Bunny Bottoms of Cafe Marie-Jeanne in Chicago says they called these “griddle cakes” because of Cafe Marie-Jeanne’s long flat-top stove, where most of the breakfast cooking took place. These pancakes get a lot of help from the baking powder, which lets them grow to be lighter and fluffier than any flapjack you’re used to seeing. These are perfect to make on a day you’re feeding your bread starter, but Bottoms says that if you don’t have a starter, you can use a 1:1 mix of flour and water and stir in 1 teaspoon of active dry yeast. When you see bubbles, the mix is ready to use.
Adapted from Cafe Marie-Jeanne’s griddle cakes
12-14 pancakes
- Mix together the sourdough starter and buttermilk, whisking to break up the starter (it will be sticky). Add eggs and sugar, combine, and set aside. These are your wet ingredients.
- In a separate bowl, combine flour, salt, and baking powder, then fold the dry ingredients into the wet ingredients until you see no more streaks of dry flour. Try not to overmix—if there are a few lumps, that’s okay.
- Combine the melted butter into the batter gently and let stand for 20–30 minutes. Most of the lumps will settle out during this time, and the batter should be sticky and wet (resist the urge to add more flour).
- Preheat a griddle top or a cast iron pan to medium. Add a tablespoon of butter. Measure ¼ cup of batter and pour it into the hot skillet. It’s helpful to have an extra spoon on hand to spread the batter out into a circle 8–10 centimeters in diameter. Cook for 2 minutes, flipping when you see the batter begin to bubble. Cook for 2 minutes more on the other side.
- Repeat with the other pancakes, adding more butter to the skillet as you go. You might be tempted to fire off two pancakes at the same time, but we were able to get the most consistency by doing one at a time.
- Serve with more butter, syrup, or your favorite fruit compote.
Ashley Rodriguez
Ashley Rodriguez is a writer and podcast producer based in Madison, Wisconsin. She hosts a podcast called Boss Barista and writes an accompanying newsletter with articles about coffee, food, and service work