Beefing Up Pancakes
As a child, I remember my grandfather making pancakes for us kids for breakfast. The only kind he ever made were buckwheat, possibly a result of his upbringing on a farm with a full load of chores every day.
These old-fashioned pancakes are heavy and substantial but beloved by many of those who have tried them. The rule about overmixing doesn’t really apply here because this is a yeast batter. Buckwheat flour is sold in some supermarkets and most natural-foods stores.
Buckwheat Pancakes
Recipe adapted from A Real American Breakfast (William Morrow, 2002) by Cheryl Alters Jamison and Bill Jamison, who say that the best buckwheat pancakes need overnight to ferment and develop the best flavor. 1¼ cups milk, warm (not hot)
1 teaspoon active dry year (about ½ envelope)
1 cup buckwheat flour
½ cup unbleached all-purpose flour
2 tablespoons cornmeal
2 teaspoons dark brown sugar, optional
½ teaspoon salt
1 large egg, separated
½ teaspoon baking soda
1 tablespoon butter, melted
Vegetable oil, or a mix of oil and bacon drippings, for cooking
1. The night before, pour the warm milk in a bowl. Stir in yeast until it begins to bubble, about 5 minutes. Stir in both flours, the cornmeal, brown sugar and salt. Cover with a towel and refrigerate overnight.
2. The next morning, remove bowl from fridge and let sit while assembling remaining ingredients. Beat the egg white until soft peaks form; set aside. To the batter, add egg yolk, baking soda and enough water to make the batter pourable, about ¼ cup. Stir melted butter into the batter until combined. Fold the egg white into the batter.
3. Heat a griddle over medium heat and lightly oil it. Spoon about 3 tablespoons batter onto hot griddle for each 4-inch pancake. Repeat until pan is comfortably full. Cook until top surface is covered in air bubbles, 1 to 2 minutes. (Bubbles will be fewer and larger than for wheat-flour pancakes.) Flip and cook until the second side is golden brown, 1 to 2 minutes longer. Keep cooked pancakes warm in a 200-degree oven while making subsequent batches, adding more oil as needed.
Makes 4 servings.
