growing up, my mother made dumplings from scratch at least once a month. she always purposely made extra dumpling dough, and with the remains, we’d make scallion pancakes, often without the scallions.
a thing to know about my mom: whenever my mom makes anything, she always guesstimates. “eyeballing”, she would say, is the chinese way.
unfortunately, i don’t have my mother’s eyeballs. maybe it’s that i’ve absorbed a more western (?) philosophy, finding mostly comfort and curiousity in the precision of baking. thus, most of my adult life has been a journey to furiously scribble down measurements whenever i can and whenever my mom will let me pull out my tools to take weights or temperatures or to ask more questions than necessary.
the first recipe i managed to write down correctly was one for scallion pancakes. i was 17 and in college and really craving something other than our student center’s tofu teriyaki when i emailed home for some ratios. after some trial and error and tweaking, i finally got a version that had the same texture as my mothers.
this recipe is a sourdough discard adaptation of that original recipe.
notes
i have a stiff starter that’s 80% hydration. please adjust amount of water in final dough to account for your starter’s hydration.
these are pretty traditional scallion pancakes. for a fluffy version characteristic of northern china, check out my leavened, fluffy sourdough discard scallion pancake recipe.
if you read the introductory paragraph, you’ll realize that you can use this dough formula to make dumpling wrappers as well! i’d recommend letting the dough rest for an extra hour or two before cutting and rolling out.
this recipe makes one single-serving pancake. feel free to double and triple as you please.
the shaping technique described in this recipe optimizes for distinct layers. you can also use the roll & snail technique found in my other scallion pancake recipe for a more traditional swirl aesthetic.
bonus non-gluten side salad recipe
i sometimes like to serve this with a traditional cucumber salad. the slight tang from the sourdough with the sourness of the black vinegar is a winning combo in my book. the sauce that sits at the bottom ends up being a great dipping sauce.
slice up one cucumber, mince 2-3 cloves of garlic, throw in a couple good glugs of black vinegar, a sprinkle of salt, and a spoonful of extra crunchy peanut butter (optional). shake or toss or mix until all ingredients combined. drizzle with sesame oil to top, and serve immediately.
baker’s percentage & basic timetable
the percentages for water and flour only account for the final dough build, and do not include the levain formula build.
| ingredient | baker’s percentage |
| all purpose flour | 100% |
| water | 45% |
| unfed levain (discard) | 50% |
| step | time |
| autolyse | 1-2 hr |
| fry | 6-8 min |
sourdough discard scallion pancakes 葱油饼
formula
- 100 g all purpose flour
- 45 g warm water
- 50 g sourdough starter discard
- 12 g canola oil (more to fry in)
- 3 g salt
- 20-25 g scallions, chopped finely (2-3 stalks)
- 1 handful sesame seeds, to taste
method
- mix discard (you can use straight from the fridge) and water together. then mix in flour completely, kneading lightly until dough forms a ball shape and until smooth, about 3-5 minutes. the dough should feel smooth and pliable, like a soft playdoh.
- leave in bowl and keep covered for 1-2 hours.
- to prevent sticking, oil dough very slightly. using a rolling pin, roll out dough as thin as possible (without it breaking when you pick it up), into a circular or square shape.
- drizzle oil evenly across rolled out dough. dab each corner towards the center and wiggle slightly to ensure that oil is evenly spread across dough. then, lightly sprinkle salt evenly across flat dough. repeat with the scallions.
- take one end of the dough, and fold down flatly on itself, about 2-3 inches. keep folding until you get a shape resembling a flattened roll.
- then, take one end of the flattened roll and continue to fold it onto itself, about 2-3 inches at a time, until you get a final square shape. the dough should be quite folded onto itself at this point.
- using a rolling pin, roll out thinly and firmly to form about an 8 in circle or a square. don't worry if oil or scallions start peeping out!! you'll want the pancake to be thin, without breaking when handled.
- once flattened, sprinkle sesame seeds on one side.
- now you're ready to fry! turn your stove to high heat. take a skillet pan and coat the bottom with oil, and wait until oil sizzles.
- when the oil sizzles, handle pancake gently and place into the hot skillet pan. cook for 3-4 minutes on each side, until both sides are golden brown.
- when done, remove from skillet pan and let cool slightly before cutting in!
I made this onion pancake and it came out well. Thank you! However, when I was making the dough and add the starter, it is very sticky and not easy to knead and doesn’t make a smooth ball. What can cause the problem?
Amazing, glad to hear it turned out well for you Vivian! One possible explanation is that your starter has a higher hydration than mine. I use a stiff starter at 80% hydration. You may need to adjust water and flour amounts to match my formula.
This is an amazing recipe! The pancakes came out flaky and crispy, and it was so delicious. I followed the recipe exactly but had to add a little bit more flour (my discard was at 100% hydration). After making it twice, I found that resting the dough for the full amount of time allowed the pancakes to be softer on the inside. This was super easy, fast, and a great use for sourdough discard. Totally recommend!
How many pancakes should this yield?
Hi Mimi, the recipe should yield one 8-9 inch pancake!
I tripled the recipe and made 4 pancakes, and I also used mostly bread flour as it is what I had on hand. It formed beautiful layers (I used the traditional rolling up technique instead of this one) and was crispy on the outside and delightfully salty. The tanginess of the sourdough discard wasn’t too noticeable, and my sister who hates the taste of sourdough enjoyed these as well! Super easy to follow this recipe, and I would absolutely make this again.
I never had this before and it turned out really great!
What do people generallt eat with it ?
Most delicious scallion pancake I’ve ever had in my life! I’m about to make it for the second time this week. I’m a picky eater and I’m thrilled to be adding this dish to my repertoire. Thank you so much for this wonderful and easy recipe.