Sourdough Dutch Baby

This sourdough dutch baby is a fun twist on a classic pancake breakfast. Cooked in a cast iron skillet, this dutch baby puffs up nicely in the oven and will make your kitchen smell amazing as it bakes. Serve it with your favorite pancake toppings for an easy and delicious breakfast.

One of my dad’s favorite things to make for breakfast is pancakes. Topped with jam, chocolate chips, and maple syrup, fresh hot pancakes are pretty hard to resist! However, it does take a while to cook them all, especially if you’re making them for a crowd of hungry kids. And sometimes flipping pancakes can get pretty messy if you aren’t paying attention (definitely not speaking from experience…)

Enter the dutch baby – all your favorite things about a pancake just baked in a giant skillet form! Made with typical baking ingredients plus some sourdough discard, this dutch baby comes together quickly for a comforting breakfast everyone will love. Because this recipe uses discard starter, you don’t have to ferment the batter beforehand. Simply mix up the batter while you preheat the oven, bake it in a skillet for 15 minutes, then cut the dutch baby into slices and serve with your favorite toppings. So easy but so yummy!

What are the ingredients in a dutch baby?

A dutch baby uses most of the same ingredients as a pancake – flour, milk, eggs, and sugar. However, you don’t need to add baking powder or soda because the eggs will make the dutch baby puffy. In this recipe, I incorporated some sourdough discard (needed to use it up but it also adds some extra flavor) into the batter and also sweetened it with maple syrup for a cozy twist on the traditional recipe.

How to eat a dutch baby pancake

Basically, you can top a dutch baby with anything you’d normally put on a pancake! Fresh berries, whipped cream, powdered sugar, chocolate chips, bananas, maple syrup – whatever you want. If you like, you can also try making a savory dutch baby. Just omit the cinnamon and vanilla from this recipe and you’ve got a great base for savory breakfast foods like eggs, cheese, sausage, bacon, and roasted veggies. Let me know how you enjoy your dutch baby in the comments!

Tips for making this Sourdough Dutch Baby

• Don’t forget to put your skillet in the oven while it’s preheating! This matters for creating enough steam to make your dutch baby rise as it bakes.
• You can use active or discard sourdough because the eggs are what will make the dutch baby rise.
• I used coconut milk and oil because I needed to make this recipe dairy-free, but you can absolutely prepare it with regular milk and butter instead.
• Make sure to use room temperature eggs so that your dutch baby puffs up nicely in the oven!
• Of course, this dutch baby will taste best the morning you bake it. However, you can keep leftovers in the fridge in an air-tight container for up to a week.

Tools you will need

You’ll need a cast iron skillet, a mixing bowl, measuring cups, and a whisk.

Ingredients you will need

To make this dutch baby, you only need a few baking ingredients!

• 1 cup flour – All-purpose flour works best for this!
• 1/2 cup sourdough starter – It can be discard or active, either works.
• 1/2 cup coconut milk – Feel free to use regular milk or another milk alternative if you prefer.
• 3 eggs – Room temperature eggs are important for making this dutch baby puff up in the oven!
• 1 tsp vanilla – What’s a breakfast treat without vanilla? 🙂
• 1 tsp cinnamon – And what goes better with vanilla than cinnamon?!
• 1 tbsp coconut oil – You can also use butter or ghee for this.
• 1 tbsp maple syrup – It makes this dutch baby so cozy, but you can also use honey.

How to make a Sourdough Dutch Baby

Preheat your oven to 425 degrees Fahrenheit. Place your cast iron skillet in the oven while it heats.

Whisk the eggs in a medium bowl, then stir in the maple syrup, coconut milk, sourdough starter, and vanilla. Combine the batter well so that you don’t have any clumps of sourdough in the batter.

Fold in the flour and cinnamon until just combined.

Remove the cast iron skillet from the oven once it’s heated all the way. Swirl on coconut oil onto the skillet, then place it back in the oven to heat for 1 minute.

Take the skillet back out of the oven and pour the batter into the skillet. Swirl it so that the batter covers the whole bottom of the skillet.

Bake the dutch baby for 15 minutes, until puffy and golden brown.

Looking for more breakfast treats?

If so, make sure to head over to the Kitchen Counter! Here are a few other ideas you might enjoy:

• Blackberry Scones
• Sourdough Pop Tarts
• Sourdough Crepes
• Sourdough Discard Cinnamon Rolls
• Sourdough Coffee Cake
• Sourdough Carrot Cake Muffins

If you make this recipe and enjoy it, let me know in the comments section below! You can also tag me on instagram @oldfashionedinspiration with a picture of your creation.