Weekend Food Prep: Buckwheat-Oat Pancakes

It’s Thanksgiving week here in the US, and in celebration, I’m sharing some of my most popular recipes!

Early in the pandemic, my spouse took over the grocery shopping duties. I am higher risk for infection and complications from COVID-19, and he is much lower risk. There was a learning curve to becoming the primary shopper, as evidenced by some of his choices, such as buying me about 10 pounds of buckwheat groats the last time it was on the grocery list. Now, nearly a year later, I’m still working my way through those groats!

So, I put about 4 cups of them into the food processer and turned them into buckwheat flour. Now, that flour is becoming buckwheat pancakes.

The following recipe is written as “pancake mix,” which then can be stored and turned into single servings of pancakes when you want them. Mix together the wet ingredients, stir in the mix, and enjoy a shortcut to a hearty breakfast!

Buckwheat-Oat Pancake Mix

These pancakes have a nutty flavor and hearty texture; they are filling without being too stodgy. I enjoy them with fruit and Greek yogurt on top, and some eggs on the side.

Stir together the following and store at room temperature (or in the freezer if you’re slow at using it up) in a container with a tight-fitting lid:

2 1/4 cup buckwheat flour
1 1/2 cup quick oats
3/4 cup all-purpose flour
1/2 cup granulated sugar
1/2 tsp table salt
1 Tbs. baking powder
1/2 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp cinnamon (technically optional, but I think cinnamon always makes breakfast better)

Yields about 5 cups (15 servings as instructed here) of mix.

Buckwheat-Oat Pancakes

one. To make a single⁽¹⁾ serving of pancakes (about 3 4-inch pancakes), in a liquid measuring cup, add:
1 egg, beaten
1/2 tsp vanilla extract (I use the cheap, fake kind for this use and keep the really lovely, real stuff for foods where it really matters like cookies)
enough liquid (milk, water, plant-based milk alternative) to make a scant 1/2 cup liquid. ⁽²⁾

two. Whisk in 2 Tbs. Greek or plain yogurt

three. Stir in 1/3 cup pancake mix into the liquid just until combined. Allow to sit about 10 minutes. It should thicken up and develop some bubbles. (While this is happening is a good time to brew a strong cup of coffee and cook up some eggs.)

four. Heat your griddle or non-stick pan to medium heat. Put a little butter in there, if you like it. Pour about 1/4 cup batter for each pancake. Cook on one side until dry bubbles form and pop without filling back in again. The pancake should be golden brown. Turn it over and cook until golden brown on the other side.

⁽¹⁾ _{Is this a good time to mention that “serving size” is a completely arbitrary and mostly meaningless term? It begs the question, serving size for whom? With what? Some days, I want 2 pancakes, some days I want 3 pancakes. Some days, I eat one, leftover, cold pancake for a snack in the afternoon. However, recognizing that it is a mostly meaningless term, I still find it helpful to have some kind of idea about how much food I’m gonna get from a recipe, so in the spirit of that, there it is. I’m going to give you serving sizes, too.}

⁽²⁾ _{When I’m trying to boost the protein in my breakfast, I’ve been known to use liquid egg whites for the remaining liquid. It technically works, but the final product has a less-than-ideal texture. It’s something you can try and see what you think.}