Flip, fry & feast: Secrets to irresistible pancakes
and REAL maple syrup
My husband claims to be an expert on all things pancakes and waffles (after all, at the age of 14, he won a French Toast Eating contest - 1 ½ loaves of Pepperidge Farms bread!). He tells me I make the best pancakes. As he has tried almost all of my hundreds of versions, I accept his vote.
There is something about pancakes.
Most days, I tend to eat a protein-based breakfast, either eggs in some form or yogurt or cottage cheese with some yummy topping. But there are mornings when I crave a good stack of pancakes, and I love making them for others.
Clearly, pancakes are a popular item for more people than my husband, Pat. I just discovered that there are more than 140 songs with some mention of pancakes. Apparently we can thank the Greeks for this long-standing breakfast delight as pancakes have been mentioned in prose (and probably songs then, too) since 600 BC.
I have never used pancake mixes. Making your own mix is pretty straightforward. You can prepare the dry ingredients, keep them in a baggie or container to have “on hand,” and within 5 minutes, have your very own pancake batter.
This recipe is one I have been making for decades and adapted from Marion Cunningham's wonderful, “Breakfast Book.” Over the years, I have experimented with ingredients. I've used cornmeal and whole wheat flour, have whipped egg whites separately and folded them into the batter (which my husband, Pat, and I highly recommend, though I won’t make you do that on this round), and I’ve substituted honey, maple syrup or agave for sugar. I've also tried different non-dairy milks.
This is the version I’ve settled with and it’s made using buckwheat flour. With each batch I make, I reduce the amount of white flour a little bit more to get even more of that nutty buckwheat flavor that I love. (Buckwheat, by the way, is not a wheat – it’s a seed – but that’s for another geeky post.)
Now, I always use unbleached flour in the mix, too, because its less processed. When the bran is pulled out and the remainder is often bleached to obtain a “white” flour, I just feel it’s like pulling off the rose petals before putting the stem in your vase.
I use my 40-year-old cast iron skillet (more about that on Friday) and cook them in butter because of the delicious crispy edge each pancake develops.
Top with warm dark, pure maple syrup and, if you like, my quick and easy warm blueberry “compote,” which I’ll send out on Friday.
Buckwheat Pancakes
Ingredients:
2 eggs
5 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted
1 cup milk (oat or almond is ok)
1 cup unbleached white flour ( or use ½ cup whole wheat and ½ cup white)
1/4 cup buckwheat flour
1 tablespoon maple syrup, honey or sugar
4 teaspoons baking powder
3/4 teaspoon salt.
Instructions:
In a small bowl, beat the eggs with a whisk until thoroughly blended.
Put the milk and the butter in a small saucepan and warm over low heat until the butter melts. Add maple syrup or honey if using. Set aside to cool for a few minutes
Slowly whisk the warm milk mixture into the eggs until blended.
In a separate bowl, mix the flour, sugar (if using), baking powder and salt together.
Pour the egg mixture into the flour, and, with a rubber spatula, mix just until blended, being careful not to overmix the batter. A few lumps are okay.
One important note here: This batter is going to be thick. It’s not something you pour into a pan. That’s OK. You don’t want a pourable pancake. You want it with plenty of fluff and girth to gird you for your day.
Heat a cast iron skillet, flat griddle or nonstick pan on medium heat and add a teaspoon or so of butter to the pan. The butter melts quickly so immediately drop about 3 tablespoons of batter from a spoon into the pan for each pancake. Don’t overcrowd the pan.
Cook until you see bubbles break on the surface of each pancake, (about 3
minutes) then flip and cook for about 1 minute on the other side. The bottoms should be nicely lightly browned.
Serve hot with a pat of butter on each and warm maple syrup
YIELD: about a dozen 4-inch pancakes
Tap into REAL maple syrup
Use the good stuff. You deserve it! To me, it is pure gold. The syrups in the supermarket are filled with corn syrup and are thin and artificially maple “flavored.” They are far, far removed from the deep, delicious flavor of good syrup.
Maple syrup was discovered and used by The Native Americans in the 1600s, who extracted the sap from trees and eventually boiled it over hot stones. Not only is it a wonderful sweetener, it has a host of benefits and anti-inflammatory and antioxidant properties. It is uniquely North American (with 75% of what we use coming from Canada.)
I order my supply directly from a farm in Middlebury, Vermont (thefieldfarm.com). If my brother-in-law, Fred, is coming our way, I request a jar of syrup from his neck of the woods in upstate New York. In a pinch, I’ll buy a jug from Costco. It’s better than the supermarket variety, but as you can see in the photo, not the same deep dark ebony color.
Maple syrup comes in grades.
Grade A is said to be the “preferred” grade because of its light maple flavor and reminiscence of synthetic maple syrups, aka corn syrup-based impostors. It’s not preferred by me, but everyone is entitled to their preference.
Grade B is produced later in the season and has a darker, grittier color, thicker viscosity, more robust maple flavor and more minerals. This is the grade I prefer and is what’s pictured above.