The Best Pancake Recipe
Australians of the fairly recent past thought of pancakes as flat things, somewhere between a crepe and a rubber bath mat, eaten for dessert with lemon juice and sugar. For some of us these things can still exert a nostalgic pull, but surely for the Proustian associations with childhood rather than the dubious taste and texture?
As a teenager I was introduced to the American way of eating pancakes, raised, for breakfast and with bacon and syrup. Each of these innovations was breathtaking, and I haven't looked back.
This version has some slightly more exotic touches than you'll get from a Shake'n'bake mix, but its worth it.
Ingredients
1/2 cup of whole wheat flour
1/2 cup of plain/all-purpose flour (n.b. I used spelt for both flours)
2 Tbp buckwheat flour
2 Tbp chestnut flour
2 tsp baking powder
1 Tbp raw sugar
pinch salt
1 egg, lightly beaten
1 1/2 cups milk
1 tsp lemon juice
2 Tbp olive oil
Method
Start an hour before you intend to cook the pancakes (mixing the batter and allowing starch grains to swell assists). Combine dry ingredients. Sour milk with lemon, add 1 cup milk to flours with egg and oil, stir only to combine - leave it a bit lumpy. Let stand. Before cooking check consistency and add more milk if desired.
When ready to cook, heat a griddle or pan - ideally cast iron - to medium-hot. A well-seasoned cast iron griddle will hardly need additional fat, but use your knowledge of your own cookware and add a little oil or butter to cook as needed. Drop large spoonfuls into the pan, and turn when bubbles appear but the top of the uncooked side is still soft.
Serve with bacon, or fruit, with maple syrup.
As a teenager I was introduced to the American way of eating pancakes, raised, for breakfast and with bacon and syrup. Each of these innovations was breathtaking, and I haven't looked back.
This version has some slightly more exotic touches than you'll get from a Shake'n'bake mix, but its worth it.
Ingredients
1/2 cup of whole wheat flour
1/2 cup of plain/all-purpose flour (n.b. I used spelt for both flours)
2 Tbp buckwheat flour
2 Tbp chestnut flour
2 tsp baking powder
1 Tbp raw sugar
pinch salt
1 egg, lightly beaten
1 1/2 cups milk
1 tsp lemon juice
2 Tbp olive oil
Method
Start an hour before you intend to cook the pancakes (mixing the batter and allowing starch grains to swell assists). Combine dry ingredients. Sour milk with lemon, add 1 cup milk to flours with egg and oil, stir only to combine - leave it a bit lumpy. Let stand. Before cooking check consistency and add more milk if desired.
When ready to cook, heat a griddle or pan - ideally cast iron - to medium-hot. A well-seasoned cast iron griddle will hardly need additional fat, but use your knowledge of your own cookware and add a little oil or butter to cook as needed. Drop large spoonfuls into the pan, and turn when bubbles appear but the top of the uncooked side is still soft.
Serve with bacon, or fruit, with maple syrup.
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