Buckwheat Pancakes

Yes to these buckwheat pancakes on a leisurely Sunday morning! I found these to be surprisingly light in texture, maybe not as light as your standard buttermilk pancake, but light for a whole-grain healthier pancake. I also really enjoyed the earthiness that the buckwheat flour contributed. I will confess that I did sneak a few blueberries into the batter, as pancakes without blueberries are like pancakes without maple syrup to me! These took me about 45 minutes from start to finish, but that’s because I make my pancakes 2 at a time for more perfect results. I found the batter to be rather thick. I measured 1/3 cup roughly, and it took 2 minutes per side to cook them over medium-low heat. The first batch was slightly wet in the center, so for the next batch, I gently pressed down the middle of the pancakes after flipping them for more even cooking, and they came out just fine.

This recipe was a surprise. I thought buckwheat pancakes would be dense, but they actually cooked up fairly light and fluffy considering the weighty ingredients. This recipe works, although I think it needs something like maple syrup for serving. The batter is very thick. I used a 1/3-cup measure to spoon out the batter and had to spread it a bit. The recipe uses such healthful flours. If someone wants to explore other flours, this is a good recipe to use. I would likely make this recipe again but maybe add some toasted nuts or perhaps serve the pancakes with something other than maple syrup, such as jam.

I decided to make these buckwheat pancakes because I had some buttermilk that needed using up. These pancakes are quick to mix and yield a hearty and flavorful pancake. Like the author, I now have a bag of buckwheat in my freezer and look forward to more buckwheat pancakes. It took about 5 minutes to mix the batter and 3 to 4 minutes to cook up a skillet of pancakes. My buttermilk was a little thin and, as a result, the pancakes looked a little thinner than those in the photo. They were still delicious.

We prefer our pancakes savory so we really enjoyed these. The combination of buckwheat and whole-wheat flours gave these pancakes real substance but without being heavy. The cinnamon flavor came through in the background and complemented the heartiness of the flours. I actually found myself adding more syrup at the table than I typically do, but I’m happy to be able to adjust for sweetness that way rather than have sweet pancakes right off the griddle. Bottom line: I will be making these again. I tried to make 2 pancakes at a time in my 12-inch cast-iron skillet the first round, and it was too hard to flip them, so I stuck to cooking 1 pancake at a time for the remainder. To get a good color on these, I cooked them between 1 1/2 and 2 minutes on the first side and then 2 minutes on the other. The pan was getting extremely hot, so I adjusted between medium and a little lower to control the temperature. I had to add a little more oil about halfway through the process.

I keep buckwheat flour in the pantry for making blini, the small buckwheat pancakes that work so well with a number of different toppings as an elegant appetizer, so I was excited to see this recipe pair whole-wheat flour with buckwheat flour. That's the great thing about pancakes--most of the time you already have all of the ingredients in house and the results can be really yummy! These buckwheat pancakes were just that. The combination of the whole-wheat flour and buckwheat flour made for a very hearty pancake batter with a bit of a nutty flavor. They were a thicker pancake thanks to the mixture of these flours but fluffy on the inside. I really liked the addition of cinnamon here; it paired well with the nuttiness and gave the pancakes a nice warmth. Also, the addition of maple syrup instead of sugar was very nice here. (I bet agave nectar would work well, too.) I like that the recipe called for warming the oven slightly to keep the cooked pancakes warm before serving. I usually end up doing this when manning the pancake station, but recipes don't usually give you the tip. It's important to butter or oil the pan well for pancakes like these and to not get the pan too hot. You don't want to burn these lovely treats! Yes, over medium heat, each 1/3-cup pancake cooked well on one side for 1 1/2 minutes, then about 45 seconds to 1 minute on the other side. I did not serve the pancakes with extra butter, but yes to the maple syrup! I sliced some juicy navel oranges and baked some turkey bacon as our sides for breakfast, and the oranges paired well with the nutty pancakes. (I think it paired so well that next time, I might add a bit of orange zest or even a touch of orange juice or liqueur into the batter for an extra zing of flavor.)