When I first became interested in sourdough I read somewhere that the finest sourdough starters had a name, so I named mine Fred.  Fred is 6 years old but did spend a year hibernating in the freezer.

Fred’s Bread
Fred’s blinis
Ready for the freezer
Fred’s pancake

Looking after Fred

Fred  needs a regular feed. To do this I add the same amount of flour and water and mix well, usually 75 grams of flour to 75 ml of water.  In between use, it can be left in the fridge but it must be fed at least once a week and always 12 hours prior to making bread.   If it’s not used regularly (hasn’t happened here for a while) then it’s possible that half of it would have to be discarded before feeding, to stop it growing out of its container!

What to do with leftover Fred

I hate waste and find it very difficult to discard the starter culture and pour it down the sink!  I’ve found that it’s fantastic for making yeasty pancakes and it only literally takes moments.

Recipe

Ingredients

  • Between 400- 500 grams starter (usually made with wholemeal flour)
  • 1 egg
  • ½ tsp sugar
  • Pinch salt
  • Tsp ghee or melted butter (this is not essential, I frequently omit it; for the pancake in the photo, I used coconut oil)
  • Splash of vanilla extract (only if it’s a sweet pancakes not blinis)
  • Pinch of baking soda

Method

This will make between 3 and 4 medium to large pancakes

  1. Pour the leftover starter into a bowl
  2. Break in an egg and mix well
  3. Add the sugar, salt, vanilla and ghee and mix well (the butter is not essential)
  4. Add the baking soda, you will see it reacting with the mixture to produce little bubbles
  5. Heat a medium sized frying pan and once hot add a drop of ghee
  6. Ladle in the pancake mixture
  7. Cook until you see large bubbles forming on the surface of the pancake, turn and cook the other side.

In the photo I’ve served them with stewed berries, Greek yogurt and Bardsey Island honey –yummy!!

Cymraeg