In these days of rising prices, it seems prudent to try to squeeze every last bit of nutrition we can out of our food, and for this reason it makes sense to me to review a couple of recipes we already have on our website here.
Both of these recipes amp up the "health" factor by using two different techniques: the first by letting the batter soak overnight or longer, and the second by using a souring process in making the batter. To different degrees, both these techniques are effective at improving digestibility by breaking down the phytic acid which increases the body’s ability to absorb vitamins and minerals, and breaking down gluten and also a carbohydrate found in wheat called fructan. With a large proportion of people it’s the fructans in foods that they’re sensitive to as opposed to the gluten. Finally, these techniques are better at lowering the glycemic index than their traditional non-fermented counterparts.
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Overnight (soaked) Pancakes
Make the basic pancake batter recipe the night before (up to 12-24 hours in advance) and refrigerate tightly covered.
In the morning, give the batter a good stir and add milk if necessary to thin to the consistency you like. Then cook and serve the pancakes following the directions above.
Sourdough Pancakes (Active or Discard Starter)
While sourdough pancakes are the perfect use for sourdough starter discard, you can definitely use an active starter as well.
To Mix Sourdough Pancake Batter
Add ½ -1 cup sourdough starter, stirred down, to the pancake recipe above.
Mix well until just combined. It is okay if there are some lingering lumps. Do not overmix.
Let the batter rest on the counter for at least 30 minutes or as long as a couple of hours. Store it in the refrigerator if it’s going to be more than a couple of hours before you make pancakes, since it contains eggs. Use it within the next couple of days
The timing on this sourdough pancake recipe is nothing but flexible. When cooked the next day, the sourdough pancakes are just a teeny bit less fluffy than the first day, since the baking soda and powder in the mix start to lose some of their oomph over time, but the upside is that the longer the batter sits, the more fermented, meaning more nutritious and easier to digest, it becomes.
Before using, give the batter a good stir and add milk if necessary to thin to the consistency you like. Then cook and serve the pancakes following the directions above, or try the Whipped Maple Butter recipe, which goes very nicely with these Sourdough Pancakes, below.
whipped maple butter
- 150g softened unsalted butter
- 50g maple syrup
- 1 tsp cinnamon
Place the ingredients in a free standing mixer fitted with the whisk attachment.
Beat for five minutes or so until light pale and fluffy. You can use a hand mixer but this will taker slightly longer.
Finally, lest we forget that this is supposed to be a Pancake Day Blog, I am also including a historical recipe for Orkney Pancakes served with lashings of good butter and honey.
Enjoy, and have a "flipping" good day.
Orkney Pancakes
This old Scottish recipe would have used beremeal, a creamy coloured whole flour made from bere, an ancient and genetically pure variety of barley, but as it is difficult to obtain this outside of Orkney, Scotland and the North of England, we have used medium oatmeal instead with equally good results.
This is another "soaked" recipe, so start the batter the night before you want to cook these pancakes.
Ingredients
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scant 1 cup (5⅓ oz,150g) beremeal or medium oatmeal
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1¼ cup (10 fl oz, 300ml) creme fraiche or sour cream
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1 tbl honey or to taste
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1 large egg, beaten
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⅔ cup (2⅔ oz, 75g) Organic Einkorn Pancake & Baking Mix
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1 cup (scant 8½ fl oz, 250ml) milk or buttermilk
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butter
Directions
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Mix the beremeal or oatmeal, crème fraiche (or sour cream) and tablespoon honey together to make a slurry, cover and leave overnight.
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The next morning when you want to cook the pancakes, add the remaining ingredients, mixing well to make a smooth, thick batter and set to one side.
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Grease a griddle or heavy skillet with some butter, and heat it up.
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Take a tablespoon of the pancake batter and drop it onto the hot griddle, smoothing it out with the back of the spoon to make a round, and cook for 2 to 3 minutes until bubbles appear on top of the pancake.
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Gently flip the pancakes over and cook for a further 2 to 3 minutes or until they have risen and are cooked through, as well as being golden brown.
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Continue to cook all the pancakes, keeping the cooked ones warm in a low oven, until all the pancake batter is used.
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Serve two to three pancakes per person with butter and honey, jam or your favorite topping. .Once cool, the cooked pancakes can be frozen for up to three months; defrost before re-heating in a microwave or covered in tinfoil in a hot oven.