it’s best to make this the night before and pop it in the fridge to let the batter ferment. Overnight, the yeast and bacteria goes to work breaking down the phytic acid, gluten and sugar in the batter. It’s the best way to make these even healthier.

When you pull it out the next morning, not only are these fluffy sourdough pancakes a super delicious fall breakfast, but it has had a long fermentation that makes them a healthy breakfast full of fall flavors.

Sourdough Pumpkin Pancake Recipe:

Wet Ingredients:

• 3T. melted butter or coconut oil
• 1 (15oz) can of pumpkin purée
• 2 eggs
• 2c. cultured buttermilk
• 1/2c. active sourdough starter (or leftover sourdough discard)
• 1 1/2t. vanilla extract

Dry Ingredients:

• 1 1/2t. pumpkin pie spice
• 1/8t. salt
• 2t. baking soda
• 2t. baking powder
• 2T. raw sugar or brown sugar
• 2 1/2c. all purpose flour, whole wheat flour or my favorite – freshly milled soft white wheat

Instructions:

These fluffy sourdough pancakes with pumpkin have minimal ingredients, so they are super simple to throw together before you go to bed at night. Then the next day they are waiting for you to make!

Combine dry ingredients:

The night before you want to make pancakes, combine dry ingredients into a large bowl (except for baking soda – the baking soda makes a chemical reaction with the buttermilk to help rise the pumpkin sourdough pancakes, so we will keep this out until we are ready to make them)

So mix the raw sugar, pumpkin pie spice, baking powder and flour. I use freshly milled soft white wheat flour (see the above photo – I have ground my flour for years in my Vitamix dry container).

I find that it gives the best taste, and it’s full of fiber and vitamins. If you don’t mill your own flour, you can use whole wheat flour or all purpose flour. I’ve used many kinds of flour to make these and they all work well.

Combine wet ingredients:

Combine wet ingredients into a separate bowl or glass measuring cup – melted butter, fresh pumpkin puree, eggs, buttermilk, active starter or sourdough starter discard, and vanilla extract. (Because you’re not using the sourdough as a leavening agent, it doesn’t matter if you use discard or active starter. Either is fine.)

In a large bowl, add the dry ingredients and the wet ingredients. Mix until they are just combined. You don’t want to overmix pancakes because it will make them tough as the gluten in the flour is developed. So as soon as you see it come together, stop.

Let the batter rest:

Cover the pancake mixture with plastic wrap and put in the fridge until the next morning. I always write “add 2t. baking soda” to the tight plastic wrap so I don’t forget to do that in the morning.

The next day when you pull the large mixing bowl out of the fridge, add 2t. of baking soda and begin making pancakes. Heat cast iron skillet on medium high heat for a few minutes. Apply butter liberally just before you add the batter to the hot pan.

(You could also use a non-stick pan. I just don’t have one! You can also use non-stick spray instead of butter.)

I almost always use a cast-iron skillet to make my pancakes. In these photos, I’m using a piece of steel my brother in law gave me that he used to use in his sourdough bakery. He passed it along to me to use as a pizza steel, but I often use it like this for pancakes, French toast, quesadillas, grilled cheese, and more.

You can get a similar pizza steel HERE.

Bake:

Measure about one quarter cup of batter onto the hot pan. Turn heat down to medium heat – the cast iron skillet holds onto that heat and can burn the pancakes fast.

As you’re cooking the first side, keep a close watch. Once you see little bubbles forming and popping on the pancakes, use a metal spatula to flip them over. This usually takes a few minutes. When the second side is golden brown and they have crispy edges, take them off the pan. This side cooks much faster!

Continue until you use up the rest of the batter. Make them all because they save really well!

Serve immediately or store in the fridge or freezer for quick and healthy fall breakfasts.

