I like blueberries. I like sourdough. I like real maple syrup.

Sunday we had wonderfulness on a plate.

We had bought wonderful fresh berries the day before - there is something to be said for living in the Garden State - and I had reserved a pint from the jam parade to eat in pancakes.

My sourdough pancake recipe (below the fold) makes a pancake that, when properly cooked, is smooth, creamy, and a little bit tart.

They really are quite good - creamy pancakes, bright sharp bursts of berry, and the sweet melding embrace of the syrup around it all. The tartness from the sourdough combines with the bright sour of the berries and they sweet of the syrup to produce something halfway between fireworks and an orgasm on the taste buds.

Of course, when I undercook a pancake or flip it too soon, it becomes thick and gluey, but even those were still pretty darn good.

Blueberry pancakes is one of the signs of summer for me. I guess summer really is here.

I wonder if the farm market will have more wonderful blueberries next week? If so, we might just do it again.

But, we won't go through another flat of berries - the todder has the runs from too many berries and that is not so good, even if he did like the pancakes, and the muffins, and the jam, and the fresh berries.

Maybe blueberry pie next week. I make a very good blueberry pie ...

Sourdough Pancakes
Modified from the Waffle recipe at King Arthur Flour

The Sponge
1 cup All-Purpose Flour
1 cup other flour or flours (1/2 cup buckwheat, 1/2 cup cake flour is very good indeed.)
2 tablespoons sugar (unbleached or white)
4 tablespoons buttermilk powder
1/2 cup yoghurt
2 cups milk
1 cup sourdough starter

The Batter
all of the sponge (above)
2 eggs
1/4 cup vegetable oil (or melted butter if you feel like throwing caution to the winds)
1/2 to 1 teaspoon salt (to taste)
1 teaspoon baking soda

The Good Stuff
1 pint fresh blueberries, washed and stemmed

Making the Sponge: This first step is best done the night before you want to serve the pancakes. First, remove your starter from the refrigerator, stir it together with a spoon or whisk and pour out a cup. In a large mixing bowl, combine the flours, buttermilk powder and sugar. Pour in the milk, the yoghurt, and the sourdough starter. Stir this mixture until just combined. Cover loosely and let this sit on your counter until the next morning.

Either over night or the next morning, feed the starter and let it rise. Put it back in the 'fridge.

Creating the Batter: Next morning, complete the batter while you preheat your skillet.

Wash the berries, remove any remaining stems, discard any soft, overripe or otherwise bad berries.

In a small mixing bowl, beat together the eggs, oil or butter, salt and baking soda. Let the children (of any age) blend this into the sponge you made the night before. (Watch what happens; it's neat.) Dampen a couple of non-stick pans with light oil (I use walnut oil), and fry.

Spoon the dough into the pan for pancakes the size you like (we make 3 in a pan), then sprinkle 3 to 5 berries onto each pancake. Fry. Try not to turn them too often.

Serve with real maple syrup, preferably grade B dark.

Posted by Red Ted at July 12, 2004 05:32 AM | TrackBack