Pancakes... ALL of 'em!

John (my hubby) has been on a pancake kick, lately. It's not a big surprise, because he loves them, both for themselves, and for the nostalgia that so many different ones bring. So, since after about 6yrs of my wheat-related health issues (not the topic here - just the catalyst), we've finally figured out that I can eat all the organic wheat I want, we've been having some fun with a few of the things we both missed, most. For John, this means PANCAKES! In all their iterations. So far, I've made quite a few breakfasts of sourdough pancakes and waffles, and last night,  I made us a German style apple pancake - neither of us had enjoyed one, in too many years - but now, he wants to explore more!

So... share your favorite pancakes & recipes, please!

Tim's Top Secret Waffle/Pancake Mix

This may or may not of been a local diner's recipe that my wife adapted when she worked there prior to law school.

Ingredients
2 heaping cups flour
1 tsp each of baking soda/baking powder/salt
4 eggs
Half a carton of buttermilk (I believe it is a quart carton. My mind is fuzzy at the moment.)
2 sticks of butter added as the last ingredient.

Mix it all up and use the batter to your heart's content.

I let it sit for a little bit to get to know itself before usage.

This is originally meant for waffle making and you may find that there is a lot of butter that drips. You can dial it back a little bit to suit your tastes better.

around here it's almost time for Carnaval, but up on your side of the world Shrove Tuesday is coming- when I was growing up, that meant pancake dinner at one of the local churches! Pancakes are good all year round though.
I also enjoy using sourdough discard for mine.
I don't have any dedicated recipes, but just kind of freestyle.

How about.... bacon in the pancake? (fry it up, clean the pan, pour the batter over a piece of bacon, of course frying it in the grease)... That is a crowd pleaser around here.
Or dutch baby, if you have a lot of eggs kicking around? (I just use whatever recipe I find online, as long as your oven is hot enough you should be fine).

Last.... potato pancakes are one of my comfort foods. Some people like them grated up, I grew up eating them made of potato blended up with some onion. If you have leftover mash, boxty makes a hell of a potato pancake.

During early marriage, I had a friend that had pancakes for supper every Friday night because by then the money had run out until her husband cashed his paycheck so they could go shopping.

Every now and then we have pancakes for supper.

I bought a waffle iron so not we have waffles instead of pancakes and I like them better.

What are your favorite way to eat pancakes and waffles?  Blueberry, chocolate, banana ..... I like mine plain served with bacon or sausage.

Here are 41 different ways to eat pancakes:

https://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/photos/pancake-recipes

I like pancakes eaten as a savory meal. You can make them plain (without sugar) and let the eaters decide whether to eat them sweet or savory. Or you can mix something savory in: A fairly eggy pancake with scallions or onion greens chopped in is especially nice. I like to eat pancakes with leftover stew or curry on top.

For the gluten-free, buckwheat flour makes good pancakes. Doable even without eggs, but easier with eggs.

Whether the pancakes are going to be eaten sweet or savory, sometimes it's nice to drop seeds on the wet side as soon as the pancake is poured on the griddle. They sink in and won't fall off. Might be pumpkin seeds, sunflower seeds, chopped walnut, or whatever you like.

I love to make applesauce but then some years I fail to eat it. It's great on pancakes, especially if they have the seeds in.

My photo is pancakes with leftover 'gravy' from a Kashmiri mutton curry called yakhni, made with yogurt, and spices (not hot spices though). We enjoyed the dinner from the Kashmiri restaurant, and then enjoyed the leftovers over pancakes, vegetables, or even pasta, just to keep things varied.

@Timothy, I love the lightness that buttermilk brings to pancakes! I've soured milk with lemon juice, in a pinch, but it really just isn't as good to me, as buttermilk.

