As Shrove Tuesday rears its sweet head on the calendar, traditionally a day of feasting before the leanness of Lent begins, pancakes make an appearance, which means sourdough pancakes for me. Far more digestible than your average pancake, crepe or pikelet, they offer an extra bonus to sourdough bread makers who often find their sourdough starter building up in the fridge.
Before heading off to the beach camp each weekend, I refresh some sourdough starter with a little flour and water and pop it in a screw top jar. At the same time, I mix and sift the dry ingredients into another jar. Half an hour before the sleepy heads emerge from their tents, the components are mixed and left to sit for 1/2 hour or more.
Celia’s Sourdough Pancakes.
The dry ingredients:
- 1 cup plain unbleached flour
- 1 teaspoon baking soda, sifted
- 1 tablespoon white sugar
- ½ teaspoon salt
The wet ingredients
- 1 cup sourdough starter
- 1 egg
- 1½ cup whole milk
- 2 tablespoons butter, melted
In a small bowl, whisk together the flour, salt, sugar and sifted baking soda. Pour the sourdough starter, milk and egg into a large mixing bowl and mix well with a whisk or electric mixer until combined. Gradually scatter in the dry ingredients, mixing constantly to avoid lumps. Finally, stir in the melted butter. Allow the batter to rest for at least half an hour before cooking.
Getting back to Lent, a time of reflection and examination of the wrongs that need to be addressed, I am attempting to give up plastic for Lent. If you think this is easy, read the following article:
http://www.theguardian.com/environment/ethicallivingblog/2009/apr/16/plastic-free-lent
ALMOST ITALIAN 
