Saturday Pancakes

I love breakfast foods. I like having them any time of the day. I will ask for pancakes when I am feeling under the weather and need a little cheering up. I don't know if it has any relation to being a kid and going to Sunday breakfast with my Grandpa and having the Smiley Pancake Delight, you know what I am talking about right? Oh, the round, cheery faced pancake with whip cream hair flashing a blueberry smile, giving me a little wink with it's sliced banana eyes and reminding me to save the Maraschino cherry nose for last - aaah, childhood.

Chris made me whole grain pancakes for breakfast sans smiley face decorations. He knows how much I love having special weekend breakfasts - after a work week of cereal, yogurt, or toast for breakfast - it is so nice to have something different. Though I know my healthy whole grain version of pancakes would be quite disappointing to my younger self, but really it tastes so much better. I have had other whole grain pancakes and this recipe really blows them out off the skillet.

He made a full batch and we are freezing the rest. We have about 8 cups left for future use.








Homemade Whole Grain Pancake Mix

YIELD: 10 cups dry mix; a batch using 1 cup of the mix willmake about 10 (3½-inch) pancakes.

COOKING TIME: 3 to 5 minutes.

3½ cups (12¼ ounces) old-fashioned rolled oats
4 cups (1 pound) white whole wheat flour
1 cup (4¼ ounces) unbleached all-purpose flour
3 tablespoons (1¼ ounces) sugar
3 tablespoons (1½ ounces) baking powder
1 tablespoon salt
1 tablespoon baking soda
¾ cup (5¼ ounces) vegetable oil

TO MAKE THE MIX: Grind the oats in a food processor until they're chopped fine but not a powder. Put the ground oats, flours and the remaining dry ingredients into the bowl of a mixer with a paddle. Mix on slow speed, and drizzle the vegetable oil into the bowl slowly while the mixer is running. When all the oil has been added, stop the mixer and squeeze a clump of mix in your hand. If it holds together, it's just right. If it won't hold together, stir in 1 tablespoon of oil at a time until the consistency is correct. Store in an airtight container indefinitely in the freezer.

TO MAKE THE PANCAKES: Whisk together 1 cup of mix, 1 cup buttermilk (or you may use ½ cup plain yogurt plus ½ cup milk),
1 tablespoon orange juice and 1 large egg. Don't worry if the batter seems thin at first: the whole grains will soak up the liquid , and the mixture will thicken as it stands. Let the batter stand for at least 15 minutes before cooking. Heat a nonstick griddle if you have one, or a heavy skillet, preferably cast iron . If your surface is not nonstick, brush it lightly with vegetable oil. When the surface of your pan is hot enough that a drop of water sputters across it, give the pan a quick swipe with a paper towel to remove excess oil and spoon the batter onto the hot surface, 1/4-cupful at a time. After 3 to 4 minutes, when the surface of the cake is no longer shiny and small bubbles are beginning to form around the edges, it's time to flip the cake. Cook on the other side until it's browned, 1 to 2 minutes more and serve immediately, or keep warm in a 200° oven while you finish cooking the rest of the cakes.


We got the recipe from this book - King Arthur Flour Whole Grain Baking. I just got it this week and we are very excited about trying more of the recipes. If they are all as tasty as the whole grain pancakes I am going to be very happy.