@Tereza, John cures pork belly, to make our own bacon, which makes it awesome for dicing, cutting into chunks, etc. He often cooks bacon to go with the pancakes, but we've never tried bacon IN them - using the bacon grease as the fat in the batter would bump up the flavor, too - we will be trying that, thank you! Dutch babies are another favorite - especially loaded with berries! Yum! Also, we do observe Shrove (or Fat) Tuesday, so thank you for the pancake reminder, for that! Would you care to share your potato pancake recipe/ method, please? I absolutely adore latkes, but have to admit that though I love potatoes in almost any way, shape, or form, potato pancakes, the way I grew up with them were... gross. I know it's mostly in my head, but it's a mental block, because of the way my mom made them, but I just haven't been able to get past it, even though I actually would love to!

@Anne, thank you for that link! After getting over years and years of *too, too* many pancakes (HUGE, $-poor family), it took me years to be able to eat plain pancakes with butter & syrup, again. IHOP to the rescue, with all their topping ideas. Not that I ate there, often, but their commercials we're a springboard for many IDEAS! Like pancakes bananas foster, mixed berries, individual berries, strawberry shortcake, pumpkin pie spice pancakes, cinnamon apple topped, pecans or walnuts, chocolate chip, butterscotch chip, pigs-in-a-blanket... Thanks for the reminders! (Now I'm off to check out that link!)

@Rebecca, ooooohhh... savory! Usually, when I think of savory pancakes, the Chinese Spring onion ones come to mind, but we love them, and why should they be the only ones eaten as a savory, right? I love your curry gravy idea, especially. I'm not an applesauce fan (it's a textural thing, which, incidentally, is also my primary issue with the potato pancakes of my childhood), but I can eat it in stuff. I wonder if I could find a way to make it into a sauce, too top them. John would be thrilled!

And, with the thoughts of IHOP, now I remember they had one specifically, that I used to really enjoy, but I can't recall what all was in it - nuts & seeds, I think. So, I'm off to explore their menu and hopefully find those again, and maybe figure out my own version.

Anyone else? How do you like them? Buckwheat ones are an excellent classic - but, what other grains do YOU like and use? Do you have recipes you're willing to share?

Carla Burke wrote: potato pancake recipe/ method, please? I absolutely adore latkes, but have to admit that though I love potatoes in almost any way, shape, or form, potato pancakes, the way I grew up with them were... gross. I know it's mostly in my head, but....

oh man do i hear you. I have had many a squishy undercooked potato pancake, and also many overfried heart-attack ones that are no better.
i think it's important to define what you want in a potato pancake and go for it: some people like crispy, some people like gummy. I do not like thin and crispy, but if you do, the way to go is grated and lots of oil real hot. I like my potato pancakes to be a bit cakey and smooth, more like a pancake than a potato stick (if I wanted crunchy i'd be eating potato sticks or making hash browns already), so I add some flour and starch and try to make it really pancakey.  
I blend up a potato or two, half an onion, maybe a few tablespoons of flour (cassava would work) and a tablespoon of some kind of starch, an egg, some salt (onion or garlic salt are nice here) and some black pepper. Add as little liquid as possible to blend, keeping the batter as thick as your blender can handle. It should be the texture of applesauce when you spoon it into the pan. Fry in whatever flavorful oil, whether that is schmalz or bacon grease or butter, making sure to give it time to cook all the way through. Top with some scallions or applesauce or sour cream.... or Sichuan chili crisp, because what is life without hot sauce....

Edited to add.... if you don't like applesauce, my kind of pancake may be  risky (keep a dog nearby to eat the pancake if it's undercooked...). Maybe try small to make sure they cook all the way through?  If the texture of mashed potatoes doesn't bother you, try boxty instead. This is the first recipe that came to hand that looks realistic and not finicky. You can tweak boxty almost infinitely, this gives a pretty basic starter recipe. https://donalskehan.com/recipes/boxty-irish-potato-pancakes/

I also forgot two of my favorite OTHER pancakes:  blini and injera!

