That griddle is clean, I swear. It's just really well-seasoned.
When I was a kid, I loved to get up early, especially on Saturday mornings. I had the whole house to myself, and got to watch whatever I wanted on television. I’d stumble from my room down our wide staircase to the living room, walk to the TV, pull the button to switch it on, and turn the dial to one of the 5 analog stations I had to choose from. Then I’d run to the couch, trying to get there before the screen flickered to life. I’d watch Bugs Bunny, Isis, Shazam, and Fat Albert (“Hey, Hey, Hey…”). My Mom was usually the next one out of bed, and most Saturdays she’d engage in that great American weekend ritual: making pancakes. She’d get out the ubiquitous yellow box, add eggs and milk to the mix, and before we knew it we had fluffy white frisbees on our plates. We’d then grab the syrup lady by the waist, pour some sweet goo all over our margarined discs, and dig in. I adored every cotton candy-like bite. When I set up my own kitchen, I also reached for that familiar yellow box when it came time to make pancakes and waffles. Honestly, it never occurred to me that there was another option. Well, okay, I knew recipes existed, but pancakes seemed like such a silly thing to make from scratch when the mix of my childhood was so accessible. Plus, I live in Seattle, where weekend brunch is a way of life and restaurants have turned pancakes into an art form (literally–my daughter was once served one in the shape of a hot-air balloon, done freehand by a batter-dispenser wielding line-cook artist). Then I was given a copy of Deborah Madison’s “Vegetarian Cooking for Everyone.” Many recipes quickly became staples in our kitchen (and still are), but the book included several varietes of pancake, which absolutely baffled me. One Saturday I woke up with a hankering for pancakes, but the yellow box was empty. I perused Deborah’s basic recipe and thought, “why not? I’ve got flour, baking powder, milk, eggs. And hey, I can pour wet into dry, piece of cake!” About 20 minutes later, we had real pancakes. Slightly crispy on the outside, airy on the inside. They soaked up butter & maple syrup like delicate sponges. They were so good and so easy that that empty yellow box turned out to be the last one I would ever buy.
I still like to get up early, and while I unfortunately can no longer watch Isis (someone bring it back, please!), I’ve used the time to establish our own family pancake ritual. But instead of confining it to the weekend, I somehow decided my kids needed a mid-week breakfast boost, so our pancake day is Wednesday. Yes, Wednesday. Maybe it was working-mother guilt that initially pushed me into it, as if somehow getting up at the crack of dawn to cook my kids a hot breakfast would make up for the fact that they went to daycare (oy–that’s a whole other story, and I’m over-sharing now). But regardless of the reason, my kids look forward to Wednesday breakfast (“It’s pancake day!”), and I’ve picked up enough tips and tricks from many wise cooks along the way that what started as stressed-out mixing, griddling and flipping has turned into a simple little ritual that I look forward to as well. And in case you wondered, my Mom still makes pancakes every Saturday for my lucky sister’s family, but not from the yellow box.
This recipe, adapted from Nigella Lawson’s “Nigella Express,” makes our Wednesday ritual possible. I’ve adjusted it to make it a whole food, whole grain version of the yellow box stuff, and it makes 4 Wednesdays worth of pancakes. So just scoop dry into wet and you’re rolling. Easy peasy.
You can have this on the table in 10 minutes. Seriously.
DIY Pancake Mix
4 c. Whole Wheat Pastry Flour, Whole Grain Spelt Flour, or Emmer Flour*
3 T. Baking Powder
2 t. Baking Soda
1 t. salt
3 t. cinnamon (optional but highly recommended. Trust me.)
Combine ingredients in a bowl, mix gently but thoroughly with a whisk, and store in an airtight container.
On your own special pancake day, put a non-stick skillet on your stove at medium heat. Then combine the ingredients below in a large (at least 4 c.) liquid measuring cup or pitcher:
1 c. milk or buttermilk
1 egg
1 T. melted butter, coconut oil, or canola oil
1 t. vanilla (optional)
Whisk all the ingredients together until thoroughly combined. Add 1 c. pancake mix, and stir until just combined (don’t overmix or your pancakes will be like hockey pucks, and no one likes that). Test your skillet by flicking a drop of water on it. If it sizzles you’re ready to start cooking. Brush it with canola oil (I pour a little on the pan and wipe it around with a folded paper towel). Pour on dollops of batter (about 1/4 – 1/3 cup). After 1-2 minutes, bubbles will begin to form on the surface of the pancakes. Flip ’em over. Cook on the second side for another 1-2 minutes. Serve with butter, real maple syrup, powdered sugar and lemon, whatever sounds good to you that day.
Makes 8-12 pancakes, depending on how large you make them.
Tips:
- For Blueberry pancakes, sprinkle on the blueberries right after pouring the pancakes onto the skillet, like this:
See those little bubbles? Time to flip!
If you mix them into the batter your pancakes will turn blue (though if that would be good thing in your house, mix away). If blueberries aren’t in season, use frozen ones rather than fresh ones that have flown halfway around the globe. The frozen ones are tastier and cheaper. If your frozen berries are really big, nuke them in the microwave for about 15 seconds before using (you’ll need about a cup). Give the pancakes a full 2 minutes too cook after flipping and let them rest for a couple of minutes before serving, because the area around the berries can be a little gummy otherwise.
- Save even more time by combining the wet ingredients in a measuring cup the night before, covering it, and putting it in the fridge. In the morning, give the wet ingredients a quick whisk before adding the cup of dry mix.
- Boost the fiber and omega 3’s by adding 2T flax meal to your pancakes. I do this when I make them rather than adding to the mix, because I don’t have room to keep the mix in the fridge. You may find you need a wee bit more buttermilk if you do this so that your pancakes aren’t too thick.
- Make them gluten-free! Bob’s Gluten Free all-purpose flour works well here (thanks, Bob!) Just add 3 t. xantham gum to your mix, store it in the fridge, and, of course, be sure to use GF baking powder and vanilla (if using). The batter will be thick, so spread them around a bit.
- Do a Jack Johnson and make Banana Pancakes. Mash a ripe banana, reduce the buttermilk to 3/4 c., and add the bananas to the wet ingredients. You can use the same technique with pureed or canned sweet potatoes or pumpkin too–just use 1/2 c. of either, and reduce the buttermilk to 3/4 of a cup.
- And if you have leftovers, warm them in the toaster on a low setting (with the defrost button if you have one). The toaster warms them gently while keeping the outside crispy.
*Emmer is an ancient grain, similar to spelt, that’s available from bluebirdgrainfarms.com.
Ginger Kitchen 