The Fluffiest Whole Wheat and Buttermilk Pancakes

Pancakes are among the most treasured breakfast foods, but making delicious, fluffy pancakes from scratch shouldn’t have to feel like a damn science experiment. Pancakes are comfort food, they’re supposed to be easy to make, and you shouldn’t be bursting veins over them.

I’ve got you covered, and you don’t need to sweat any further because I guarantee you that with my recipe, you’re going to get the fluffiest, most delicious pancakes all made from scratch. These pancakes are so effortless and quick to make. Trust me; you’re going to wanna wake up every morning to make these pancakes.

On the plus side, these pancakes call for no eggs, I make my pancakes with buttermilk, and they’re so spongy and light.

These whole wheat buttermilk pancakes are soft, fluffy, and you absolutely can’t get enough of them. With this recipe, you’re going to end up with pancakes with the best consistency and flavor. What’s even better about pancakes is that they’re a beautiful blank canvas that calls out to you to add whatever toppings you can fathom.

What’s in these pancakes?

If you’ve made pancakes from scratch before, you might be familiar with the basic ingredients that go into it. You’ve got flour, milk, eggs, and sugar.

Eggs are what give a pancake it’s airy crumb and fluffiness. But a suitable replacement for eggs in pancakes is buttermilk. Buttermilk is the leftover liquid from the process of butter making; a simple substitute for buttermilk is some vinegar added to whole milk. It’s beautiful and tangy, and it works wonders when chemical leavening agents are mixed into it.

And by chemical leavening agents, I mean baking soda and baking powder. These substances react to the acid in buttermilk, releasing carbon dioxide — hence aerating the pancake.

I’ve used whole wheat flour in my pancakes because I love the gorgeous color it gives the pancakes. And it’s much healthier and more flavorful. But, you can use all-purpose flour if you want to.

These pancakes are plain and simple, and I like them with a sizable serving of butter and maple syrup — the classics! But, the best thing about recipes such as these is that you get tons of creative liberty. My pancakes aren’t overly sweet, so you can make them savory as well!

You can add just about any flavors and toppings to your pancakes, ranging from vanilla, lemon, chocolate chips, peanut butter, fresh fruit, fried eggs, cheese and maybe some vegetables? I don’t know, but it’s all up to you what you want to add to your pancakes.

Let us now see what equipment you need to make these gorgeous whole wheat and buttermilk pancakes.

Equipment

One of the reasons why I call these pancakes effortless is that they require minimal kitchen equipment. All you need is a bowl, a whisk, and a cast-iron skillet.

Yes, emphasis on a cast-iron skillet because I absolutely love the crust that it gives pancakes. It’s uneven, more charred on some spots than the others. Pancakes made on cast-iron skillets are so rustic and homely. I strongly suggest you use a cast-iron skillet or pan if you’re making pancakes, put the non-stick stuff away this once.

I like to heavily grease my cast-iron pan with butter and let it get quite hot and then dollop on pancake batter. Now, that’s another thing about these pancakes. They’re not perfectly round, and that’s part of the charm. I use an ice-cream scoop with about 4 centimeters in diameter to scoop out pancake batter onto the pan. I do about two scoops per pancake. If you don’t have an ice cream scoop, you can use a ⅓ cup measure.

Using an ice cream scoop does affect the number of pancakes you’ll make by a pinch, sometimes I end up with five equal-sized pancakes and sometimes four equal-sized ones and one small one. But that’s fine; you’re making pancakes for yourself, you have to impress no one but yourself.

So, here’s everything you need to make these beautiful whole wheat and buttermilk pancakes:

• Two mixing bowls

• Wire whisk

• Ice cream scoop or ⅓ cup measure

• Cast-iron skillet/pan

• Thin spatula for flipping

The Recipe for Whole Wheat Buttermilk Pancakes

Time: 25 minutes

Yields: 4-5 pancakes

INGREDIENTS

• 370 grams (1 ½ cup) milk

• 2 teaspoons vinegar

• 1 tablespoon neutral oil (sunflower/canola/rice bran)

• 255 grams (2 cups) whole wheat flour

• 2 tablespoons sugar

• 1 ½ teaspoons baking powder

• ½ teaspoon baking soda

• ¼ teaspoon fine salt

• 2 teaspoons vanilla extract

• 2 tablespoons butter or oil for cooking

METHOD

• Combine the milk and vinegar and let it sit for 5-10 minutes. Add the oil to it, but don’t mix it in.

• In a mixing bowl, whisk together all the dry ingredients. Add the buttermilk and vanilla extract to it and whisk well until there are little to no lumps.

• Place a cast-iron skillet/pan on medium-high heat. Add the butter or oil to it and let it get moderately hot.

• Use a ⅓ cup measure or an ice cream scoop and pour the pancake batter onto the hot pan.

• In about 1-2 minutes, you’ll see bubbles on top and light browning on the sides of the pancake, flip and cook the other side for 1-2 minutes.

• Insert a toothpick in the middle of the pancake, and if it comes out clean, it’s cooked through.

• Serve the pancakes while still warm with some butter and maple syrup.

Notes

It is vital to maintain consistency in the heat as cast-iron can get super hot, and you will end up with burnt pancakes that are raw on the inside. And don’t be afraid of adding a sizable amount of butter to the pan, you want the pancakes to glide on the pan, not stick.

If you try this recipe or any other one of mine, share it with me in the comments below or on Instagram or Facebook!

#pancakes #buttermilkpancakes #dessertsandpastries #breakfast