Sunday Pancakes

I woke so lazily this morning – I ignored my 6:40 alarm, a remnant from yesterday’s volunteer project (which I can’t wait to write about, after I get some pictures back).  I vaguely remember a kiss on the cheek when Chris left to surf, and then driften back to sleep until a decadent 9:30.  I didn’t have too much to do today – two days of gardening has left me a little sore and lazy, so it seemed like the perfect day for some pancake experimentation.  I usually reach for Deborah Madison’s Vegetarian Cooking for Everyone for most things, and pancakes are no exception.  She has a recipe for cottage cheese and nutmeg pancakes which are so very rich and satisfying, but alas, no cottage cheese this morning.  I decided on a multi-grain variety.

1 cup whole wheat flour plus 1/2 cup wheat bran (you can also use white whole wheat flour, an amazing invention, but I wanted the nuttiness of the wheat bran today)

2 Tbsp sugar (adjust up or down depending on your sweetness specifications and the potency of your maple syrup)

2 tsp baking powder

1/4 tsp nutmeg, I also added a heaping 1/4 tsp pumpkin pie spice, as I’ve obviously been in the pumpkin spice mood

2 eggs

3 Tbsp grapeseed oil (you can use melted butter or canola)

1 1/2 cups milk (I didn’t have any buttermilk, so used regular milk and omitted the 1 tsp baking soda from the recipe.  If you’ve got it, by all means…)

1 tsp vanilla

Regular pancake instructions follow – beat the eggs with the wet ingredients, add the dry ingredients and stir until just combined.  For each pancake, drop about 1/4 cup batter onto a nonstick griddle or skillet set over medium-high heat.  Leave them alone until you see bubbles in the center of the pancake which pop on their own.  Flip them over and cook until browned on the second side, about 1 minute.  Refrain from patting them or turning them a second time as both actions will make the pancakes lose their lightness (and these grain-heavy pancakes have no lightness to spare)!  When done, you can keep them warm in a low oven until all are finished, or if you’re like me, let the rest of the batter sit covered in the fridge, throw ’em on a plate and enjoy.  I curled up with a book, a cup of decaf chai with steamed soymilk, and these hearty, nutty sweet cakes and had a lovely morning.  I suppose it’s time to get up now…

Edited to add: after a couple of hours in the fridge, we cooked up another batch of these, and they were magically transformed to be much more fluffy and light!  As far as I can tell, it’s the same principle as refridgerating cookie dough for more fluffy cookies – I’d definitely recommend it with these grain-dense beauties.