SIMPLE PANCAKES
Because we knew we would be showing the world our savory buckwheat pancakes, we knew that our classic pancake recipe needed to be established as soon as possible.
Our recipe was initially inspired by Scott Jurek and his book Eat and Run, a must read for anyone curious about the vegan elite athlete lifestyle. Ever since our first shot back in August 2018, we’ve been hooked and have tried different grain and flavor renditions! We also quickly learned to make extra so we can take leftovers on outdoor adventures, car rides, or pop in the freezer for a easy early morning brekky (just toss in the toaster!).
We try to make sourdough pancakes whenever possible. While that isn’t always a possibility when you are on the road, a good rule of thumb to keep in mind when in foreign countries: if you can find a good fresh whole grain flour and a fresh starch (we like corn starch for pancakes, but tapioca, brown rice, arrowroot, etc … works just as well!), you’re probably in business to make some amazing, hearty, protein-filled vegan pancakes.
Whole grains, whole heart
The recipe, as said, works in even its simplest form with one kind of flour and one kind of starch. The more flours you bring into the mix, the more fun you’ll have. Some advice on the gluten free flours, like buckwheat — don’t use too much of them! In the right quantity they can add intense and satisfying flavor to your pancakes. Used too much, the structure of the pancake will fall apart, or will fail to cook through. You’ve been warned!
Modifying the base recipe
The basic idea is to incorporate as many whole grain flours (and cooked quinoa or any sprouted grains, if you’d like). Our base recipe calls for just 2 cups of flour and 1 cup of starch. If you are adding the 1/4 cups of other whole grains, you can reduce the amount of whole wheat flour in the recipe.
In general, every two cups of flour that you add will make ~ 15 pancakes. If you’re having guests over, it’s easy to estimate the overall yield. For a hungry crowd, assume 4 pancakes per person; remember that if you overshoot, you can have the leftovers as afternoon snacks!
Ingredients
Basic:
- 1 cup whole wheat flour
- 1 cup starch (we like corn, but mix it up)
- 4 tbsp oil (coconut or olive works well)
- 2-3 cups of water
- 2 tsp baking powder
Diverse:
- 1/4 cup buckwheat flour
- 1/4 cup corn meal
- 1/4 cup oat flour
- 1/4 cup rye flour
- 1/4 cup cooked quinoa
- 1/4 cup millet flour
- 1/4 cup barley flour
Nice to have:
- 1 tbsp vanilla extract
- 4 tbsp flax seed
- 2 tbsp chia seed
- 1 tbsp cinnamon
- 2 tsp nutmeg
- 1 tbsp sourdough starter (see our sourdough recipe for tips on making the starter!)
Steps
- If you are making sourdough pancakes, mix all of step 2 the night before making the pancakes so the starter has time to work on the dough
- Mix together flours, water, baking powder, vanilla, and other spices, as well as the sourdough starter (when available). You can sub nut milk for the water for a particularly rich and nutritious dough. Whole grains can absorb a ton of water. You should be looking for a thick soup consistency for the batter!
- Heat a skillet or griddle to medium high heat and throw in a tablespoon of oil. Lower the heat to medium when the oil starts to smoke.
- Ladle out pancakes onto cooking surface. Let cook through, waiting at least 3 minutes to flip or until the bottoms are a golden brown
- Let cook on the flipped side for 2-3 minutes
- Remove pancakes from heat and repeat with rest of batter
- If you’re making a large batch of pancakes, keeping everything warm in an oven heated to 275 degrees F works wonders while you work through the batter.
Rate our recipe!
Thanks for reading our recipe and we really hope you enjoyed it! We're always happy to get feedback on the quality our recipes provided - if you liked it, make sure you click on the fifth ⭐ to give this recipe a top-notch rating.
