Love that wonderful smell of bread baking in your kitchen or the neighborhood bakery? You know what I’m talking about. We get to smell it every day when we pop the top off our sourdough starter barrel to infuse our pancake batters with their special ingredient.
What is sourdough starter? Simply stated, our sourdough starter is a combination of potato yeast, flour and sugar which we ferment for seven days into an alcoholic compound that’s been the secret ingredient in our pancakes for over 50 years. Do we have to do it? Of course not. Doesn’t everybody do it? Not anymore. It’s a tradition we keep alive because it quite simply makes the best pancakes you can find.
We make sourdough starter in our own kitchen two or three times a week. It’s a product that must be supervised and tested throughout every step of its long process. We then add it to all our batters that contain buttermilk as the base. The finished batter then is used to create our beautifully light, fluffy, flavorful pancakes. We also use it to create our mouthwatering Sourdough Flap Jacks.
Why We Use Sourdough Starter
The fermentation process provides better flavor. The souring of grains has been practiced for generations and makes familiar foods taste better than their non-fermented counterparts. Sourdough starter also actually boosts the flavors of toppings – namely natural fats and sweeteners – you like to add to your finished pancakes. It’s this sweet – rich – tangy flavor combination that makes our pancakes simply irresistible.
The fermentation process breaks down the fibers in whole grain flour. This process helps our pancakes attain their light, fluffy, delectable texture customers have come to love. It also makes grains easier to digest since the fiber is broken down before it even enters your digestive system. So as a prebiotic, sourdough starter helps support a healthy gut.
The fermentation process enhances the vitamin content of food. This is most generally seen with B vitamins, as fermentation often increases or imparts B vitamins beyond what the raw food being fermented naturally contains (source).
Sourdough became extremely popular in San Francisco during the Gold Rush in 1849 when miners were known to carry the starter in pouches on their bodies to protect this precious commodity from freezing. California Klondike miners were even given the nickname “sourdoughs” because of their fondness for the bread. Known for its uniquely sour, tangy taste and chewiness, San Francisco sourdough bread can still be purchased at Boudin Bakery, originally opened at the height of the Gold Rush in 1849. Our own traditional, plate sized 49’er Flap Jacks are a tribute to this tradition near our roots in Oregon.
Enjoy Some Sourdough Pancakes at The Original Pancake House Denver!
Have we made you crave some of our irresistible sourdough infused buttermilk pancakes yet? When you need a delicious homemade breakfast made from scratch to start your day off right, stop by and enjoy a meal at The Original Pancake House. With two Denver area locations – Cherry Hills or Denver Tech Center – you can experience the wholesome goodness that makes breakfast at America’s finest pancake house a great idea any day of the week from 6:00 am to 2:00 pm. We look forward to welcoming you!