King Arthur Flour sells a ready to go sourdough starter.

Hi Meg! I made this recipe with soy milk and added 1tsp of apple cider vinegar to it, I found it a great replacement!

Hi Vero, If egg is a concern, then pasteurized eggs are a good idea. I wouldn’t recommend letting it sit out longer because you’ll get more of the sourdough flavor which you don’t necessarily want for pancakes. Likely what you are tasting is the sourdough from the lengthy fermentation. I have an idea for re-working this recipe to refrigerate overnight and add some leavening to puff them more in the morning. Testing these now. Stay tuned!

I made those for breakfast today, realized that I have let them sit on the counter for more than the recommended 12 hours. They tasted a lot like fermented buttermilk which was ok but not the greatest taste. Would the taste be the same within 12 hours? Also, I got worried and looked up how long the USDA guidelines for cracked open eggs in room temperature. It is up to 2 hours, which this recipe exceeds. I really hope that I haven’t made my family sick now that we ate those

Hi Shirley! I linked my recipe for Sourdough starterhere. Be sure to read through the whole post.

Hi Inna, could you possibly be adding too much flour? With too much flour or if you use kefir (which is thicker than buttermilk and needs to be thinned with a little milk or it will mess up your consistency), the dough will be thick and could end up doughy. Check out our post on how to measure ingredients which will be helpful in all cooking and baking recipes from my blog. Lastly, make sure to let the batter proof adequately. If it’s not risen and bubbly, it wont rise properly.

Hi Meg! I haven’t tried that to know how they would turn out. Besides the flavor and moistness, the acidity from the buttermilk gives the pancakes a slight lift.