I’ve tried tons of whole grain pancake recipes and this is the only one that Mr. Texanerin actually likes and it’s definitely my favorite. A bonus is that they’re so convenient. You make the mix, store it in the fridge, and then you’re good to go for the next eighty pancakes.
The best part about these pancakes: they don’t taste whole grain-y! It’s my favorite quality in a food.
Today I went with cinnamon apple by adding a teaspoon of cinnamon and two medium chopped up apples to the batter. If this is your first time making these pancakes, I would make at least one plain so that you can see what they taste like. Then add your cinnamon, blueberries, chocolate chips or whatever you like.
- 5 cups (650 grams) whole spelt, whole wheat pastry, or whole wheat flour
- 3 1/2 cups (315 grams) old-fashioned or rolled oats
- 3 tablespoons unrefined sugar (or normal granulated sugar)
- 3 tablespoons baking powder
- 1 tablespoon salt
- 1 tablespoon baking soda
- 1 cup (240 ml) canola oil – these do not taste as yummy with olive oil
Put the oats in a food processor and let it go for a few seconds. You want them chopped, but not so much that they turn into oat flour. In a large bowl, mix all the dry ingredients, including the chopped oats and then add the canola oil. You could use a stand mixer or electric mixer, but I’m lazy and just use my hands. The mix stays good forever in the fridge, but I’m sure you’ll use it up before that. Or store it at room temperature for up to two weeks. This makes 10 cups of mix, enough for eighty 4-inch pancakes.
To make the pancakes:
1 cup of mix (130 grams)
1 large egg
1 teaspoon vanilla
1 cup of buttermilk* (240 ml)
1 tablespoon orange juice**
1. Mix everything together. You’re supposed to wait 20 minutes, but I’m impatient and I don’t do this. The oats soak up some liquid during this time, making them fluffier, but I like mine thin.
2. Heat the stove to medium or a little less than medium-high if you can.
3. I don’t use any butter in the pan, but if you normally do, go ahead. Drop some batter into the pan.
4. It takes about two minutes per side, unless you add berries or apples. Then I do mine about 3 minutes per side.
Yield: If you use 1/4 cupfuls, one batch, with one cup of mix, will yield eight 4-inch pancakes.
* I never have buttermilk. At first I poured 1 tablespoon of lemon juice into a 1 cup measuring cup, then filled it with milk. That was fine but you can really tell the difference when using real buttermilk. Then I started using half milk and half plain yogurt. This tastes just like the real buttermilk version.
** The clever people at King Arthur figured out that using some orange juice lessens the whole grain taste. You really can’t taste any orange and it seems to help.
Recipe adapted from King Arthur. You can read their post about this recipe here.
For German bakers: I used German baking powder this time and it turned out exactly like the ones with American baking powder.
8 comments on "100% Whole Grain Pancakes" — Add one!
very cool! let me know what you think and help me solve the mystery of why whole grains taste so different when they are milled fresh!! (if you can) It is mind boggling really. Let me know if you agree! thx!
(p.s funny my grain mill is from Germany! http://www.frischmahlen.de/en/mills/)
ita-liana – Thanks for the nice comment and for the tip! I don't have a grain mill but I live next to a Whole Foods type of place where we can grind our own for free. I'll try it out the next time I'm there. As it is, I'll have to buy a grain mill when I move back to the US. Things like whole spelt are just so ridiculously expensive there. Thanks again for the tip and have a great weekend. :)
HI there, I just found your blog and can't wait to try your recipes as I love whole grains too! Just fyi, I see you mention "the taste of whole grain" a few times in this post. I myself also did not like the taste of whole wheat and never knew why. Last year we bought a grain mill and we now mill our own spelt, brown rice, wheat etc. It is the most amazing thing and NOTHING has that taste. I sift out the bran to make cookies and things and leave it whole for breads and pizzas. This is something you might love. I don't sell them I just love mine and it was the missing link in my quest for healthy cooking. Checi it out here if you like http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Nq5IT4c4JrY I will post about it on my blog soon! Happy Cooking! Great blog, thanks!
Grating and draining apples is a great idea! I'll try that the next time I make these. I'm so happy that the kids liked them. :)
Made these today for lunch for a playdate we were hosting and all of the kids LOVED it! I finely grated the apples and let them sit in a sieve for a few minutes before adding them to the batter and they were wonderful. Also, instead of the OJ I added a tablespoon of pumpkin puree, simply because I had no juice and happened to have a c. of pumpkin lying around. Thanks!
Lauren, I'm so happy that you enjoyed the pancakes! You're right, the buttermilk makes these really moist. Thanks for pointing that out and for the feedback. :)
I made these for breakfast today and they were very good. I used whole wheat flour and added chopped apples. The amount of buttermilk used, makes these very moist and not at all dry and mealy which I find can happen when using such a large amount of whole wheat flour. Thanks for a new recipe!
Awesome, I never thought of having oats in the pancake batter.
Also I see that you have put spelt flour in the ingredient list. I am buying spelt flour to have in my pantry since it is better for you than whole wheat flour, though a very good option as well :-)