Soaked flour pancakes




As I began searching for ways to make meals healthier, I have taken our typical menu items and updated them with a more nutrient dense replacement.


All my children enjoy pancakes or waffles for breakfast, so I modified the regular recipe to provide them the goodness of whole grain and the benefits of a soaked flour recipe.


The night before . . .

Combine the following:
2 cups flour (I use whole grain white wheat)
1 cup water
2 tbsp. yogurt (or whey or buttermilk)

This will make a thick batter, almost like bread dough. You leave this, covered, on the counter overnight. I like to prepare this after dinner so it has the benefit of a warm kitchen to get it soaking. You can soak up to 24 hours before using. I have found the more yogurt you substitute for water in the recipe and the longer you soak, the more sour your end result. My children don't like the "delightful sour flavor" (as Sally Fallon calls it), so I generally shoot for the minimum amount. (For more on soaking in general, Lindsay at Passionate Homemaking has a great why and how of the process).


The next morning . . .

Mix in the following:

1 cup milk
2 eggs
2 Tbsp honey (or sugar if you prefer)
1 Tbsp baking powder
8 Tbsp ground flax seeds (this is 1/2 cup, I use the yablespoon measure since I already have it out for the baking powder. Also, I like to use ground flax in place of the oil. If you would prefer, you can use 4 Tbsp. oil instead)



Note: when you are mixing, the flour mixture that soaked overnight is very, um, cohesive (can you tell that in the picture?) So, you almost have to beat the batter to get it mixed in evenly. It will all combine together, but it takes some working.


Then, proceed as with normal pancakes . . .Pour roughly 1/4 cup onto a warm, lightly greased griddle or heavy skillet until underside is lightly browned and surface is bubbly. These don't bubble as much as regular pancakes even when cooked through. Look more for the slightly dry appearance and bubbles around the edge. Turn and cook on other side.


Add your butter and syrup or favorite toppings and devour!


One extra tip, no extra charge . . . We now portion out each child's syrup in these dainty ramekins. They each get about one tablespoon to go with their breakfast (you'd be amazed how far one tablespoon can go, I'm almost thinking about portioning out a bit less).

This helps them not overdo, while saving me the time of dressing each pancake individually, and those that like to dip are free to do so. Also, saves the fights over the syrup bottle, but of course that could have offered quality character training, too. :-)


Check out more Tempt My Tummy Tuesday, Kitchen Tip Tuesdays, or Tasty Tuesday

Comments

Anonymous said…
Thanks for joining us with your pancakes! I really like you idea about the syrup. I think that will help us out. I always feel like they are soaking the pancakes in it!
-Kim
Brenda said…
Those look really good and I am not a big fan of pancakes. I also like the idea of portioning out the syrup.
DarcyLee said…
I love whole grain pancakes and these sound very good. I'm going to try my hand at soaking grains. It will take more planning on my part, but I believe it will be healthier. Thanks for the tip.
6intow said…
Kim, Thanks for having me! You host a great meme!

Brenda, They have turned out well every time, and the portioning keeps us all happy!

DarcyLee, It took me a while to make the leap to soaking, and I still often forget, or skip it in my laziness at night time. However, I know it is better for us, and it really only takes a couple seconds when I am in the kitchen anyway. Good luck!

Thanks for stopping by,
Erin
Great recipe, tips, and pancakes. Thanks.
Michelle said…
Oh I love this idea of making the pancakes healthier. I haven't heard of soaking, but it's an interesting concept. My daughter is dairy free, so we've been making dairy free pancakes that work out well... I haven't yet figured out what the substitute is for yogurt though!

Oh, and I love flax -- good to know I can use it in place of oil. You should see my container of it ;)
6intow said…
Michelle,

If you have milk sensitivities to compensate for, you can substitute vinegar (I recommend raw apple cider vinegar) or lemon juice in place of yogurt or whey. They don't pack the same nutritional punch, but they provide the acidity to help break down the phytates which is what we are going for.

I love substituting flax for oil. I do it in my bread, pizza crust, pancakes, everything I can think of! I go through between a half and a full pound a week right now.

~Erin
rebecca said…
I use a similar recipe, only we soak the whole grain, and mix it in the blender. It deals with the "cohesive" factor nicely. I also like the portioning out syrup. I don't like eating pancakes often because I feel like I keep adding syrup so its swimming (and I am 26, so no excuses).
6intow said…
Becca,

I used to make sprouted grain waffles, but never felt like I could get the consistency right. I ate them, but it met with lots of eye rolling from the kids. Could you share your recipe? Or is it posted somewhere?

Thanks,
Erin
We love pancakes! These look very good!
You have no idea how much syrup I use!! It would be good for me to portion out my own syrup.

~Susan
6intow said…
Susan,

hehe, how true. Sometimes the rules I put in place for the kids challenge on my own eating habits -- no cookies before breakfast (while I 'sneak' one), no snacking before dinner, etc. We could learn a lot from ourselves.

~Erin

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