Saturday, January 31, 2009

Pancakes

When I was a kid, my mom would make pancakes from scratch at least once a week. Occasionally she would make waffles, but usually it was pancakes. My mom and little sister even used to have contests to see who could eat more :-) I am not really much of a breakfast person (I always eat breakfast, but it is usually a pretty quick and small meal), but on my weekends off I like to make something that tastes good, is warm, and isn't just toast! This recipe is the same one my mom used - the only thing I do differently is I use Whole Wheat Pastry Flour in place of all-purpose white flour. For my wheat/gluten sensitive friends, let me know if you have a favorite substitute for the wheat flour for a recipe like this. I think Amanda likes the Whole Foods 365 brand all purpose baking mix. I think you can substitute that 1:1 for the flour. Oh, and I double the recipe that you see below when I make these. After we eat our fill I let the leftover pancakes cool, then set them on lined baking sheets in a single layer, and freeze. When they are frozen, I put them in a container in the freezer for a quick breakfast during the week. Just microwave or toast them in the toaster to reheat - they are so much better than the hockey pucks you can buy at the store! And don't even get me started on Bisquick.

Fast Pancakes
adapted from Better Homes & Gardens Cookbook

1 C Whole wheat pastry flour (Bob's Red Mill, Hodgson Mill, and King Arthur brands are ones I have seen)
1 Tbsp cane sugar or honey
2 tsp baking powder (aluminum free) (Rumford's is good, or you can make your own)
1/4 tsp salt
1 beaten egg
1 Cup milk
2 Tbsp oil (melted butter or olive oil works well)

Before I continue with the recipe, a note about whole wheat flour. Once the wheat berries are ground into flour, they lose their defense from going rancid. For this reason, you should always keep whole wheat flours in a tightly sealed container in your fridge or freezer. That being said, you can't bake with cold flour. It doesn't work. So anytime I bake with flour I measure it out, put it in a glass bowl and push it up the sides, kind of like I am making a bowl of flour. Then I pop the bowl in the oven and set it to preheat to 350. By the time the oven is preheated, the flour is warm, and I have finished getting out all my other ingredients and have them measured and set to go. You could also just set your measured flour out at room temp for a few hours, but I never think that far in advance.

OK, here is the rest:

1. In a medium mixing bowl, stir together the flour, sugar, baking powder and salt. Make a well in the center of the dry mixture. Set aside.

2. In another medium mixing bowl combine the egg, milk and oil. Add egg mixture all at once to the dry mixture. Stir just until moistened. (the batter will be lumpy)

3. For standard size pancakes, pour about 1/4 Cup batter onto a hot, greased griddle or heavy skillet. For dollar size pancakes, use about 1 Tbsp batter. Cook over medium heat for about 2 minutes on each side or till golden brown. Turn the pancakes when pancakes have bubbly surfaces and edges that look slightly dry.

This recipe makes 8-10 standard size pancakes. If you have a scoop like this, it is really helpful to make evenly sized pancakes.

BTW, I *love* blueberry pancakes. To make them, I just pop fresh or frozen blueberries into the pancake batter right after I pour it into the pan - that way I can space them evenly & choose just how many I want to add.

Top your pancakes with pure maple syrup, yogurt & fruit, or honey. YUMMY!!!

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