I use buckwheat flour for the blini, but there are plenty of options out there.... https://www.seriouseats.com/yeasted-blini I make all sorts of crazy toppings for them, chopped onions with smoked salt, fake crab, butter and horseradish, whatever i have. it's a great way to use up odds and ends in the fridge for a quick dinner, plus eating with hands is always fun. I often will make it along with borscht or some other kind of soup (only I like beets around here so I need to bribe the troops with soemthing fun if that's dinner).

Injera is another fun pancake, and I cheat by using sourdough discard and only half teff (it costs me an arm and a leg here. sometimes i even use buckwheat flour instead). i have tried making injera the authentic way and it just doesn't work, the sourdough discard has been a lifesaver, since we really enjoy injera with shiro and other toppings every so often. This is not my recipe but very close to how i make it, just using half teff and half wheat. https://unfussyepicure.com/2015/01/the-riddle-of-ethiopian-injera-is-sourdough-starter-the-answer.html

I like buttermilk pancakes and waffles, but I only like them either with berry compote/berries on top, or cut with eggs over easy!

Many pancakes give me sugar shock - too many simple carbs. But my sister discovered an Oatmeal Pancake recipe that I've now been making for years.

Oatmeal Pancakes

Step 1
2 cups milk
2 cups large flake oats
In a large bowl, pour the milk over the oats and let stand 5 min.

Step 2
1 cup whole wheat flour
2 Tablespoons of sugar
2 1/2 tsp baking powder
1 tsp salt
Mix dry ingredients

Step 3
4 eggs, beaten with
1/2 cup (or a bit less) melted butter

Step 4 Add the flour mix and egg mix into the bowl of oats, stir but lumps are OK. Spoon onto a hot, greased griddle.

I serve with either homemade applesauce, or yogurt mixed with thawed or fresh berries.

Another great thing is that these pancakes are firm enough to go in the toaster, so we are always happy to have leftovers.

And then there's the South Indian breakfast pancake, dosa, served with sambar and coconut chutney. Typically with a potato filling too. They are gluten free, being made of lightly fermented rice and urad or mung beans, and are vegan if you use oil instead of ghee on the iron pan.  I had a South Indian housemate for a while and he would make these.

Recipes are easy to find online if interested. I was amazed, it was as easy as sourdough or easier. he'd soak the rice and the urad dal or mung beans overnight, then grind them in the blender with a couple fenugreek seeds, and let them sit fermenting over another night. Then get the big flat iron pan up to just the right temperature (the first dosa was always a waste), pour batter on with a ladle and wipe it thin with the ladle, and flip briefly. They are crispy, light, fried yummy, and delicious. I learned to make the sambar and was told by South Indian friends that it was good: it's a dal with chunks of vegetables, and sambar spices (we buy the mix), curry leaves (I had one as a houseplant at the time), and tamarind for sourness.

Oh, yummmm!! There's very little Indian food that I haven't liked... Thanks, Rebecca!

Here’s my new favorite. They taste like banana bread.
2 ripe bananas,
3 eggs,
1/2 cup almond flour,
1/4 tsp baking soda,
1/2 tsp cinnamon,
1/4 tsp nutmeg and ground cloves.

Mash bananas then combine everything with a mixer.
I no longer eat grains so these are my go to when I have a sweet tooth.

Those sound great, Scott!! Thanks for sharing!

Thanks Carla. I hope you enjoy them if you make a batch! I just happened to have a couple ripe bananas so I had them today.

We both love banana bread & banana, so it seems like a natural, to me.

