Easy Sourdough Dutch Baby
This sourdough Dutch baby is a golden delight, and it’s oh-so-easy to make! A delicious oven-baked pancake that’s fluffy and pillowy inside with crisp outer edges. This Dutch baby pancake recipe is perfect for Mother’s Day, Father’s Day, or a weekend brunch.
Are you ready for an epic taste adventure, where sourdough discard meets the classic Dutch baby pancake? The flavor combo is next-level awesome. This recipe is the brunch game-changer you didn’t know you needed—so easy to make. It is also a great way to use any extra or excess sourdough starter.
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Difference between Dutch baby and German pancakes
Interestingly enough, these two delicious breakfasts are essentially the same. “Dutch” is the anglicized version of “deutsch” which means German in English. In Germany, pancakes are known as Pfannkuchen or Eierkuchen (egg cakes).
However, a Dutch baby pancake is quite different from classic American pancakes. Rather than cooking it completely on the stovetop, Dutch babies start cooking in a skillet on the stove, but finish baking in the oven. Also, they have a lot more eggs and less milk that their American cousin. They also puff up a lot more, creating nice crispy edges in the skillet.
Ingredients and substitutions
You only need a few simple ingredients to make this sourdough Dutch baby pancake recipe:
- Eggs: I use free-range and pasture-raised eggs, but can use whatever eggs you have. Unfortunately, this isn’t the type of recipe that works well with egg substitutes because you will need whipped egg whites to use as a leavener.
- Sourdough starter or sourdough discard: If you don’t already have a good one going, you can easily make a sourdough starter. It doesn’t matter if it’s recently fed or hungry, as either will work!
- Milk: While I prefer to use raw milk, you can use whatever dairy milk or non-dairy substitute that you have. This being said, whole milk will give you the best results. For extra richness, you can use cultured buttermilk.
- Butter: Adding a bit of melted unsalted butter makes the batter even richer. I prefer to use homemade cultured butter. If all you have on hand is salted butter, it will work, but you’ll want to omit the additional salt this recipe calls for.
- Maple syrup: While I don’t like sweet pancakes, a bit of pure maple syrup gives it just the right touch of sweetness. Feel free to use regular granulated white sugar, agave syrup, or any sweetener substitute you like. Or, leave out the sweetener completely- it’s up to you!
- Sea salt: A bit of salt takes this recipe from bland to flavorful, but be sure to use a coarse-grain like sea or kosher salt. This is because the iodine in iodized table salt can cause baked goods to taste metallic.
Extra ingredients: For additional flavor, you can add 1 teaspoon of pure vanilla extract and/or a splash of lemon juice or orange juice.
Useful kitchen tools and equipment
These are the most important things needed to make a sourdough Dutch baby:
- Handheld electric mixer: Whipping the egg whites creates extra fluffiness, and a hand mixer gives me the best control. Of course, a stand mixer also works well.
- Cast-iron skillet: You can make these delicious German pancakes in any heavy-bottomed, oven-safe skillet, but a cast-iron pan keeps the batter evenly hot, and it can go straight to the table for serving.
How to make a sourdough Dutch baby
Just follow these simple steps to make delicious baked sourdough pancakes.
This is just a summary of the steps involved. See the recipe card below for full instructions.
- Preheat your oven to 425˚ Fahrenheit.
- Separate the eggs, placing the whites into a smaller, tall bowl and yolks into a large bowl.
- Whip the egg whites to stiff peaks.
- Combine egg yolks and remaining ingredients.
- Fold whipped egg whites into sourdough pancake batter.
- Melt butter in oven-safe skillet.
- Pour batter into the hot skillet.
- Transfer to the oven and bake until sourdough Dutch baby is golden brown.
Helpful Recipe Tips
- Be sure to use an oven-safe skillet.
- Avoid over mixing the batter to prevent the pancakes from being dry.
- Whip the egg whites to a stiff peak, which is when they stand straight up.
- If you’d like a savory pancake, just omit any sugar and serve the Dutch baby with toppings such as smoked salmon, fresh herbs, elderberry jam or rosehip jam.
- To save time, you can make the pancake batter a day ahead of time. However, don’t whip the egg whites or fold them into the batter until you’re just about ready to cook.
Serving suggestion
No matter whether you serve these big Dutch babies for delicious breakfast, leisurely brunch, or quick lunch (like we had them as kids), here are some ideas on how to serve them:
- Since they are not very sweet, we love to heavily dust them with some powdered sugar (that also looks very pretty!)
- You can serve them with fresh blueberries, raspberries, strawberries, sauteed apple slices, apple sauce, whipped cream, or a scoop of ice cream.
- You can also top your pancake with some berry pudding or lemon curd.
- For a totally different take, you can turn it into Kaiserschmarrn (Austrian torn pancake).
Sourdough Dutch Baby Pancake Recipe FAQ
There are several possible reasons for a flat Dutch baby. The most common reasons are that the skillet wasn’t hot enough, the egg whites weren’t whipped to stiff peaks, and/or the skillet wasn’t buttered well enough.
Yes! This Dutch baby pancake recipe will work with recently fed or hungry sourdough discard or fresh sourdough starter.
Other sourdough breakfast recipes to make
- easy sourdough waffles
- sourdough English muffins
- sourdough Irish soda bread: This bread is so delicious toasted!
- homemade sourdough bagels
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Tall bowl for whipping egg whites
Let me know if you have any questions or comments!
Sourdough Dutch Baby
Ingredients
- 4 whole eggs
- 1 Tbsp maple syrup
- 1 Tbsp unsalted butter melted
- 2 cups sourdough starter or sourdough discard, fed or hungry
- ⅓ cup milk
- ½ tsp sea salt
- 3 Tbsp unsalted butter
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 425˚F.
- Separate the eggs, and set the yolks aside. Using a large mixing bowl and electric mixer with whip attachment, beat the egg whites until very stiff.
- In a separate large bowl, whisk to combine the egg yolks, maple syrup, 1 Tbsp melted butter, sourdough starter, milk, and sea salt.
- Using a rubber or silicone spatula, gently fold the stiff egg whites into the pancake batter.
- Melt the remaining 3 Tbsp butter in a heavy-bottomed, oven-safe skillet over medium heat. Pour the pancake batter into the hot skillet.
- Transfer to the preheated oven and bake the Dutch baby pancake for 25 minutes or until golden brown.
- Serve immediately with fresh berries and a dusting of powdered sugar or your favorite toppings.
Notes
- you can use active sourdough starter or sourdough discard
- feel free to adjust the amount of maple syrup or sugar – or use no sweetener to make a savory pancake
- you can use cultured buttermilk or plant-based milk instead of the dairy milk.
Nutrition
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Didn’t turn out like other dutch babies I’ve made in the past. Mine looked more like a cornbread cake. If I erred on anything, I would say it would have been by not preheating the skillet in the oven as I have with other recipes OR using an active starter that was mainly bread flour instead of all purpose. However, expectations aside, it turned out just fine! It was like a tall pancake with a thin crispy crust, top and bottom and light enough in the middle. I topped mine with butter and a small dollop of lemon-lavender curd. My son added a bit more maple syrup, of course, and then he went back for seconds! I’m just happy he’s getting some protein from the eggs in there. Thank you for this recipe!
I am glad you like the recipe. Different flours and ovens behave differently but you can always add a bit more baking powder ~ Anja