In one word: incredible. Sometimes, the traditional buttermilk pancake just won’t do. I often find myself ravenous mere hours after eating them. These pancakes are significantly more substantial, and kept me full for a good 6 hours. Savory buckwheat is balanced by the sweetness of ripe pears, and doused in maple syrup and sprinkled with blackberries – a morning of pure bliss awaits.
This recipe was adapted from Kim Boyce’s wondrous Good to the Grain – my cookbook of the moment. Each one of her recipes is a delicious adventure into the world of whole-grain flours. Unlike other books focusing on whole-grain baking, Kim never forgoes flavor for nutrition. Rather, she utilizes alternative flours as a way to add depth of flavor to familiar preparations. After experimenting with teff flour, oat flour, and buckwheat flour since purchasing this book, I am stunned that these flours aren’t more popular! Delicious!
Savory Pear & Buckwheat Pancakes
1 cup whole wheat pastry flour
1 cup buckwheat flour
4 tablespoons sugar
2 teaspoons baking powder
1 teaspoon fine grain sea salt
2 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted and cooled a bit
1 1/4 cups whole milk
1 egg
2 ripe but firm pears, peeled
butter for the pan
1.) Preheat oven to 200 degrees (to keep finished pancakes warm while you cook the rest.) Sift the flours, sugar, baking powder, and sea salt together in a large bowl and whisk to combine. Whisk together butter, milk, and egg in a separate bowl. Grate pears on the large holes of a grater into the milk mixture. Make sure you get all of the yummy pear juice to drip into the bowl!
2.) Using a spatula, add milk mixture to flour mixture and stir briskly and gently, leaving plenty of big clumps in the batter. Overmixing makes for a flat, dull pancake.
3.) Heat a large skillet over medium heat. Add plenty of butter and swirl to help it melt quickly. Working in batches, add pancakes by the 1/4 cup to the skillet, careful not to overcrowd the pan. When bubbles rise to the top, flip and finish cooking the other side. 5-8 minutes total. Place finished pancakes on a plate and place in the oven while you make the rest. No one likes a cold pancake! Serve with maple syrup and blackberries, if desired.
This recipe was adapted from Good to the Grain by Kim Boyce. Published by Stewart, Tabori, & Chang, New York; 2010.
Habitually Hungry 