I like waffles, as they allow me to fill the little pockets with butter and maple syrup, but I really do not care for flapjack: they are heavy on the stomach and there is just too much flour/ dough to be palatable.
I would be remiss if I didn't put my favorite here: Crepes suzette. When I was little, my mom made a lot of crepes Suzettes: they are easy and you can make endless variations: they can be a decadent dessert or made like you would make a quiche, except you can keep it all separate and just roll the bacon bits, the cheese and whatever chives, lettuce etc. you want in it. You can use it as a wrap for whatever you like.
Here is the best recipe, [if you can afford to flame the Grand Marnier!]. Personally, I'd have a shot of Grand Marnier or Cognac next to my plate!
https://www.foodandwine.com/recipes/crepes-suzette
Just make sure that your frying pan is good and hot and very smooth and have a Scott towel well impregnated with melting butter in between pancakes.
Besides the endless variations you can make on the theme, these are economical, as they use things everyone has in their kitchen [eggs, flour, milk, sugar, salt, oil and melted butter], and they rely on other things to make them really special, so don't feel that you are tied to the Grand Marnier or the cognac!
For desserts, add Nutella, or Maple syrup, your favorite jelly or jam, strawberries, bananas  or creme de marron [sweet chestnut puree, ].
Or you can also add cheese.
For non dessert dishes, roll asparagus in Bearnaise sauce or Hollandaise sauce, add little ham cubes, or bacon, lettuce, tomatoes... Whatever strikes your fancy!

Today is PANCAKE DAY!!! (aka Shrove Tuesday, Fat Tuesday, Mardi Gras - so it was jambalaya, for supper, too.) So we had pancakes for breakfast - sourdough, and I found the recipe we had both been craving. John said they were, "SPOT ON!!". W0000t!! We also both got texts from the youngest daughter, who also made sourdough pancakes for breakfast, today. She made the fluffy, light ones, and I made the tangy, slightly thicker than a crepe ones, with the crispy edges, that are also rolly-uppy, if you want. That flexibility is one of the reasons I love them,  because they make for great packable breakfasts. One pancake, filled with eggs, cheese, and sausage or bacon, folded in half or rolled up, and you have a portable meal that will stick with you, and keep you going for hours, without weighing you down.

I make a basic pancake, and we have these occasionally for dinner, because I too have a sugar shock type reaction if I have pancakes for breakfast--I also serve either eggs or sausage with them for some protein to balance the carbohydrates. I think the key to good pancakes is to use mostly whole wheat flour, not white. I don't measure anything. Periodically I mix up half a gallon or so of Pancake and Muffin mix--about five times as much whole wheat as white flour, then add maybe a tablespoon of baking soda and a teaspoon of baking powder and a teaspoon of salt. So I  put say two cups of this in a small mixing bowl, add a splash of oil and two egg yolks, then enough milk to get to the right consistency. I whip the egg whites and fold them in just before I start frying, using peanut oil because pancakes need high heat. I butter them after I flip them, and we have our own maple syrup to go with them. I like to add chopped pecans, and often have a little dish with some kind of sliced fruit to insert between layers--unless it's blueberries, which work well tossed into the batter.

My go-to recipe came from my mom's friend Frieda. We always called them Frieda-cakes, but I believe Frieda called them camp pancakes because she used them on canoe trips.

The recipe is as follows:

1 c grains (any mix of flour, rolled oats, cornmeal, etc. as long as it adds up to a cup)
2-3 t baking powder
1 T sugar
1/2 t salt
1 egg
1 c milk
1 T melted butter

The butter means you don't need to grease the pan, especially a well-seasoned cast iron skillet. They're heartier than an average pancake, but they're still fluffy. The consistency and taste depend on what grains you put in. I like them with maple syrup or buttermilk syrup.

Frieda always mixed up a big batch of the dry ingredients to have on hand. That way all you have to do is measure out as many cups as you want and mix it with an equal number of eggs, cups of milk, and tablespoons of butter.

My current favorite is buttermilk-banana.  I make my own buttermilk after getting the culture.
Recipe:
1 cup AP flour
1/2 t. salt
1/2 t. baking soda
1/2 t. nutmeg or cardamom
Mix together and add:
1 beaten egg
1/2 t. vanilla
2T. melted butter
1 c plus 2 T buttermilk
1 mashed banana ( freeze and thaw works, too)
Mix all with wisk and cooked in butter or ghee
Makes 8-9 medium pancakes.

