These are the lowest phosphorus, lowest potassium, lowest sodium pancakes you can find. But don’t let that detour you – less is more with these breakfast beauties. They have a lot less phosphorus and potassium than any of their counterparts. How much? Check out our pancake post here. Other sourdough pancakes add extra milk and baking powder (which has phosphorus). These, however, are as simple as they get: sourdough starter, sugar, baking soda, and eggs. No extra milk and no baking powder which means less phos and potassium. Baking soda is actually pretty high in sodium (1258.6mg/tsp per the USDA nutrient database). There are low sodium alternatives made with calcium carbonate/magnesium carbonate but I haven’t tried them yet. Even with the sodium in the baking soda, these still come out at a reasonable 126 mg for three 4″ pancakes.
You need a sourdough starter or “sponge” in order to make these. You can make your own sourdough sponge by following these instructions (or just googling sourdough starter) OR you can buy a sourdough starter here from King Arthur’s Flour. Or, if you’re lucky you can snag some starter from a friend. My friend happened to be a “sourdough enthusiast” (yeah, I didn’t know they existed either). The starter I was given apparently dates back the 1700’s. How anyone ever tracked that I don’t know, but that’s what I was told.
KidneyGrub Verdict:
I love sourdough and these did not disappoint. They are thin pancakes, but the texture is incredible. With a touch of butter and syrup or jam they kind of melt in your mouth. They are not thick, puffy pancakes like you find at IHOP or from any pancake mix.  We tried them both with salt (as like the original recipe) and without salt and quite honestly the salt didn’t add anything, so I wouldn’t even bother with it.  We compared these to the Bob’s Red Mill Gluten Free Pancakes (which happen to be the most kidney-friendly pancake mix on the market), and, for me, the sourdough pancakes won hands down.
Article: Jessianna Saville, MS, RDN, CSR, LD
Photo Credits: Rebecca Barksdale
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The recipe says to mix baking soda w/water. How much water? Your ingredient list doesn’t include water.
This was a mistake in the directions. You fold the baking soda directly into the batter. I use the Ener-G Baking Soda because it doesn’t have any sodium in it. You have to put it in last though because the chemical reaction that creates some rise is faster without the sodium and you can have flat pancakes if you mix it in at the beginning.