These whole wheat pancakes are easy and every bit as delicious as pancakes made with white flour. They’re a perfect weekend breakfast!
When I was younger, I didn’t like pancakes.
Yes, you read that correctly.
I. Did not. Like. Pancakes.
I remember going on a church youth trip when I was in high school. One morning, the pastor made pancakes for us and I recall being so put out by the pancakes because I didn’t want to eat them. And I had to eat them. There was nothing else…no toast, no biscuits, nada. Pancakes and bacon. So there you go. I ate them without syrup, probably taking an extra serving of bacon (imagine that) while grumbling about how much I hated pancakes.
I disliked pancakes, in fact, until I married Philip. When we were dating, we would go to Cracker Barrel, where he always ordered “Mama’s Pancake Breakfast”. Back in the day, this was served with two tiny bottles of maple syrup, one of which he would use on his pancakes and the other that he would drink straight out of the bottle. I am not kidding. Now, Cracker Barrel can make a mean pancake (they fry them in butter…lots of butter) but Philip broke up with them last year when he discovered that they had switched to using a syrup that is 50% maple syrup and 50% cane syrup. Ugh.
Lucky for Philip, he doesn’t have to go to Cracker Barrel to eat pancakes anymore. At some point early in our marriage, I started cooking pancakes out of a mix. I remember the evolution….first a regular mix…then a whole-wheat mix…then white flour from-scratch pancakes….then adding in some whole-wheat…..all the way to today’s recipe, 100% whole wheat pancakes. This is the best pancakes recipe I’ve ever made, adapted from the pancakes that Lucinda Scala Quinn makes on her show, Mad Hungry, and features in the breakfast section of her cookbook, Mad Hungry: Feeding Men and Boys (by the way, her show on Hallmark is one of the few reasons I miss cable television!).
Oh, and for the record….I would never even consider buying “pancake syrup” (though before I was dating Philip I don’t think I realized that “pancake syrup” and maple syrup were not the same thing). The difference is that when you see how much a bottle of maple syrup actually costs, you tend to use it sparingly….no maple syrup shots in this house! By the way, we’re grade B maple syrup folks, and we also like a little dab of lingonberry preserves on the side.
What are you waiting for? Make these whole wheat pancakes ASAP!
Shared on The Weekend Potluck on The Country Cook and Meal Plan Monday on Southern Plate!
Mary
Yield: 10-12 pancakes
This recipe is adapted from the book Mad Hungry: Feeding Men and Boys by Lucinda Scala Quinn.
15 minPrep Time:
15 minCook Time:
30 minTotal Time:
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Ingredients
- 1 1/4 - 1 1/2 cups buttermilk
- 1 tablespoon sugar, honey, or maple syrup
- 1 Large egg
- 1 1/4 cup white whole wheat flour (I used King Arthur brand)
- 1 teaspoon coarse salt
- 2 1/4 teaspoons baking powder
- 3 tablespoons butter, melted (plus additional for brushing griddle)
Instructions
- Place a baking sheet in the oven and preheat to 200 degrees. Preheat a cast iron griddle or large cast iron pan (I used my 12-inch Lodge skillet) over medium-low to medium heat (temperature may need to be adjusted as you cook the pancakes.
- Combine the buttermilk, honey/sugar/maple syrup, and egg thoroughly with a whisk. I did this right in my measuring cup.
- Whisk the flour, salt, and baking powder together in a large mixing bowl. Add the liquid ingredients and the melted butter and whisk until all the flour is incorporated.
- Lightly butter the pan or griddle. Ladle the pancake batter onto the pan/griddle (I use a 1/4 cup ladle). Unlike white flour pancakes, these don't always "bubble" on top when they are ready to be flipped, so I check them from time to time by lifting the edge with a spatula. When they are lightly browned on bottom, carefully flip and cook until brown on the other side. As the pancakes are done, remove to the preheated oven while you finish cooking the rest of the batter.
Notes
The pancakes can be held for half an hour or so in the 200 degree oven. Leftover pancakes can be frozen or wrapped in wax paper (I layer them in the wax paper so they are separate) and stored in the refrigerator. I reheat them in a low toaster.
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