Variations on pumpkin sourdough pancakes:

Variations:

• Pumpkin Spice Latte Pancakes – Add 1-2 tablespoons of espresso powder to the batter. Make whipped cream with a dash of expresso powder, brown sugar, and pumpkin pie spice for topping!
• Chocolate Chip Pumpkin Pancakes – Fold in dark or semi-sweet chocolate chips for the chocolate lover! Top with homemade whipped cream.
• Nutty Pumpkin Pancakes – Add chopped pecans, walnuts, or other nuts for a crunch.
• Cranberry Pumpkin Pancakes – Fold in fresh or dried cranberries for a tart twist.
• Maple Glazed Pumpkin Pancakes – Cook down your real maple syrup to make a maple glaze, then drizzle with the maple glaze instead of syrup.
• Thanksgiving Pancakes – Top with candied pecans and a dollop of whipped cream.
• Mini Pancake Stacks – Perfect for brunch boards or a special breakfast for kids.
• Peanut butter Pumpkin – My family loves to top any kind of pancake with natural peanut butter and real maple syrup.
• Dairy-Free Pumpkin Pancakes – Swap regular milk for oat milk, soy milk, coconut milk, or almond milk and butter for coconut oil. Just make sure to add a splash of vinegar or lemon juice in with your alternate milk in order to react with the baking soda correctly.
• Egg-Free Pumpkin Pancakes – Use 2T. of ground flax and 6T. of water to replace the eggs. Whisk together mixture and let sit for about 5 minutes to thicken. Alternately, you can use applesauce as a binder in place of the eggs (about 1/4c per egg).

Syrup & Favorite Toppings:

• Pure Maple Syrup – This is my preference! We use maple syrup from our maple trees. SO delicious! If you want to learn how to make real maple syrup at home, check out THIS blog post.
• Cinnamon Cream Cheese Drizzle – Like a pumpkin roll in pancake form. Combine cream cheese, a little brown sugar and cinnamon, and milk or half and half to thin it out. Use a hand mixer to mix until it’s the perfect drizzle consistency.
• Salted Caramel Drizzle – Use your favorite Carmel sauce and top with flaked salt. Sweet and Salty!
• Apple Compote Topping – Cook apples down with cinnamon, sugar, and a little butter and spoon it over the sourdough pumpkin pancakes.
• Whipped cream and fresh fruit – A classic!
• Buttermilk syrup – This homemade buttermilk syrup would taste AMAZING on them!
• Pumpkin Roll Topping – My very favorite way to make these pancakes taste like a pumpkin roll!!! Just take a look at how delicious these look with this topping!!! (photo below) Get the recipe HERE!

Freezing Fluffy Sourdough Pumpkin Pancakes

I freeze these pancakes on a baking sheet with parchment paper. Arrange the sourdough pancakes in a single layer and freeze for a few hours. Then put into an airtight container or zip top bag in the freezer. I find that freezing them this way makes them easier to pull out of the freezer instead of having them freeze together.

FAQs

Do I have to make the batter for sourdough pumpkin spice pancakes in advance?

While you can make these pancakes immediately, you get the most health benefit by letting them sit about 8 hours or overnight. However, I have made them right away after mixing the batter lots of times! Sometimes, best isn’t always possible, so I do what I can! Feel free to make these right away or make the batter the night before. Either works fine.

If you choose to make them right away and not let the batter rest overnight, that’s just fine. But if you are using freshly milled wheat flour, the batter does need to sit for at least 15 minutes in order to allow the flour to absorb all the liquid. This definitely helps the texture of the pancake to be really fluffy pancakes that are light.

Do I have to use buttermilk for sourdough pancakes?

No. While I love using cultured buttermilk for the best flavor and texture, you absolutely don’t have to use it! You can simply use whole milk with a splash of vinegar or lemon juice to make sure it’s acidic enough for the baking soda to react with.

I don’t have any sourdough starter. Can I leave it out?

Yes, if you don’t have any active starter or sourdough starter discard on hand, you can leave it out and cook the pumpkin pancakes right away. However, if you’d like to get started with sourdough recipes, you can learn to make your very own sourdough starter HERE.

I hope this one makes it into your favorite sourdough recipes for the fall. It’s really a great way to use simple ingredients in order to eat healthy, and enjoy all the warm spices and pumpkin goodness that autumn offers! So for your next Saturday morning big breakfast, grab a hot cup of coffee and this recipe and you’ll be in fall heaven!

