Saturday, February 27, 2010

Amazing Pancakes!

This absolutely amazing pancake recipe is based on the one in the book Flour Power by Marleeta F. Basey. They were so good and so filling! I ate mine with homemade peach butter on top...oh, my...perhaps we should call it an "unbutton your pants" kind of recipe....you know what I mean? Here goes:

2 1/2 c. whole wheat flour (I used freshly milled hard white winter wheat)
1 t. baking powder
1/2 t. baking soda
1 T. brown sugar
1 t. salt
2 eggs
2 to 3 c. buttermilk (I subbed regular milk with a dab of vinegar)
2 T. oil

Mix together everything but the buttermilk. Add the buttermilk last to reach desired consistency. The author suggests something like thick mud stating that thicker batter results in less "gummy" pancakes, but she also cautions that the batter will thicken slightly while waiting to be cooked as the bran absorbs moisture. In other words, feel free to experiment with the liquid measurements!

Use a 1/3 c. measuring cup to measure your batter out...the size of each pancake will be consistent this way. You may need to use a spoon to spread the batter out a bit into a circular shape. If you, like me, love pancakes so much that you cannot confine them to breakfast, you might consider investing in an electric griddle. I got one for Christmas two years ago and LOVE it! I can cook 6 pancakes at a time without any oil or butter (because of the non-stick coating on it).

If you achieved the liquid/dry ratio, your pancakes will fluff up immediately after flipping it. The result is a hearty pancake that won't disappoint...even if it is served without sausage or bacon. The flavor is unbelievably rich, deep, and nutty...it seems almost a shame to top them with anything at all!

Now, as you all know, I find it almost impossible to follow a recipe without a bit of tweaking. To enhance the texture and nutritional quality of these pancakes, I ground my wheat a bit course to get a nice texture and also maintain the integrity of the fiber and I also added two heaping serving spoons full of cottage cheese to boost the protein content of these pancakes. They were much fluffier than the first batch I made, so I think I'll stick with that addition. You can also add blueberries, bananas, etc. as they are available.

Flour Power is filled with many more recipes and info on why milling your own grains is far better than buying previously milled flour. I would recommend it for those of you interested in home milling. If you are thinking you've heard me mention it before, you are correct...it was one of the books I received for FREE with my SwagBucks. If you are not a member, click on the link on the right and get started today! I'm about to earn another $5 Amazon.com gift card myself!!

2 comments:

The Hills said...

Hey lady! I've been looking at mills, will probably buy one after we move. Where do you get your wheat?

Dr. White said...

I buy it from the Oklahoma Food Coop, so it's locally grown and organic...$12.00 for a 25# tub. I plan to blog about that soon, so more details to come. You'll love having a mill...the bread is amazing!