Whole-Grain Buttermilk Pancakes
Fluffy whole-grain buttermilk pancakes are entirely possible thanks to this amazing recipe. Made with 100% whole-grain flour of your choice (spelt, kamut, hard or soft white wheat or even gluten free oat flour made from ground oat groats). These pancakes are light and tender with that delicious melt-in-your-mouth texture that a pancake should always have.
Ingredients
- 1 ⅛ cup (5.65 ounces) whole-grain flour see note
- 1 cup buttermilk
- ½ cup milk
- 2 large eggs
- 2 teaspoons granulated sugar
- 1 tablespoon baking powder see note
- ¾ teaspoon salt
- 5 tablespoons butter melted & cooled slightly
Instructions
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In a large bowl, add whole-grain flour, buttermilk, milk, eggs, sugar, baking powder, salt, and butter all at once. With a large whisk, quickly beat the mixture in 10-15 large strokes all at once or until batter is mixed. Very important: do not overmix and once the batter is mixed, do not mix again!
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Let the batter rest while prepping the griddle. This will allow the baking powder to react and the batter to rise. REMEMBER do not mix it again or you will flatten all that air and end up with flat, tough pancakes.
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Heat a nonstick griddle to medium for a couple of minutes until a drop of water sizzles on it (about 350 degrees F on my griddle, but every griddle will be different).
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Scoop batter into rounds on the preheated griddle. I use my #20 cookie scoop to portion out the batter which holds about 3-4 tablespoons and makes about a 4-inch diameter pancake.
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Cook until small bubbles appear on the surface and the edges are set, 1-3 minutes, depending on the heat of the griddle.
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Flip the pancakes and cook for another minute or so until golden and cooked through. Repeat with remaining batter.
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Serve immediately or keep warm in a 175 degree F oven for 15-20 minutes. Or see recipe notes for freezing instructions.
Recipe Notes
1. The handy thing about this recipe is that it works for different types of whole-grain flour (including gluten free). I've made these pancakes with freshly ground kamut flour, soft white wheat flour, hard white wheat flour, oat flour (gluten free that was ground from oat groats), and spelt flour. All the pancakes (no matter the type of grain I used) came out light and tender with wonderful flavor and each type of flour had a slightly different flavor and texture. Feel free to experiment with other types of whole-grain flour as you wish, keeping in mind that freshly ground flour is always your best option for nutrition as well as flavor.
2. If you don't have a grain mill and still want to try the recipe, they do sell some good whole-grain flours you can buy: Bob's Red Mill kamut flour or Bob's Red Mill spelt flour. And of course there is always wheat flour. If you try wheat I highly recommend going with white wheat flour. It is much less dense than red wheat flour and I prefer to use it in most of my baking. You can usually find the hard white wheat flour in the baking aisle, just make sure it specifies hard white wheat otherwise it's probably ground from red wheat.
3. I've found that the brand of baking powder does matter in pancakes especially. I always use the Rumford brand of baking powder that is aluminum free. It makes the pancakes nice and light.
4. I know I've said it twice in this recipe, but it deserves a third time, trust me! Make sure that once you mix it the batter, you let it rest (resist that urge to stir it again--I know you want to). Then when it's time to scoop the batter onto the griddle, be careful not to smash all the nice air pockets. That will ensure that your pancakes are nice and fluffy.
5. These pancakes freeze great. We almost always make a double or triple batch so we have some frozen ones for easy breakfasts during the week. To freeze wait until the pancakes are completely cool. Then line a baking sheet with parchment paper and place pancakes on the paper in a single layer. Place baking sheet in the freezer for 30 minutes or until pancakes are most of the way frozen through. Then remove pancakes from the parchment paper and place in gallon freeze bags and freeze up to a month (or probably longer). We usually reheat them in a microwave or toaster (if you want them a little crisper) until they are warmed through.