Printable recipe card for Pumpkin Sourdough Pancakes:

Pumpkin Sourdough Pancakes

If you're looking for a light and fluffy pancake that's full of gut healthy sourdough and tastes like fall, you've found it!

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Ingredients

• 3T. melted butter
• 1 (15oz) can of pumpkin puree
• 2 eggs
• 2c. cultured buttermilk
• 1/2c. active sourdough starter or sourdough discard
• 1 1/2t. vanilla extract
• 1 1/2t. pumpkin pie spice
• 1/8t. salt
• 2t. baking soda
• 2t. baking powder
• 2T. raw sugar
• 2 1/2c. flour

Instructions

1. The night before you want to make pancakes, combine wet ingredients into a bowl - melted butter, pumpkin, eggs, buttermilk, sourdough starter, and vanilla.
2. Combine dry ingredients into a separate bowl (except for baking soda - the baking soda makes a chemical reaction with the buttermilk to help rise the pancakes, so we will keep this out until we are ready to make them)
3. Gently mix the wet ingredients and dry ingredients together until they are just combined. You don't want to overmix pancakes because it will make them tough as the gluten in the flour is developed. So as soon as you see it come together, stop.
4. Cover the pancake mixture with plastic wrap and put in the fridge until the next morning. I always write "add 2t. baking soda" to the tight plastic wrap so I don't forget to do that in the morning.
5. When you pull the mixture out of the fridge, add 2t. of baking soda and begin making pancakes.
6. Heat cast iron pan and apply butter liberally.
7. Using a 1/4c measure, put pancakes onto the pan.
8. Once you see bubbles forming and popping on the pancakes, use a spatula to flip them over.
9. When the second side is browned, take them off the pan.
10. Serve with maple syrup (learn how to make it from your maple trees here!), whipped cream, or this amazing cream cheese whipped cream!

Notes

While you can make these pancakes immediately, you get the most health benefit by letting them sit about 8 hours or overnight.

The post How to Make Pumpkin Sourdough Pancakes With Discard appeared first on Little Reasons.

The base of this recipe has been in my recipe cards for probably 20 years. My best friend passed it along to me, but I have no idea where it came from originally. Without a doubt, I have loved making it every year! I keep changing it and adding to it each year and eventually it became this unbelievable sourdough recipe with freshly milled flour and a soft, cakey texture. It’s similar to the original recipe, but with my changes it has become a whole food autumn dessert that can actually be called healthy pumpkin cookies!

Seeing that I love all things pumpkin, this recipe is such a great way to give a pumpkin lover a cookie that is full of fall flavor, and uses gut healthy sourdough and vitamin and fiber rich freshly milled flour. Of course, if you don’t mill your own grains, this makes a perfect cookie if you choose to use all purpose flour, so don’t worry!

If you’re a pumpkin lover like me, you can also try my sourdough pumpkin cinnamon rolls and my sourdough pumpkin waffles for the best fall breakfast flavors!!

*note: these are not chewy cookies like a regular chocolate chip cookies. They are soft and delicate and cakey, more like a sourdough pumpkin bread. Undeniably, this will be one of your new favorite pumpkin recipes!

Ingredients for sourdough pumpkin cookies

Dry Ingredients

• Pinch salt
• 200g (1 cup) brown sugar (you can substitute white sugar if that’s all you have)
• 10g (2 teaspoons) baking powder
• 7g (1 teaspoon) baking soda
• 240g (2 cups) freshly milled soft white wheat, spelt or einkorn (you can also substitute all purpose flour and it works perfectly)
• 3g (1 teaspoon) cinnamon (for extra pumpkin pie flavor you can substitute pumpkin pie spice)

Wet Ingredients

• 1 room temperature egg
• 8g (1 teaspoon) vanilla extract
• 70g (1/4 cup) sourdough discard or active starter
• 1 small 15oz can of pumpkin puree (be very sure you are not using pumpkin pie filling)
• 1/2 stick unsalted butter, melted (can substitute a neutral tasting oil)

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Add Ins for sourdough pumpkin cookies

• 200-400g (1-2 cups) dark chocolate chips

Instructions for sourdough pumpkin chocolate chip cookies:

In the following recipe, I provide regular measurements, as well as scale weight. I think it’s well worth it to purchase an inexpensive kitchen scale to make sure your baked goods have a consistency to them by always having the correct measurement of ingredients. While I use scale weights now, I grew up in a measuring cup / teaspoon household so I’ve provided both. In either case, you’ll end up with delicious sourdough pumpkin chocolate chip cookies!