Yum! Lots of great ideas, y'all

Here's one that was a hit with young and old alike

Pampakes

This recipe resulted from my quest to create a gluten-, soy-, and corn-free pancake. It comes pretty close, however it should be noted there is some controversy about the gluten-like content of oats and amaranth.

“Pampakes”, as pancakes were called by my then young boys

The recipe is presented in two parts (Batter and Dry Mix). Suggest preparing the dry mix in large-ish batches so it’ll be on hand when you’re ready to make Pampakes – it does take some time to prepare, especially if you grind some of your own ingredients. The dry mix seems to keep well stored in a cool dark place. The batter keeps well for up to a week in the refrigerator.

Yield
One cup Pampake Dry Mix yields four 6-8 inch pancakes. See Dry Mix Recipe below

Ingredients
Prepare the following ingredients for each Cup of Pampake Dry Mix:
- Pampake Dry Mix, 1 Cup
- Eggs, 1 Large or 2 Small
- Butter, Melted, 4 TB
- Milk, 1 Cup (scant)

Options (recommended):
- Molasses, a dollop or few
- Applesauce, 1-3 TB
- Apples, 1/8” dice, steamed or stewed slightly, 2-3 TB
- Raisins, steamed or stewed slightly, 2-3 TB

Substitute with other fruits as desired

Preparation

Have all ingredients at room temperature! even the steamed & melted stuff

Wet Stuff
- Whisk eggs until frothy
Continue whisking as you add:
- Melted butter drizzled into the eggs
- Molasses add until the mixture turns a nice brown color (to your taste)
- Milk – add enough to yield appx 1 cup total wet stuff, reserve extra milk to make final adjustments to the batter

Dry Mix

Batch Size: 1
Appx Yield: 1-2/3 C

- Rice Flour: 5 TB
- Oats, Rolled: 6 TB
- Amaranth Flour: 5 TB
- Almond Flour: 1-1/3 TB
- Flax Meal: 2 TB
- Oat Flour: 1 TB
- Sugar: 1-3/4 TB
- Sea Salt: 1/3 tsp
- Cinnamon Powder: 2-1/4 tsp
- Ginger Powder: 2-1/4 tsp

Dry Stuff
- Pampake Mix, 1 Cup
- Add applesauce, combine thoroughly with Dry Mix
- Stir in apples and raisins (or other fruit)

Batter
- Add Wet Stuff to Dry Stuff and mix well… to your heart’s content. Consistency of batter should be thickening but not too runny, it’ll thicken some as it sits. Adjust batter thickness with dry mix or leftover liquid as required.
- Let batter stand for 10-15 minutes

Cook, as usual for pancakes, on a lower than medium temperature; batter should sizzle well when dropped onto griddle. Turn when the edges brown a bit (*); cook until cake is fairly firm. (*) The visual clue for when to turn a traditional pancake, viz., when bubbles appear, doesn’t apply to Pampakes.

Serving

Be sure to have your favorite pancake toppings available for each 'eater' to apply as desired - e.g., butter; syrups; fruity jams, jellies, fresh, etc
... or just plain - I sometimes made a batch of dollar-sized pampakes 'for the road'

So I just got done mock-berating my siblings by text on how it was that our Catholic upbringing and schooling taught us all about Ash Wednesday and the Stations of the Cross, ...... but not Shrove Tuesday!


... :-)


Sent that text while making a batch for breakfast. Of course, once the house pig got wind of what I was doing, it upped the difficulty level a bit higher.... (sigh).   But just to add a childhood memory of those mornings when dad was making breakfast on account of mom not home yet from the night shift at the hospital.  With four rug-rats to feed, he came up with a simple, effective solution:  Surprise pancakes!  Back then, hot dogs were a surprise 'fun' meal, and what would make pancakes more fun than little wheels of hot dog embedded in the cake?  Somehow the cake, the smoky wheel, and the maple syrup all came together to create the deep memory. Ha! :-)