Multi-grain Pancakes

Do you remember the first recipe I ever posted on this blog? It was for multi-grain waffles. It generated the same response from the four people who regularly read this blog: I don't own a waffle maker so could you please post a pancake recipe. Sure, I said. No problem. Coming right up.

Well, I hope you weren't waiting for it. When I said, "Coming right up," what I really meant was, "Hey, give me a year as I enjoy procrastination as much as the next person." After all this time, though, I am ready to unveil the super-duper multi-grain pancake recipe. I mean I went all out on this one. It took tons of time recipe testing and whatnot. Lots of flour spilled on the kitchen floor to alter that multi-grain waffle recipe. Here are the big changes: replace the oil in the waffle recipe with two tablespoons of melted butter and let the batter rest for 30 minutes before cooking. Yes, really, that's it. Is that a sigh of disappointment I detect?

If you've made pancakes before, you know that the telltale sign they are ready to be flipped is when the batter is covered in air bubbles. This action happens very subtly with these pancakes. See:


And from the side:

The outcome of few air bubbles is that you may have to lift an edge with your spatula to check the color before flipping the pancakes.

However, once flipped and properly cooked, slathered with butter and some local maple syrup (we use Remsburger), it is difficult not to devour these beauties.


That's right: I was so elated to have pancakes I dug right in and completely forgot to take a picture of them properly plated.


MULTI-GRAIN PANCAKES
Adapted from Eating Well magazine
Serves 2-3

1 cup buttermilk
1/2 cup old fashioned rolled oats
1/3 cup whole wheat flour
1/3 cup all-purpose flour
2 T toasted wheat germ
3/4 t baking powder
1/4 t baking soda
1/8 t kosher salt
1/2 t ground cinnamon
1 large egg, lightly beaten
2 T brown sugar
2 T butter, melted
1 t vanilla extract
Butter and oil for the pan

Stir the buttermilk and oats together in a small bowl (you'll add more ingredients to this mixture later). Let sit for 15 minutes.

In the meantime, whisk together the flours, wheat germ, baking powder, baking soda, salt and cinnamon in a large bowl.

When the oat mixture is ready, stir in the eggs, sugar, melted butter and vanilla. Add this wet mixture to the dry ingredients. Mix with spoon or spatula just until blended. You do not want to overwork the batter otherwise you'll have tough pancakes. Let the batter rest for 30 minutes. Go walk the dog, read the paper, catch up on e-mail. Walk away. Please. Really. It's for your own good: it leads to a much better pancake.

Preheat the oven to 200 F so you can keep the pancakes warm as you cook additional batches.

Heat a 10-inch or 12-inch pan to medium. Our stove settings are Low, 2-9, Hi. For this recipe, I heat the pan on level 5. When the pan is preheated, add approximately one tablespoon of butter and one tablespoon of oil. Swirl the pan so they mix together. If it seems like too much, pour some out and reserve it for your second batch. I portion the pancake batter using a 1/4 measuring cup which gives me three to four pancakes per batch. Cook until air bubbles form on top and the underside is a nice even brown (not light brown, not burnt). Flip. Cook an additional couple of minutes until evenly browned on the other side. Move to an oven proof plate or baking dish and hold in the warm oven while you cook additional batches.

Serve with butter and maple syrup or your favorite breakfast condiment.