1. Combine wet ingredients

In a small bowl, combine wet ingredients – room temperature egg, vanilla extract, sourdough starter discard (or active sourdough starter), pumpkin puree.

2. Combine dry ingredients

In a large bowl, combine dry ingredients – salt, brown sugar, baking powder, baking soda, freshly milled flour (or all purpose flour), and cinnamon. NOTE: for a richer fall flavor, you can add pumpkin spice to add a depth of flavor and a taste of warm spices.

*I use a Mockmill 200 to grind my wheat berries. You do not need to use freshly milled flour, but it does add nutrition and fiber. I purchased my Mockmill grain mill HERE. I buy all my wheat berries from Azure Standard.

3. Make browned butter for sourdough pumpkin cookies

In a small saucepan, melt the unsalted butter on medium heat. If you’d like to give the sourdough discard pumpkin cookies a nutty flavor, you can make it into brown butter by cooking it until it gets golden brown and begins to foam up. So, make sure to use a large enough saucepan because it tends to fuzz up and bubble over. Sadly, I did that today as I made these!! Regardless whether you use brown butter or just melted butter, they will be amazing.

4. Mix wet and dry ingredients

In the large mixing bowl, combine the wet ingredients, dry ingredients, and butter mixture (browned butter) with a wooden spoon, danish whisk, or hand mixer. I absolutely love my danish whisk because I don’t get a ton of cookie batter stuck in it. It’s perfect for brownies, cookies, pancakes, and batters that are a little thicker.

For best results, mix it until it is just combined so you don’t overwork the gluten in the flour and end up with tough cookies. You can also place the ingredients for the sourdough cookies in the bowl of a stand mixer and mix gently with the paddle attachment.

5. Add in chocolate chips

Once it’s just combined, add in the chocolate chips and gently mix in. For a rich flavor that’s not too sweet, my favorite thing to use is dark chocolate chips. So good! 

6. Rest the batter

Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Cover with plastic wrap or a damp towel. Freshly milled wheat needs to rest so it can soak up all the moisture in the wet ingredients.

Let it sit for at least 15 minutes. Furthermore, this sourdough cookie batter can be put in the fridge for as much as 24 hours to allow the sourdough discard to begin to eat the sugar and gluten and make the sourdough pumpkin cookies more gut healthy. 

7. Scoop the sourdough pumpkin cookies

After that, scoop small balls of cookie dough (I use a medium sized cookie scoop which gives me about 1 1/2-2 tablespoons of dough) onto prepared baking sheets. I use a cookie sheet lined with parchment paper. I can fit 24 cookie dough balls on a prepared baking sheet. A cookie scoop that is similar to what I use is HERE.

8. Bake

Bake cookies in a 375 degree oven for 10-12 minutes. I tend to take mine out at exactly 12 minutes for my oven. Play with the time to make sure you adjust it to your oven’s temperature. 

9. Storing sourdough pumpkin chocolate chip cookies

Place the baked sourdough chocolate chip cookies to cool on a wire rack and serve immediately. Once they are cooled, take them off the cooling rack and store in an airtight container, Ziploc bag, or glass jar on the counter. Alternately, you may keep them in the freezer for longer storage.

***makes about 48 small cookies***

FAQs

Do I have to use fresh milled flour to make sourdough pumpkin cookies?

Although freshly milled flour adds nutritional density to these cookies, it’s not necessary. As a matter of fact, I made these with traditional all purpose flour for years before I started milling my own flour.

Can you freeze sourdough pumpkin cookies?

