Beyond Pancakes

[Chief Longwind Of The North]

Everyone here (well almost everyone) knows my pancakes. But that's just the start of what this recipe can do. Just like Bechemel is the mother sauce for a host of daughter sauces, my basic pancake batter could be considered a mother batter for host of daughter batters. The basic batter - Chief's Pancake batter, is made up of the following:
1 cup A flour
1/2 tsp. salt
2 tbs. sugar
1 tbs. baking powder
to which is added:
1 large egg, 3 tbsp. melted butter, or cooking oil
3/4 cup milk
The pancakes come out very moist, tender, and fluffy.

So now, let's explore daughter batters and recipes that are built on the original.


Buckwheat Pancakes
As long as you use the ratio of 2 parts wheat flour to 1 part other grain, your pancakes will come out great. So for Buckwheat pancakes, use 2/3 cu AP fleur to 1/3 cup buckwheat flour, and add an extra 2 tbs. of water.

Johnny Cakes
Same as for Buckwheat pancakes, except using corn meal insteadd of buckwheat.

Drop Biscuits
Original pancake batter, but with only 1/3 cup milk

Blueberry Muffins
Original recipe but with 1/2 cup of sugar, 1 tsp. vanilla, and fresh, or thawed blueberries added to the batter.

Chocolate Pancakes
Add three tbs. cocoa powder, and 2 extra tbs. sugar to the original recipe.

Yellow Cake mix
Original recipe plus 2 tbsp. corn starch, 1 tsp. vanilla extract, another 2 eggs, 1/4 cup sugar, and 4 tbs. melted butter added.

Almond Pancakes
2 extra tbs. sugar to the original recipe.
Original recipe with 1/8 tsp. almond extract, and 1/2 cup broken, toasted almonds added to the batter

Fruit filled Pancakes
Yu can add just about any fruit you like, from dices apple, to pomegranate. Cherries, berries, chopped stone fruits, tropical fruit sections all work in the original batter.
However, if using highly acidic fruits, such as pineapple, orange sections, lemon/lime, etc., you will need to add 1/4 tsp. of baking soda to balance the leavening properties in the batter.

Other additions
M&M's, peanuts, broken cashews, broken hazel nuts, pecans, walnuts, whole corn kernels,
cooked breakfast sausage crumbles, bacon pieces, they all taste great in the original batter.

Toppings
Well now, it's really up to your imagination.. Some that you might not have thought of:

Thin Cheese slices - something that melts well, such as a good Ementella, American, Monterey Jack, Pinconning, etc. The salty, sour notes of the cheese pair perfectly with your favorite syrup. I was skeptical when it was first presented to m, until I tried it. Delicious!

Honey
If you've never put honey and butter on pancakes, you are cheating yourself of a great flavor, especially if you pair it with honey, or chocolate sauce.

Peanut Butter & Chocolate Sauce:
Do I even need to say anything?

Frut Preserves, Jams, Jellies
Think Raspberry jam with Chocolate Sauce., or apple butter with cinnamon.

Curds, Lemon/lime/key/lime
What a way to wake up your taste buds!

Did you know that pork fat has less cholesterol than does butter? If you enjoy the flavor of bacon, or breakfast sausage, spoon the liquid grease onto your pancakes instead of butter. It really tastes great.

I've hopefully given you new ideas for your batter. You can even use it to coat, then deep fry foods. Just add appropriate herbs, and spices.

So what daughter batters can you come up with fro the original recipe? How else cn you doctor it to make it your own personal creation?

Seeeeeya; Chief Longwind of the North

 

[taxlady]

I make buckwheat crepes using very simple instructions. I mix a bit of oil or melted butter and some milk with some straight buckwheat flour. I add enough milk to make a batter that is about the thickness of heavy cream. I butter or oil a frying pan and heat it to pancake temp (A drop of water dances on the pan, it doesn't sit there and bubble, it doesn't vanish in a puff of steam.). Then I spread the batter and fry it like a crepe. I use these to make my version of Swedish pancakes (a dessert). I roll them around some apple sauce or jam or fruit preserves and sprinkle a bit of sugar on the rolls. 2-4 rolls per person as a dessert.

 

[Chief Longwind Of The North]

I make buckwheat crepes using very simple instructions. I mix a bit of oil or melted butter and some milk with some straight buckwheat flour. I add enough milk to make a batter that is about the thickness of heavy cream. I butter or oil a frying pan and heat it to pancake temp (A drop of water dances on the pan, it doesn't sit there and bubble, it doesn't vanish in a puff of steam.). Then I spread the batter and fry it like a crepe. I use these to make my version of Swedish pancakes (a dessert). I roll them around some apple sauce or jam or fruit preserves and sprinkle a bit of sugar on the rolls. 2-4 rolls per person as a dessert.

Several years back, I worked with teen volunteers from my tribe to put together an Elder's Dinner. The desert was something I called blueberry burritos.

I taught the volunteers how to make crepes, and blueberry pie filling (using fresh, wild Michigan blueberries). The blueberry burritos were assembled by laying out the crepes, spreading a thick layer of the filling down the middle, leaving an inch on either end, then folding like a burrito. They were a huge hit.

These sound similar to your buckwheat crepe desert. Great minds think alike.

Seeeeya; Chief Longwind of the North

 

[RCJoe]

We grow some great Peaches down here in the southern tip of Ohio. I've made crapes and used the peaches in a thick syrup to roll the crapes around. When served (a couple of these side by side) I would add a small scoop of butter on the top and a shot of canned whipped cream down the center between them. Then a dusting of powdered sugar.

I want to try your batter Chief as it could be a solution I've been looking for.

Buckwheat was common here when I was a kid but it is hard to find here now. Bob's Red Mills is all I can get. We used to be able to get Aunt Jemima Buckwheat pancake mix. Has anyone else here seen it in their markets ?

 

[Chief Longwind Of The North]

...Buckwheat was common here when I was a kid but it is hard to find here now. Bob's Red Mills is all I can get. We used to be able to get Aunt Jemima Buckwheat pancake mix. Has anyone else here seen it in their markets ?

Pepsico, owner of the Aunt Jemima brand, previously owned by Quaker Oats, changed the name to Pearl Milling Co. to distance the brand from old Racial stereotypes. Here's an article about it - https://fortune.com/2021/02/11/aunt-jemima-new-name-pearl-milling-company/. You may be able to find the buckwheat mix under the new name.

Seeeeya; Chief Longwind of the North

 

[dragnlaw]

I could get buckwheat from out local Feed Store. Usually sold in 1 lb. packs. Southern Quebec seems to abound in buckwheat suppliers.