Monday 16 September 2013

Oatmeal Pancakes

During the week our breakfasts tend to be rushed.  In fact I generally skip breakfast in favour of a latte when I get to work.  The children usually have either toast, cereal or eggs depending on how much time they have.  My daughter's current favourite is toast with cream cheese and avocado (though I substitute the cream cheese with some goat cheese - delicious on rye toast!)

The breakfast discussion over here a few days ago led to a request for my recipe for oatmeal pancakes.  Pancakes are our weekend breakfast staple.  And if there are leftovers, I keep them in the fridge and stick them in the toaster for whoever wants them during the week.  I've read about people freezing them and doing the same but to be honest I've never tried it - they don't last long in our house.

Pancakes were one of the first things I learned to cook and for years I used the recipe from Jean Pare's Muffins and More cookbook.  Recently though, I discovered this recipe for oatmeal pancakes.  And I have to say I love them.  They leave you fuller (you don't eat as many) for longer and are delicious.  The one thing I noticed though is that if you don't soak the oats, you get a bit of a chewy, grainy texture in the pancakes.  Soak 'em and the texture is much smoother.  In fact, I've been known to mix the batter the night before, stick it in the fridge and cook 'em up in the morning.  

I also like that they don't have anything extra in them.  My SIL will put cinnamon or vanilla in pancakes.  I guess it works for some but for me, I like them a plain as possible to make room for the toppings.

In our house, it's maple syrup and nothing else will do.  While in Aus, we had people bring us pints of the stuff whenever they came to visit.  It's always easy to know what to give a Canadian who's living outside of Canada (if you're visiting them from Canada).  We really rationed the stuff while we were there.  We had Canadian friends come to stay with us while we were there and I remember watching in horror as they poured our liquid gold extravagantly over their pancakes.  Little did they know that we savoured the stuff knowing that it would be awhile before we got anymore.  (Maple Syrup is available in Australia but costs an arm and a leg for what they classify as Grade B.  Not that I'm a connoisseur or anything).

Anyway, back to the recipe.  It's a good base.  You can add cinnamon if you like or even apples to make some sort of fritter.  But as I said, for me, it maple syrup...and maybe some fruit.

Here you go.  Enjoy!

Oatmeal Pancakes
(Modified from this recipe)

Ingredients
  • 1 tbsp. cooking oil
  • 1 tbsp. honey
  • 1 egg
  • 1 1/2 c. milk (I am sure I use way more than a cup and a half)
  • 1 1/2 c. oatmeal (dry, I use quick cooking oats but regular ones should do - just maybe soak them for longer)
  • 1 c. flour (can use ½ all purpose and ½ whole wheat)
  • 2 1/2 tbsp. baking powder
  • 1/2 tsp. salt

Directions
  • In a bowl add milk to dry oats.  I usually add enough milk to cover the oats.  I think this ends up being more than a cup and a half of milk.  Let the oats soak for at least 5 minutes while you get the other ingredients together.  (If you're not using quick cooking oats, then soak them for at least 2 hours.)
  • In a medium bowl, thoroughly mix the oil and honey - the honey lightens in colour as you mix them.
  • Add the egg and beat until well combined using an egg beater (or a whisk or a spoon).
  • Add the oat and milk mixture.
  • Add the dry ingredients and beat the mixture just until the batter is smooth.
  • Add more milk if the batter seems too thick and sludgy.
  • Grease an electric skillet with 1 tablespoon of oil and heat to 375 degrees.  I use a frying pan on medium heat.  I usually use a non-stick pan that I grease with a little butter (the butter is unnecessary if using non-stick, it just makes the pancake taste a little buttery :) )
  • Use about 1/4 cup batter for each pancake (I use 2 tablespoons for each pancake).
  • Cook until the edges look a bit dry, and bubbles start to form and pop on the top (you may need to reduce the heat a little to prevent the first side from burning while it cooks through), then flip over and cook about 1 1/2 minutes longer.
  • Serve with maple syrup or any other toppings you like.  A friend of mine used to cook up her strawberries/bananas/mixed chopped fruit in a pan with some maple syrup - makes a delicious topping.
Note: If you do decide to refrigerate the batter and cook the pancakes the following morning, you might find that the batter has a lot of bubbles and is stiff looking.  I just start scooping from the bowl without mixing it up - I figured that the bubbles are good thing.  I'm no expert though, it's just what I did.

My partner heard a podcast once where the person was talking about the perfect pancakes.  According to the podcast, the ratio of baking soda/powder to flour is 1 tablespoon of baking powder OR 1 tsp of baking soda for every cup of flour.  In this recipe I counted the oats and flour together (2 1/2 cups) and adjusted the baking powder accordingly.  I have used this ratio in my regular pancake recipe as well and found that it totally makes them fluffier :)

If we make these at the weekend, I'll work on taking some photos for you.  In the meantime, let me know how they turn out!

4 comments:

  1. Am very excited to try these. Roll on the weekend....

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  2. We have just had these for breakfast and they were lovely. The only slight downside was that the only cooking oil I could find was extra virgin olive oil. It definitely added a certain aftertaste which my 3 yo wasn't keen on, which was fair enough! I'll definitely be making them again, although I think I'll wait until I have some sunflower oil. Thanks again for the recipe.

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    Replies
    1. I wonder if clarified butter would work... (at least it would taste good). When I was little I thought ghee was the same as cooking oil. So when I made pancakes I would put a tablespoon in. My mum always wondered why my pancakes tasted better with the same recipe!

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