By all means, freeze these cookies! Due to the fact that I haven’t tried to use frozen cookie dough and bake them from frozen, I can’t recommend that. Normally, I bake them and then store in an airtight container with parchment paper between the layers of cookies. That works perfectly.

Above all, these little palm sized sourdough cookies that are full of pumpkin flavor and rich chocolate will be one of your favorite fall sourdough discard recipes! It’s such a perfect way to use leftover starter and create a cookie that is healthier and doesn’t make you feel guilty to eat it! So add this to your sourdough pumpkin recipe arsenal. All in all, you won’t be sorry.

Printable recipe card below:

Sourdough Pumpkin Cookies

Print

Ingredients

Dry Ingredients

Toggle ingredient group

• Pinch salt
• 200g (1 cup) brown sugar
• 10g (2 teaspoons) baking powder
• 7g (1 teaspoon) baking soda
• 240g (2 cups) freshly milled soft white wheat, spelt or einkorn (you can also substitute all purpose flour and it works perfectly)
• 3g (1 teaspoon) cinnamon (for extra pumpkin pie flavor you can substitute pumpkin pie spice)

Wet Ingredients

Toggle ingredient group

• 1 room temperature egg
• 8g (1 teaspoon) vanilla extract
• 70g (1/4 cup) sourdough discard or active sourdough starter
• 1 small 15oz can of pumpkin puree (be very sure you are not using pumpkin pie filling)
• 1/2 stick unsalted butter, melted (can substitute a neutral tasting oil)

Add Ins

Toggle ingredient group

• 200-400g (1-2 cups) dark chocolate chips

Instructions

In the following recipe, I provide regular measurements, as well as scale weight. I think it's well worth it to purchase an inexpensive kitchen scale to make sure your baked goods have a consistency to them by always having the correct measurement of ingredients. However, I grew up in a measuring cup / teaspoon household so I've provided both.

1. Combine wet ingredients in a small bowl - room temperature egg, vanilla extract, sourdough starter discard, pumpkin puree.

2. In a large bowl, combine dry ingredients - salt, brown sugar, baking powder, baking soda, freshly milled flour (or all purpose flour), and cinnamon. NOTE: for a a change you can add pumpkin spice to add a depth of flavor and a taste of warm spices

3. In a small saucepan, melt the unsalted butter on medium heat. If you'd like to give the sourdough discard pumpkin cookies a nutty flavor, you can make it into brown butter by cooking it until it gets golden brown and begins to foam up. Make sure to use a large enough saucepan because it tends to fuzz up and bubble over. Sadly, I did that today as I made these!!

4. In the large mixing bowl, combine the wet ingredients, dry ingredients, and butter mixture (browned butter) with a wooden spoon, danish whisk, or hand mixer. Mix it until it is just combined so you don't overwork the gluten in the flour and end up with tough cookies. You can also place the ingredients for the sourdough cookies in the bowl of a stand mixer and mix gently with the paddle attachment.

5. Once it's just combined, add in the chocolate chips and just mix in. For a rich flavor that's not too sweet, use dark chocolate chips. So good!

6. Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Cover with plastic wrap or a damp towel. Freshly milled wheat needs to rest so it can soak up all the moisture in the wet ingredients. Let it sit for at least 15 minutes. However, this sourdough cookie batter can be put in the fridge for as much as 24 hours to allow the sourdough discard to begin to eat the sugar and gluten and make the sourdough pumpkin cookies more gut healthy.

7. Scoop small balls (I use a medium sized cookie scoop) onto prepared baking sheets. I use a cookie sheet lined with parchment paper. I can fit 24 cookie dough balls on a prepared baking sheet.
8. Bake cookies in a 375 degree oven for 12-14 minutes. I tend to take mine out at exactly 12 minutes for my oven.

9. Place the baked cookies to cool on a wire rack and serve immediately. Once they are cooled, take them off the cooling rack and store in an airtight container, ziplok bag, or glass jar on the counter. Alternately, you may keep them in the freezer for longer storage.

***makes about 48 small cookies***

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The post Super Easy Chocolate Chip Sourdough Pumpkin Cookies appeared first on Little Reasons.